Meet Katryn Broadoak

We were lucky to catch up with Katryn Broadoak recently and have shared our conversation below.

Katryn, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

I made a choice a few years ago to seriously commit to myself. I made a commitment to transparency and clarity with myself about my own emotional and physical needs. I decided not to let it matter to me whether another person was willing to meet those needs and I became committed to making sure they were met myself. I made the choice to develop an honest-to-God crush on myself. I spoke to myself lovingly. I looked in the mirror and reminded myself how lucky I am I get to hang out with ME all the time. And slowly, I fell in love. It worked. I truly love myself these days. And even though I still have anxiety about what the future may hold, I am able to gently parent myself through those difficult feelings because I possess genuine self-love and I practice patience.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

For my every day job I work with lactating mothers in a support capacity, while I am enrolled in online courses to pursue certification as an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant. But I also write poetry and I am releasing my debut poetry collection, Ports and Portals, on 1/6/26. This collection was largely written while I had cancer and had no idea, as well as poems I wrote after diagnosis and during treatment. I also included poems written in these first few months of survivorship. Many of the poems I write don’t have to do with my battle with cancer directly, but simply relate to the theme of resilience in the face of overwhelming odds, and thus will resonate with readers who’ve never had their lives touched by serious illness. We all face trials of many kinds in our lives. I hope my poetry, written about my life, can help someone else overcome something challenging in theirs.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I recognise how corny and cheesy this sounds. But to be perfectly honest: faith, hope, and love.
I was raised religious, but have long since deconstructed. But having faith in a benevolent creator gave me hope during even the most trying times in my life. A belief that I am wanted and cared for, even in the face of mortality. It allowed me to cling to the hope that life can be beautiful no matter what my prognosis was, when faced with a cancer diagnosis. My love for myself allowed me to parent and validate myself through some incredibly difficult emotions that were, frankly, terrifying. The only advice I can really give to anyone facing something so scary is to speak to yourself as if you are the parent you need. If no one can give you hope when you feel afraid or overwhelmed, give it to yourself. Every time you feel fear, respond to it with love. I can’t even really say that one thing leads to another. Like if you have faith then you’ll have hope and then you’ll be able to love yourself. Or that if you begin by loving yourself, then that will give you hope and you’ll find faith in something greater. All three sentiments are so entwined, so wrapped up with each other. It’s all at once. If you start being your own voice of hope, love, and faith, then you do find something greater. You eventually realise that you can hold onto that, whatever *it* is, no matter what happens.

If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?

I would love my family so fiercely. I would prioritise quality time and exciting experiences with my daughter. She is only five. I want her to grow up with memories of me, even if my time is closer than I hope. I hope to take her on some really awesome trips in the next few years. I want to share experiences with her that will create lasting memories. Being a cancer survivor, I have a profound understanding of the fact that none of us knows how long we have, truly.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.katrynbroadoak.com
• Instagram: longlostpoetindeed
• Other: titkok: kt.pamplemousse

Image Credits

Cover illustration by Anna Loewenthal