Alanna Bastin-Byrne is resilient, extroverted, industrious, humorous and a planner. Like, most women living in today’s modern world, Alana is generous, supportive, courageous, tough and kind. Women like Alanna are the perfect combination of steel and cotton wool, able to be strong and feminine all at once. She believes women are tough in the modern world, but as the stories of women in history have shown, women have always had to be tough.

EMILY Somers is covered in tattoos. Not the inked version, but scars from radiotherapy, which she bravely wears. A week before her 27th birthday Emily was diagnosed with 2B Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, after she found a lump above her collar bone.  Her life went from parties, advertising, design and 24/7 fun to chemotherapy wards, oncology appointments and constant naps.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?”

The Queen from Snow White asked this question pretty regularly, hoping the mirror would say her name.

When I look in the mirror these days, I am fair, and by fair, I mean fairly certain I have seen better days. The other day I woke up and said to the mirror “good grief is that my face? “ And to quote my father, it looked a bit like a chewed caramel”.

WHAT is the greatest gift a woman wants?

It is the desire to be valued.

There is worth in the value of being valued.

Women deserve to feel worthy, considered and appreciated for what they bring to the table both professionally and personally.