Hi everybody!

I’m Irena, and I’m new here. I’m a psychotherapist from Croatia, and I’ve been sharing stories from my travels and from the psychotherapeutic couch for a long time. I started writing completely by accident. Before Covid, I lived alone in Havana, Cuba for a short time, and I wrote about my adventures, struggles, and fears to three friends back home in Croatia. After one of those emails, all three of them told me I had to publish my stories — not only because they were interesting, but because they were, in their words, “literarily excellent.” Honestly, to me they were just confessions from my crazy days in Cuba, and it never occurred to me that I might have a talent for writing.

I listened to them, and that’s how everything began…
People in Croatia wrote me incredible comments and encouraged me to keep going. Magazines started reaching out, everything became wild and fast — and then Covid came. I had to return to Croatia. My writing dried up; the inspiration disappeared.

Life led me to dance. With “far too many” years, I started learning salsa and Cuban dances, and in a twist of madness — I eventually began dancing professionally.

And here I am now: dancing, writing, and working with my clients on the psychotherapeutic couch. And I’m traveling again, which is my greatest joy.

On Substack I discovered a whole world of intelligent, inspiring, beautiful writing, photography, and art… I feel like I’ve found my place — it feels right.

I’m happy to share my stories, my life, and all the madness I fall into or throw myself into headfirst. My Croatian audience finds them deeply inspiring, and I hope you will too.

Here is webpage with some of my articles… Irena Jurjevic

I can’t promise I’ll publish regularly — like once a week — because my inspiration is wandering and mischievous. I’d love to control it, but it refuses to be controlled. And I can’t force myself to publish something that doesn’t feel inspired to me. So… here we go, just as it is.

With love,
Irena