Welcome to the Tearoom Diaries

Susan Scott is the author and creator of The Tearoom Diaries.

The concept of the stories first came to her during the Covid lockdowns in 2020 & 2021, a time of stillness, reflection, and for Susan, deep personal grief. In June 2019, Susan lost her beloved father, Raymond, to cancer. A few weeks later, her dearly beloved husband, Jim, was also diagnosed with cancer. He passed away peacefully at home in May 2020, leaving Susan and their fifteen-year-old son, to find their way forward.

In the months that followed, Susan began to write.

Writing the stories became a form of comfort. In many ways, it was therapeutic. What began as a way to process grief slowly became something more. She found herself reflecting on family history, on the lives of women she had known, and on the quiet strength people carry through love, loss, hardship, and change.

From those reflections, The Tearoom Diaries was born.

As she wrote, Susan often thought about others who know what it is to grieve, to feel alone, or to long for comfort. She imagined sending out the story as a letter, a gentle offering that might brighten someone’s day. A place to pause. A place to remember. A place to feel less alone.

In December 2021 the first letters were prepared and mailed out. Now, five years later, the Tearoom Diaries have been read by over 8000 people in Australia, and around the world. What started as letters in the post has now evolved into The Keepsake Story Box. 

The Tearoom Diaries may have come from sorrow, but they are filled love, memory, resilience, and hope.

Susan created them for you.