The Repair Shop’s Suzie Fletcher Shares ‘Biggest Challenge’ She’s Tackled

Resident leather expert on BBC’s The Repair Shop, Suzie Fletcher, sat down with Lorraine Kelly to discuss her new book, in which she opened up about her personal life.

Answering Lorraine’s question, as to whether or not it was “daunting” to share her story, Suzie explained: “Yeah and that’s life.

“I think it’s really healthy for me to push myself out of my comfort zone and this has been probably the biggest challenge I’ve ever taken that step in.”

She continued: “Because I’m a very private person but when this opportunity came my way, I thought if I’m going to do it, I am going to be completely honest and I am going to talk about the ups and downs and everything in between of what I’ve experienced.”

Her debut book, The Sun Over the Mountains: A Story of Hope, Healing and Restoration, looks back over the experiences, places and people who have shaped her into the person that she is today.

She revealed: “My life has been full of the ups, downs, and in-betweens we expect to experience in life. In this book I share some of the skills I acquired and used to manage all that I’ve faced.

“Although some scars run deep, it is my love for nature, my work and especially the animals that have helped me through it all. I am truly grateful for every moment.”

One of the toughest moments for Suzie to share concerned her abusive and coercive marriage to former husband Rob, who died in 2013.

“As I got to know him better, I realised he had been massively traumatised as a child and with that brings on some coping mechanisms which aren’t exactly healthy and he was using alcohol to help to numb the pain,” Suzie detailed on Lorraine.

“I did learn as time went on how massively damaged he was and a lot of his bad treatment towards me came from his own insecurities and his inability to cope with life.

“If you can keep an open heart and love unconditionally, there’s always hope and I’d rather have hope and help a person than just necessarily run away,” Suzie affirmed.

Don’t miss…
The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades ‘freaked out’ by ‘creepy’ doll[LATEST]
The Repair Shop’s Julie Tatchell was ‘quite scared’ to meet co-star Amanda[INSIGHT]
The Repair Shop expert speechless as guest cries over WWII prisoner sculpture[REVEAL]

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Her fellow The Repair Shop colleagues, including her co-star brother Steve Fletcher and Jay Blades, have thrown their support behind her.

“It was Jay, lovely Jay, who was on the show on Monday, he was very supportive of both of you,” Lorraine expressed, as she detailed that Jay had told Suzie to “go for it” with her memoir.

In a separate interview with Holly Willoughby and Josie Gibson on ITV’s This Morning, Suzie revealed how writing her book had been a cathartic experience.

“It unlocked so many memories that I’d closed down because we go into protecting ourselves, don’t we? And I have come through it the other side feeling much like my old self when I took myself off to America on a whim,” she concluded.

“Life is just rocking and rolling and it’s just amazing. I feel very happy and content today, so it was great.”

The Repair Shop airs Wednesdays at 8pm on BBC One, with previous episodes available on BBC iPlayer.

Source: Read Full Article