Rachel Kelly – Keynote Speaker

Rachel Kelly is a bestselling writer and mental health campaigner. The author of four books, she speaks publicly about her experience of depression and recovery, and regularly writes for press and gives TV and radio interviews to help educate and break down the stigma around mental health. Kelly shares her motivational and holistic approach to good mental health and what she has learnt about how to stay calm and well. She is an official ambassador for Rethink Mental Illness, Young Minds, SANE and The Counselling Foundation. Her latest book The Happy Kitchen: Good Mood Food was published in January 2017.

Kelly spent ten years on The Times in London where she was variously a reporter, feature writer and columnist, writing the paper’s Alternatively Speaking health column. In her early thirties, Kelly was diagnosed with serious depression and subsequently suffered two major depressive episodes. These two episodes have become the defining events of her life.

Since then, she has written about the condition, and how she has recovered, in books that have been read by tens of thousands of people. Her memoir about her experience of serious depression Black Rainbow was a Sunday Times bestseller in 2014. She has also written about how a holistic approach has helped her recover: her second book, on wellbeing Walking on Sunshine: 52 Small Steps to Happiness is an international bestseller. Kelly is currently working on her next book Singing in the Rain: 52 Small Activities for Happiness.