Jane McGuinness

When she’s not marching her grown children across Spain on the Camino de Santiago or navigating the shitshow that is perimenopause, this recovering emotional eater can be found avoiding Tinder sex-pests, preferring the company of Leo, The World’s Most Awesome Cat.

Jane McGuinness is an author, registered psychotherapist, hiker, and former 1950s housewife who decided to set her world on fire beginning with her divorce. The blaze continues to burn this summer as the intrepid Aussie packs her life into a storage unit and sets out across the globe in search of adventure.

How does Jane McGuinness use humor—especially dark, self-deprecating humor—to navigate and reframe deeply painful experiences?

From an early age I learnt to use humour to diffuse tension in my childhood home. What was once a survival mechanism evolved into my ability to navigate awkward social situations; I became the fat, happy friend, hiding behind this persona for decades—until I didn’t.

What does the title Always Hungry reveal about the difference between physical hunger and emotional longing?

My title speaks to hunger that was never truly for food. Recognising that my hunger was born from unhappiness and rooted in shame and a lack of self-worth, my healing journey began when I finally understood that I’d been looking for love in all the wrong places, because it sure as hell wasn’t going to be found in the fridge.

In what ways do Jane’s early experiences with family, patriarchy, and discrimination shape her relationship with food and self-worth?

These early messages, received from my small-town patriarchal world, were instrumental in contributing to my dysfunctional, disordered relationship with food and my body. From an early age I had internalised some extremely damaging messages around my physique and self-worth. It was the 90s. Emaciated bodies were glorified and I received but one message from society: you are too big. Sadly this criticism of my sturdy frame by everyone from my grandmother to the school bullies crushed my self-esteem and led to years of dieting insanity. I guarantee, if there was a new diet of the month, my mother and I would try it, with predictably woeful results. Still today, we see our patriarchal society continue to demand that women everywhere conform to impossible beauty standards. I personally don’t find an emaciated body at all beautiful to behold. On the contrary: I find the current shift back to ultra-skinny utterly heartbreaking. And it sure as hell isn’t healthy—this I know for sure. Some are naturally built this way, and I refuse to judge anyone (after all, none of us possess that right), however most women aren’t genetically programmed to display protruding ribs and collarbones. By virtue of our biology, we are built for reproduction (like it or not!), and if mother nature had wanted us all to look any other way, then surely she would have made us so.

How does the memoir challenge societal assumptions about weight, identity, and personal responsibility?

My memoir challenges people to see the soul, not the shape, and reminds everyone to reserve judgement. Ultimately, another person's body is none of your business. More often than not, when someone is in a larger body, they are struggling both mentally and physically with challenges that we know nothing about. None of us have the right to judge another. Thanks to societal norms, our identities are greatly shaped around our physical bodies. Not for our values, what we stand for, not for our passions or talents, but for how we present to the outside world. We’re a damn judgemental bunch, and this needs to change. 

I do advocate personal responsibility, and my journey and memoir demonstrates this, while recognizing that healing from disordered eating takes time, self-compassion, persistence, and a good therapist if you recognize that inner work needs to happen! 

What role does major life change—divorce, relocation, returning to school—play in Jane’s transformation and self-discovery?

Mine is a story of lifelong growth, healing, and evolution. The divorce was instrumental in discovering and stepping into my power and autonomy as a woman in her late 30s, with three young children. Returning to post-grad study was both empowering and fulfilling, as my identity grew far beyond that of wife, mother, daughter, friend. Somewhere along the way I found myself, and through healing, discovered the whole, complete, and confident woman that I am today. While not the case for everyone, for myself steel was indeed forged in the fire—transformation, inner peace, and joy are the spoils.

How does motherhood influence Jane’s decisions and her journey toward healing and independence?

Soon after the birth of my third child I had something of an epiphany—that moment of reckoning when my health was no longer negotiable. Positive (and permanent) change was necessary for both myself and my three young children who deserved a healthier, fitter, and ultimately happier mother. They deserved a better role model and I deserved to make my health and wellbeing a priority. It was time to put on my own metaphorical oxygen mask, because Lord knows, at this point in my life, if our plane went down, so to speak, I was in no position to help anyone onboard.

As for independence, I was forced to ask and answer some very difficult questions. Would I want my children to remain in an unhappy union, choosing financial security, safety over independence? No, I would not. 

What does the memoir suggest about the connection between emotional healing and physical health?

Both are inseparable, and I don’t believe that anyone can permanently heal from any type of disordered eating without doing the inner work; the emotional healing. This was essential to my long-term physical weight loss and maintenance, and in my clinical experience, I have witnessed the same need for healing from within. Whether we like it or not, often internal disorder is reflected externally. It certainly was in my case!

How do Jane’s travel experiences, like hiking the Camino de Santiago, function as both literal and symbolic journeys?

My passion for travel and adventure speaks to my hunger for self-discovery and continued growth. The camino was deeply symbolic, as I walked towards a deeper knowing of myself as a woman, increasing my physical fitness, while also deepening the relationships with my children. It was nothing less than the ultimate gift, and I can’t recommend this experience enough. We are already planning future multi-day hikes together. And if you have teenagers, I can tell you right now that I’m yet to find a better way to get them off their phones!

In what ways does dating after divorce (especially through apps like Tinder) reflect broader themes of vulnerability and self-perception?     

While horrific at the time, the Tinder dating was another opportunity for growth and deeper understanding of myself. It’s an extremely vulnerable experience, when photos of your smiling face are floating about the ether for all to see.  The whole thing was quite strange. On the upside, I emerged with a stronger sense of my worth—and far less tolerance for any man’s crap. Like everything in my life thus far, I’m stronger for the lessons learnt. And I’d also rather endure a root-canal without anesthetic before downloading a dating app again. Surely there must be a better way to meet a good man?!

At its core, what is Jane ultimately “hungry” for, and how does discovering that reshape her understanding of fulfillment and identity?

I was the girl of one thousand hungers—none of them physical. Hungry for independence and autonomy after an early marriage and babies. Hungry for travel, joy, and adventure. Hungry for love, approval, and acceptance from a world that told me I was too big, too loud, too much—and the ultimate lesson: this could only be found within. I didn’t need approval or acceptance from anyone else, it was inside all along. Lost and now found. I also learnt that my self-worth never had anything to do with the size of my thighs—the world told me otherwise, and the world was wrong. 
And discovering this? Best. Feeling. Ever.

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Website: https://www.janemcguinnesstheauthor.com/​
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janemcguinnesstheauthor/
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Links to purchase the book: 
Bookshop.org 
​Amazon