Jenny Valentish – författare

There is a part of human nature compelled to test our own limits. But what happens when this part comes to define us?When journalist Jenny Valentish wrote Woman of Substances, a book about addiction, she noticed that people who treated drug-taking like an Olympic sport would often hurl themselves into a pursuit like marathon running upon giving up. What stayed constant was the need to push their boundaries.Everything Harder Than Everyone Else follows people doing the things that most couldn’t, wouldn’t or shouldn’t. By delving into their extreme behaviour, there’s a lot that us mere mortals can learn about the human condition.There’s the neuroscientist violating his brain to override his disgust response. The athlete using childhood adversity as grist for the mill. The wrestler turning restlessness into curated ultraviolence. The architect hanging from hooks in her flesh, to better get out of her head. The performance artist seeking erasure by torturing his body. The BDSM dom helping people flirt with death to feel more alive. The bare-knuckle boxer whose gnarliest opponent is her ego. The dancer who could not separate her identity from her practice until at death’s door. The bodybuilder exacting order on a life that was once chaotic. And the porn star-turned-fighter for whom sex and violence are two sides of the same coin.Their insights lead Jenny on a compulsive, sometimes reckless journey of immersion journalism.

Journalist Jenny Valentish takes a gendered look at drugs and alcohol, using her own story to light the way. Mining the expertise of 35 leading researchers, clinicians and psychiatrists, she explores the early predictors of addictive behaviour, such as trauma, temperament and impulsivity. Drawing on neuroscience, she explains why other self-destructive behaviours – such as eating disorders, compulsive buying and high-risk sex – are interchangeable with problematic substance use. From her childhood in suburban Slough to her chaotic formative years in the London music scene, we follow her journey to Australia, where she experiences firsthand treatment facilities and AA groups, and reflects whether or not they are meeting the needs of women. Woman of Substances is an insightful, rigorous and brutally honest read. In Australia it was nominated for a prestigious Walkley Book Award. 'Employing expert interviews and research, each rich personal episode is contextualised within the under-examined issue of women's substance abuse. Detailed, insightful and told with a feature writer's narrative flair' Bookseller and Publisher. 'Engages readers with storytelling while presenting scientific findings and theories in a way that is accessible to a broad audience' Broadsheet. 'Part monograph, part memoir, part Ginsbergian howl of outrage at a culture in which gender bias is a tenet. It is a work of compellingly articulate anger' The Australian. 'In straightforward, lively prose she relates even her darkest moments without self-pity or aggrandisement, and often with a streak of gallows humour, leading to more laugh-out-loud lines than you might expect' The Saturday Paper. 'We need books like this, and writers like Valentish, to give voice to our frustrations and concerns, to help legitimise and mobilise' Kill Your Darlings. 'Valentish's passion lies in exploring the underlying causes and their effects and, in the most female of ways, offering companionship and reassurance for her readers' The Monthly. 'Doesn't mince her words' Sydney Morning Herald.

Journalist Jenny Valentish takes a gendered look at drugs and alcohol, using her own story to light the way. Mining the expertise of 35 leading researchers, clinicians and psychiatrists, she explores the early predictors of addictive behaviour, such as trauma, temperament and impulsivity. Drawing on neuroscience, she explains why other self-destructive behaviours – such as eating disorders, compulsive buying and high-risk sex – are interchangeable with problematic substance use. From her childhood in suburban Slough to her chaotic formative years in the London music scene, we follow her journey to Australia, where she experiences firsthand treatment facilities and AA groups, and reflects whether or not they are meeting the needs of women. Woman of Substances is an insightful, rigorous and brutally honest read. In Australia it was nominated for a prestigious Walkley Book Award. 'Employing expert interviews and research, each rich personal episode is contextualised within the under-examined issue of women's substance abuse. Detailed, insightful and told with a feature writer's narrative flair' Bookseller and Publisher. 'Engages readers with storytelling while presenting scientific findings and theories in a way that is accessible to a broad audience' Broadsheet. 'Part monograph, part memoir, part Ginsbergian howl of outrage at a culture in which gender bias is a tenet. It is a work of compellingly articulate anger' The Australian. 'In straightforward, lively prose she relates even her darkest moments without self-pity or aggrandisement, and often with a streak of gallows humour, leading to more laugh-out-loud lines than you might expect' The Saturday Paper. 'We need books like this, and writers like Valentish, to give voice to our frustrations and concerns, to help legitimise and mobilise' Kill Your Darlings. 'Valentish's passion lies in exploring the underlying causes and their effects and, in the most female of ways, offering companionship and reassurance for her readers' The Monthly. 'Doesn't mince her words' Sydney Morning Herald.

A witty, practical and relatable personal development guide for anyone with social anxiety - including those with ADHD and autism - from the journalist and the Walkley Award-nominated author of Woman of Substances, Jenny Valentish.At last: a practical and relatable book for introverts, stand-offishs, sociophobes and awkwards. The Introvert's Guide to Leaving the House is stuffed full of game plans for every excruciating social scenario.Journalist and reformed sociophobe Jenny Valentish will help you extend your social battery life, tackle fear of judgement, form more meaningful connections, create an online presence that feels comfortable, express more of your body's own bonding chemicals, hit a party like a SWAT team, nail phone conversations, handle conflict, become a more confident manager and team player, hack public speaking, turn small talk into profound connections, reframe limiting self-beliefs, and navigate the overlap between social anxiety and neurodiversity.Do we Wary Marys need curing? Of course not. But sometimes we can do with a few aces up our sleeves to navigate social interactions.