Lauren Windle

Lauren Windle is a journalist, author and publishing director specialising in addiction recovery, faith and relationships. Since overcoming her own cocaine and alcohol addiction in 2014, she has established herself as a leading voice on recovery, authoring books including Notes on Love and Notes on Feminism, and delivering a TEDx Talk viewed over 230,000 times. With a degree in Neuroscience and a Master's in Addiction Studies from King's College London, Lauren now serves as Publishing Director at SPCK Group and presents a fortnightly Christian dating show on Salt's YouTube channel. Her sessions equip organisations and audiences with practical tools to recognise addiction, support recovery and foster healthier workplace cultures around substance use and compulsive behaviours.

On 22nd April 2014, Lauren Windle walked into a support group and made the decision that would transform her life: to get clean and sober from a cocaine and alcohol addiction that had consumed her early twenties. Working as an events and marketing executive in the City, she had watched a habit spiral into dependency, marked by nosebleeds, numbness in her extremities, and a facial twitch she couldn't control. Five days after that pivotal meeting, she became a Christian, and the two commitments together set her on a path toward recovery, purpose, and a career dedicated to helping others break free from compulsive behaviours. What began as personal survival has evolved into a body of work that reaches thousands, from the recovery course she established at St Dionis Church in Parsons Green to her role today as Publishing Director at SPCK Group, a position she stepped into in January 2026.

Lauren's credibility rests on both lived experience and rigorous academic foundation. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience and a Master's in Addiction Studies from King's College London, one of the UK's leading addiction research centres. Her journalism career has seen her work published in Vogue, Marie Claire, Huffington Post, Red Magazine, Mail Online, The Sun, and Church Times, among others, and she spent five years running an addiction recovery service from her West London church. Her 2018 TEDx Talk, "Lessons a Drug Addict Can Teach You", has been viewed more than 230,000 times and remains a touchstone for those seeking to understand the mechanics of addiction and the realities of recovery. As an author, she has written Notes on Love, Notes on Feminism, and Drawing as Prayer, blending faith, relationships, and creative practice with the insights she has gained through her own journey. She also presents a fortnightly Christian dating show on Salt's YouTube channel, extending her voice into new formats and communities.

Lauren equips organisations, schools, churches, and corporate audiences with practical tools to recognise the early signs of addiction, support colleagues or loved ones in crisis, and foster healthier workplace cultures around substance use and compulsive behaviour. Her sessions move beyond awareness into application, addressing topics such as productivity loss due to alcohol and drug culture, co-dependency in teams, and the rising normalisation of cocaine use in professional settings. She helps audiences understand that addiction extends far beyond substances, encompassing work, exercise, food, sex, and shopping, and challenges assumptions about what "healthy" behaviour really looks like. Whether speaking to HR leaders, educators, or faith communities, Lauren offers clarity, compassion, and evidence-based strategies that create lasting change. Her message is ultimately one of hope: recovery is possible, and life on the other side is richer, more connected, and more purposeful than many imagine.