"You need someone to look into your eyes and say It's going to be all right'

International best-selling author and psychologist Dr Julie Smith tells Sally Saunders how she has coped with global success - and life-changing news

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When she began writing her new book, Open When, created to help readers when they are in the thick of life’s challenges, Dr Julie Smith never guessed she would soon be taking her own advice as she faced a crisis herself.

The psychologist and star of TikTok and Instagram was riding high — her first book, Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?, spent more than 100 weeks in the bestseller lists, and was placed number 49 in the Sunday Times Top 100 Bestsellers of the past 50 years.

‘The first book took on a life of its own, really,’ she says. ‘When it got into the Sunday Times bestseller list, my husband invited a few friends over for a small gathering to celebrate, and it was so nice for us all to get together. They were all saying, “Oh, let’s have a party every week it stays in the Sunday Times.” And then we had to change that to, “We’ll have one when it drops out of the list!” It was beyond anything I ever considered.’

The response from readers was the most satisfying, and enlightening, part, she explains.

‘I got so many messages from people telling me that they keep it with them to help them when they’re really struggling. I heard about one particular lady who didn’t have it with her one day, felt she needed it, and got her mum to go over to her house, find the book and read bits out so that she could remember what she needed.

‘That was just a lovely story to hear, but I couldn’t help but think I didn’t write it with that in mind — I would have put different things in if I’d known that was the case. And at the same time I had a lovely follower who sent me a gift. And I didn’t know this was a thing at the time, but it’s a bit of a trend where girls will send each other “open when” letters.