JULIE STAFFORD
"Why do we get all this life if we don’t ever use it?
Why do we have all this life…feelings…and dreams and hopes…if we don’t ever use them." (Shirley Valentine)
INSIGHTS AND EXPRESSIONS
FOR A NEW ERA
JULIE STAFFORD is a multi-dimensional creative, blending writing, photography, painting and her solo woman travel adventures into story-telling and ideas to inspire your creativity and transformation.
Julie's extraordinary insights, captured in her story-telling, through the lens of her camera, on large canvases and in her writing workshops will inspire, motivate and ignite the fire in you to live your best life.
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After her 30 year partnership with husband Bruce, who beat his first life-threatening cancer diagnosis just two-and-a-half years into their love story, but lost a second totally unrelated cancer battle in 2006, Julie found herself alone. To heal from insatiable grief, Julie began traveling to discover her capacity as a solo woman. Facing many unexpected challenges, Julie discovered just how brave she was writing a new chapter prioritizing her love of writing, photography and painting.
JULIE STAFFORD is the well-known Australian author of the healthy-eating cookbook series that changed a generation's eating habits in the 80s and 90s. Her best-selling 'Taste of Life' cookbook series sold over 2.2million copies worldwide.
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What is not so well known about Julie is that she and her husband grew a property development business from one project into 13 successful development projects and Julie conceptualized and delivered in an honorary capacity one of regional Victoria's biggest one day food and music events that ran for more than a decade. Julie was also instrumental in raising millions of dollars for cancer research in regional Australia and awarded a Governorship for her services to cancer research at the Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Laboratory in 2013.
Having traveled solo to beautiful and remote destinations, Julie has learned how to observe life at a deeper level, embrace uncertainty,
let the least-likely characters teach her life's golden wisdom, turn obstacles into opportunities, and grow through life’s most unexpected (often serendipitous) moments, all the while embracing new technologies (especially AI) and teaching others to explore and advance their
transformational journeys following in her footsteps.
JULIE STAFFORD'S profound messaging to chase after the life in your life rather than merely survive life encourages her audiences to step
outside their comfort zones to achieve personal and professional success, and taste the true happiness of living.
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Profound, purposeful, passionate, Julie Stafford is inspirational in all she touches.
Book Julie
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NEW BOOKS COMING SOON
In the beloved book and movie Shirley Valentine, Shirley reflects on a life unlived, a heart full of dreams left unexplored. “I’ve led such a little life… when inside me there was so much more.” These words struck a chord deep within me—an urgent reminder that life is not meant to be merely endured, but embraced.
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I refuse to let my days slip by in ordinariness. Instead, I chase after the extraordinary, seeking moments that make my heart race, that bring laughter to my lips, that remind me I am truly alive. Because with every passing year, I feel the urgency—how precious, how fleeting, and how astonishingly beautiful this life is when we dare to step beyond our comfort zones.
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This book is an invitation—to stop waiting, to stop wondering, and to start living. To use every ounce of this life you’ve been given. To seek adventure, connection, and purpose. To wake up each morning with curiosity and go to bed each night with a smile, knowing you have lived boldly, loved deeply, and never let a single dream go to waste.
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Because why do we get all this life… if we don’t ever use it? —Julie Stafford
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Six months after losing the love of her life to cancer, Julie Stafford finds herself standing at a crossroads. After more than thirty years of sharing every step with the man she adored, she is suddenly alone—unsure of who she is without him and uncertain of the life that awaits. So, with a suitcase packed and a heart full of questions, she boards a plane to a place she has never been, a country where she doesn’t know the language, the customs, or even if she will feel safe as a woman traveling alone.
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She arrives in Dubrovnik, overwhelmed by grief and fear, so much so that the thought of sitting at a table for one is unbearable. For days, she cannot bring herself to eat. But as the journey unfolds, so does she. Fast forward seventeen years, and we find her in Marrakech, savoring the joy of dining alone—a moment she now treasures as one of life’s greatest luxuries.
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A Table for One is a soulful collection of nearly two decades of solo travel, an evocative testament to the power of stepping beyond our comfort zones. Through vibrant landscapes, unforgettable encounters, and the quiet magic of solitary moments, Julie discovers that the road to healing—and to truly knowing oneself—is often found in unfamiliar places, among strangers who become friends, and in the courage to take a seat at life’s table, alone but never lonely.
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With more women embracing solo travel than ever before, A Table for One is an invitation—to step into the unknown, to embrace the unexpected, and to rediscover the woman you are, one journey at a time.
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