MIRANDA TAPSELL

A chance to slow down

Beloved actress and first-time author Miranda Tapsell was readying herself for the release of her memoir, Top End Girl, when the entertainment world shut down. Along with film projects, theatres, galleries and concert halls, book festivals – which she had been due to speak at to promote her passion project – were swiftly cancelled. It could have been a crushing blow for Miranda but instead, she tells The Weekly, it was a wonderful reminder of how lucky her life is. “I realised how many people were getting sick and how many were losing their jobs,” she says now. “A lot of my friends are out of work. I felt like it was a weird time to promote the book but I’m really grateful that people are getting a lot of joy, comfort and inspiration from it. The warm reaction it’s received is heart-warming.” And as a self-professed workaholic, she’s also relished learning how to “slow down and smell the roses” as she waits for the film world to get back on its feet again. “I’m taking each day as it comes,” she says. “I’m learning how to be kind to myself. I always had to think about the next thing that was coming along. Now it’s about listening to audio books, ones that make me really happy, and I’m becoming a lot more content. And I know it’s cliche but yoga has been helping too.”