I knew that Amy Devine was a kindred spirit the first time I met her in Beijing, China, but it was only as the months went by and I heard more of her story that I recognised why I felt such a connection. Amy Devine was brought up on a council estate in the UK, and like me, she ended up living a life of international adventure almost by accident. Amy’s childhood exposure to addiction and domestic abuse led her to a degree in criminology. After she graduated she moved to China, where she started teaching English, and she then gained a Masters degree in education and ended up teaching at a prestigious international school in Beijing. During her earliest years in China, Amy enjoyed the perks of the expat lifestyle, earning a good salary and partying with her friends, until one day her flatmate pointed out that her drinking had become problematic. The journey that Amy has since taken towards sobriety and self-actualisation has changed the course of her life. Recovery has led Amy towards women’s groups, meditation and breathwork, all of which have inspired her to retrain as a breathwork facilitator, start her own business, and leave her comfortable life in Beijing behind. When we recorded this interview just before I moved from Beijing to Bali, Amy was on the cusp of a series of fabulous new adventures. To learn more about Amy’s breathwork offerings, check out her website (with photos by yours truly 😊), and follow her on Instagram. Also make sure you have a listen to her excellent podcast, What’s It All About. Please enjoy this conversation with the luminous Amy Devine. I’ll look forward to bringing you an update on her adventures very soon! And I’d love to hear from you too! If anything in this episode inspires you to see the world a little differently or to expand your own horizons in any way, I’d so love to hear from you. Please drop a note in the comments, or send me a message about a story you’d like to share. And if you’d like to talk about your own experiences of living away from your home nation, please let me know! Let’s come together to share stories of the things we’ve witnessed, so that we can learn from one another and see that, despite the differences in the details of our stories, we’re all global citizens of one beautiful and intricately interconnected world. With love Michelle x I want to hear about the things you’ve witnessed too! Please subscribe and become part of the conversation! MUSIC: Defining Life, by Bill Conn PHOTOGRAPHY: Michelle Neeling Written and produced by Michelle Neeling Get full access to Oblivious Witness at michelleneeling.substack.com/subscribe