Sex, Drugs and Meditation

Miraculously, Mary-Lou Stephens has just made it into her forties. With the aid of therapy and NA/AA she has overcome a tricky childhood (youngest of six kids, evangelical parents); drama school; drug and alcohol addiction; the lure of rock and roll; and her spectacularly poor taste in men. She has landed a dream job as a broadcaster for the ABC. Life is looking good. Except that Mary-Lou has a new boss, a psychopath in a suit, a harridan in high heels.

Determined to avoid MORE therapy, and desperate to cope with an increasingly toxic work environment, Mary-Lou signs up for a ten-day meditation retreat that requires total silence, endless hours of sitting cross-legged, and a food-as-fuel kind of a diet (i.e. basic). For a woman who talks for a living, is rarely still and cooks for comfort, this was never going to be an easy ask.

Sex, Drugs and Meditation is a tale of learning to sit still, shut up and gain wisdom. It is a woman-against-the-odds scenario. But rather than travelling to the Third World or battling drought and pestilence on the farm, Mary-Lou must take the hardest path of all: to confront and overcome, once and for all, the darkness within.

Funny, sage, insightful and just a little bit twisted, this is meditation for the mainstream and New Age without the whoo-whoo.

About the Author

Mary-Lou was born and raised in Tasmania. She studied acting at The Victorian College of the Arts and played in bands in Melbourne and Sydney before she got a proper job – in radio. Mary-Lou kicked off her radio career at 2TM in Tamworth. She was lured away to help start up a brand new station in Townsville where she was the Breakfast co-host, Music Director, Assistant Program Director and very tired a lot of the time. Since joining the team at ABC Coast FM Mary-Lou has been the Music Director as well as presenting every shift ever invented including, Drive, Afternoons and Evenings. These days you'll find her on ABC Local Radio digital and online on Sunday Afternoons.

BOOKTOPIA INTERVIEW: MARY-LOU STEPHENS ANSWERS BOOKTOPIA'S TEN TERRIFYING QUESTIONS - CLICK HERE