Celebrity Speakers – Lucy Hone
Life feels like a lot right now.
For many people, it’s not one defining crisis but the accumulation of pressure — work demands, personal challenges, uncertainty and constant change. Even those who appear to be coping are often carrying more than they let on.
And while resilience has become a familiar word on conference programs, much of the conversation around it still misses the mark.
This is where Dr Lucy Hone’s message stands apart.
Lucy is clear: the goal isn’t constant happiness. We can’t be positive all the time, and pretending we should be only makes things harder. Instead, her work focuses on helping people understand their emotional responses, sit with what’s hard, and build the skills to lead and live well even when life is tough. As she often says, ‘life’s a lot and demand is constant!’ The work isn’t to deny that – but learn how best to navigate it.
Everyone experiences loss, change or disruption in some form, at some time – the end of a relationship, a health diagnosis, job loss, infertility, family estrangement, migration, or simply the loss of certainty.
Lucy describes many of these experiences as ‘living losses’: moments where no one has died, but something meaningful has changed or ended. Society doesn’t always recognise these as grief, but the body does. When these experiences go unnamed, people can feel isolated, exhausted and unsure why everyday life suddenly feels harder.
Lucy’s research, combined with her lived experience, helps people make sense of that.
With a PhD in wellbeing science and training in resilience psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, she has spent decades studying how humans adapt to adversity. Her work shows that grief isn’t just emotional – it hits the brain and body too. One of the most common questions during periods of loss isn’t “Why am I sad?” but “Why am I so exhausted?” That insight alone often brings relief to audiences.
Her latest book, How Will I Ever Get Through This?, struck a chord on release, reaching #1 on the International Non-Fiction list in NZ and the best seller list in Australia too. Structured around the real questions people ask when life changes unexpectedly, it avoids platitudes and silver linings, and delivers practical insights to the questions they’re asking.
Because it’s research based, and Lucy writes in such an effortless and engaging way, this book is clearly offering clarity, practical tools and comfort that’s helping audiences immediately.
That same approach shapes her work on stage.
Lucy brings calm authority to conference audiences, translating complex research into language that feels accessible and do-able. She challenges common myths – that resilience means pushing through, thinking positive, suppressing emotion or staying strong at all costs – and replaces them with pragmatic, research-backed ways of thinking.
Audiences don’t leave feeling instructed. They leave feeling understood.
When Dr Lucy Hone opened the 2025 PCOA Conference last year we saw this first-hand, her keynote received outstanding feedback from Professional Conference Organisers across Australia.
For event organisers, that universality matters. Lucy’s message doesn’t require an audience to be in crisis to benefit. It meets people wherever they are at.
We’re seeing a clear shift toward keynote speakers who bring both substance, lived experience, research and relevance. Dr Lucy Hone sits firmly at the forefront of that shift.
Her message doesn’t ask people to be more positive. It helps them be more human – and right now, that’s exactly what audiences need.
To discuss how Dr Lucy can add value at your next event contact
Louise Ryburn
Celebrity Speakers New Zealand
Louiser@csnz.co.nz