KAREN HUMPHRIES
Author | Speaker | Mentor | Advocate
KAREN HUMPHRIES
Author | Speaker | Mentor | Advocate
Living with stage 4 cancer.
Leading with wisdom, humanity and hope.
Karen Humphries is an author, speaker and mentor living with incurable stage 4 cholangiocarcinoma and disability. With nearly three decades of lived experience across chronic illness, trauma and identity loss, Karen brings grounded, honest wisdom to conversations about how we live - not just how we survive.
WHO THIS IS FOR
If you are seeking more than motivation…
If lived experience matters to you…
If you believe there is another way to live well alongside illness, uncertainty and change…
If you are a clinician and want a patients point of view.
You are in the right place.
ABOUT KAREN
Karen has spent much of her life navigating chronic illness, disability, rare disease and rare cancer - not as a battle, but as an evolving relationship with life itself.
Living with stage 4 cholangiocarcinoma, Karen speaks openly about loss, identity, acceptance and hope - without performative positivity or easy answers. Her work is grounded in wisdom earned, not inspiration manufactured.
Karen works with individuals, health organisations, community groups and corporate audiences across Australia.
FEATURED WORK: THE BOOK
Chronic Wisdom
One Woman’s Story of Survival, Strength and Self-DiscoveryChronic Wisdom is a reflective, deeply human exploration of what it means to live fully when life does not unfold as expected. Through seven core wisdoms, Karen offers language and perspective for navigating chronic illness, disability, grief and profound life change.
Available as paperback.
The companion workbook to Chronic Wisdom offers guided reflection, prompts and practical tools to help readers integrate the Seven Wisdoms into their own lives. Used by individuals, support groups and workshop participants.
Speaking & Workshops
Karen delivers keynote presentations and facilitated workshops that are thoughtful, grounded and deeply engaging - informed by lived experience, not theory alone.
Signature offerings include:
• GUTSY
A powerful, trauma-aware workshop exploring courage, identity and living well alongside chronic illness, disability and life disruption.
Gutsy invites participants to reconnect with their inner strength - not through force or positivity, but through honesty, agency and self-compassion.
• The Seven Wisdoms
A reflective framework drawn from Chronic Wisdom, supporting individuals and groups to navigate change, loss and uncertainty with clarity and meaning.
• Custom Keynotes & Workshops
Tailored sessions for health organisations, community groups and corporate wellbeing programs.
Available for conferences, hospitals, community organisations and corporate settings.
As seen in:
ADVOCACY & IMPACT
Amplifying Voices. Sharing Stories. Creating Change.
Karen’s advocacy work is grounded in lived experience - shaped by decades of navigating chronic illness, disability and rare cancer, and driven by a deep commitment to improving survivorship, research and care.
What began as personal necessity has grown into national advocacy: amplifying patient voices, sharing real stories, and contributing to meaningful system-level change across health, research and community spaces.
Karen’s work has been recognised through parliamentary acknowledgement, national health organisations and community awards - reflecting the impact of advocacy that is both human and informed.