Kate Clinch walked into a chapel in Sydney as a self-described non-believer — and walked out with an unshakeable feeling she'd been in the presence of a saint. What followed was a decade of discovery: a historical fiction novel, a cancer diagnosis, chemotherapy, stomach surgery, and a slow realization that she couldn't tell someone else's story without her own coming with it.
Kate is a former general practitioner, homeschooling mother, and debut novelist from Australia. Her book tells the story of Eileen O'Connor, a disabled Australian woman who may become Australia's second officially recognized saint. In writing it, Kate found a spiritual companion who helped carry her through a cancer diagnosis she didn't see coming.
In this conversation, we talk about near-death experiences, what it feels like to know something without being able to explain it, how cancer can somehow make you happier, and why the stories we think are for someone else often turn out to be ours.
Find Kate: kateclinch.com
Keywords: spiritual awakening, cancer survival, historical fiction, near-death experience, life shift, faith without religion, healing through writing, grief and resilience, calling and purpose, life transformation
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Timestamps:
[00:00] Cold open — sitting in the presence of a saint
[01:38] Welcome and who Kate is in 2026
[03:10] A tapestry: doctor, mother, writer
[11:04] Growing up knowing she'd be a doctor
[14:00] Near-death experience and a forest cottage
[20:00] Becoming a full-time mother; losing her mom at 53
[24:20] All of it pointing somewhere
[26:50] The cancer diagnosis: stomach surgery and starting over
[32:37] The chapel, Eileen, and the bolt of lightning
[35:01] Making rosaries before she knew why
[41:23] What Eileen taught her about herself
[44:01] The hermit stepping into the light
[46:24] The smile that changes the world
[49:39] How could I tell her story without telling my own?
[54:29] Blessed, called, staggered, amazed
[56:29] Where to find Kate and the book
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