'I had no confidence and no self-worth'

Though the concept of manifesting is centuries old, it didn't hit the mainstream until 2022 when Roxie Nafousi wrote Manifest, her seven-step guide to making our goals and dreams a reality through self-development.

- CHARLOTTE HEATHCOTE

She spent just eight weeks writing the book at her kitchen table but it sold a million copies across 122 countries and, within two years, "manifest" was Cambridge Dictionary's word of the year.

Now, Roxie is back, and she's on a new mission to boost our self-confidence.

"My work is mirroring my own personal journey," says Roxie, 34. "I had no confidence and no self-worth and I absolutely loathed myself since I was at least seven years old.

"Up until two years ago, I don't remember ever having more than two days in a row where I wasn't berating myself. And it was absolutely exhausting."

That self-loathing led hard-partying socialite Roxie into the dark grip of addiction during her 20s. She hit her lowest ebb when she was pregnant with her son Wolfe, now five (she and Wolfe's father split two years ago).

TRAUMA

"I had been an addict to cocaine and alcohol and cigarettes for a decade. Then I found out I was pregnant and I had to give everything up overnight. And all the pain I was trying to escape from came rushing out.

"Those 10 months were the worst time of my life. It was my dark night of the soul. I wanted to rip my skin and my face off.

"I hated myself. I couldn't look in the mirror. I stopped leaving the house for about six months. I would only go down one road in Waterloo because I was sure nobody I knew would ever see me.

"I was binge eating. I gained over 30 kilos. I hated myself. And I think that was just all my trauma coming up with nowhere to go. But that was also the making of me."