Toni Summers Hargis, author and writer

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In a nutshell, I was born and bred in the north-east of England, (God's own country), did a bit of law at Bristol university, worked corporate in London, met and married an American and took off for what became 27 years in the US of A.

While there, as well as producing three kids and jumping off the corporate ladder, I started writing seriously. Although a scribbler all my life, in the 2000s, I started to send it out and have others take a look! Spurred on by the largely positive reaction, I spent the next decade writing about expat life and US-UK comparisons – authoring two books and numerous articles, writing for BBC America, and appearing on radio and TV to chat about everything from royal weddings to quaint British traditions. (See the Expat/Repat page.)

Meanwhile, something else was brewing. Always a stalwart and vocal proponent of women's rights (to paraphrase Maya Angelou – I'd be silly not to), I decided I could no longer seethe on the sidelines, especially after seeing the "backlash" to #MeToo. And no, for the record, it hasn't gone too far.
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After a few years of research and interviewing, the summer of 2021 saw the launch of my book "How To  Stand Up To Sexism: Words for when enough is enough". Since then I've written quite a lot on the issue and guested on several podcasts. All this and more can be found on the Feminism page.

Here I am chatting all things Downton...

Back in the UK I set about chronicling my repatriation escapades, primarily writing for the Anglotopia website. To summarize the great Bill Bryson, it's not always easy moving "home" after such a long time away and you really are a stranger in your own land. Lots of writing material, though!