Kintsugi Heroes
Margot Strong · 65 min
After building a beloved Apple computer business on Sydney's northern beaches while surviving divorce and financial ruin, Margot Strong faced the unthinkable — losing her partner, mother, and brother in quick succession — and is now learning, quietly and bravely, what it means to find peace.
Margot Strong grew up in Sydney's inner west with Dutch immigrant parents who ran a boarding house and restaurant. Her childhood taught her that hard work was everything, but it also meant living with unsaid things, her mother's homesickness, and the weight of family obligation. At 20, Margot married to escape. After 23 years, she left when staying became unhealthy, losing her house but finding the freedom to run her Apple computer business, Mac and Me, on her own terms. For two decades, she built something real on Sydney's Northern Beaches, adapting as technology changed, proving to suppliers who doubted her that she could lead.
Then came the losses. Her partner Phil died of metastatic kidney cancer on what was also her wedding anniversary. Her mother passed away. Her brother Paul took his own life. Margot moved to Bellingen in 2021 and sat on her back deck staring at the mountains for six months, in physical pain she still struggles to describe. She chose not to follow Paul's example, partly because she had seen the wreckage suicide leaves behind and could not bear that legacy for her children.
Now, several years into her quiet recovery, Margot is finding her way back to something like joy. For her, it looks less like excitement and more like peace, being true to herself, and letting go of relationships that no longer work. She volunteers at the local radio station and studies genealogy. The grief sits with her permanently. But so does the understanding that her time is precious, and she is learning, slowly and carefully, what it means to live it on her own terms.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses grief & loss and suicide & self-harm prevention, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you're not alone. Help is available: • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au • GriefLine: 1300 845 745 · griefline.org.au
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