Michelle McQuaid

1 month ago | futurewomen.com | Michelle McQuaid

A few years ago, I found myself standing in a Portuguese town square, completely lost on day one of a solo pilgrimage along the Camino Portugues. The yellow arrows marking my path had vanished, and my inner voice was having a field day: “This is what happens when you try things you’re not prepared for.”At nearly fifty, I had chosen to walk 120 kilometres alone through Portugal and Spain – something utterly unlike me. I’d always been the woman who only attempted things I could excel at.

Mar 30, 2025 | ramonamag.com | Ramona MagazineLife |Michelle McQuaid

Words by Dr Michelle McQuaid I was just five years old when my relationship with perfection began. Standing in a supermarket checkout line, clutching a Little Golden Book, I had no idea how deeply Good Little, Bad Little Girl would imprint on my developing mind. The story was simple: a little girl could either be “good” (neat, quiet, obedient, patient, selfless, nice, grateful) or “bad” (messy, loud, defiant, demanding, selfish, unkind, ungrateful).

Feb 28, 2025 | mamamia.com.au | Michelle McQuaid

When I returned home, I told my husband the truth about where I'd been. He was hurt and angry, but the shock of realising I'd become someone who needed to lie to find peace shook us both. When I suggested divorce, he asked me to try again. We spent three years trying to make it work, but the same challenges kept resurfacing, only worse. Finally, three years later, we both agreed it was time.

Feb 18, 2025 | womensagenda.com.au | Michelle McQuaid

“Please be good,” my mother would plead when I was little. I tried. I really did. But no matter how hard I worked to follow the rules, to fit in, to be the ‘good girl’ everyone wanted, something always felt off – like trying to read a book in a language I could never quite understand. At 44, sitting in a psychologist’s office as my five-year old son received his autism diagnosis, everything suddenly clicked into place.

Feb 18, 2025 | autism.einnews.com | Michelle McQuaid

“Please be good,” my mother would plead when I was little. I tried. I really did. But no matter how hard I worked to follow the rules, to fit in, to be the ‘good girl’ everyone wanted, something always felt off – like trying to read a book in a language I could never quite understand. At 44, sitting in a psychologist’s office as my five-year old son received his autism diagnosis, everything suddenly clicked into place.