The Cyber Agony Aunts – Rebecca Taylor, Threat Intelligence Knowledge Manager and Researcher at Sophos, and Amelia Hewitt, Founder of CybAid and Co-Founder and Director of Cyber Consulting at Principle Defence – are back! After a whirlwind of a year, with the release of their first co-authored book ‘Securely Yours’ in early 2025 and the launch of their joint podcast, The Cyber Agony Aunt Podcast, Rebecca and Amelia are back with book two: Resilient You: An Agony Aunt’s Guide to Keeping it Together.
Resilient You blends research and lived experience, in their typical (very approachable) agony-aunt style, this time focusing on the theme of ‘resilience’. The book also features insights from various experts from all corners of the industry and beyond.
To celebrate the launch, we sat down once again with Rebecca and Amelia to find out more about the writing process, the Resiliency Quad and collaboration.
This is your second book! What made you choose the theme of ‘resilience’ for book two?
RT – It’s quite funny really, but the second book came to us during an episode where our own resilience was being tested! After our first book ‘Securely Yours’ we decided we needed a break away and so headed to Barcelona. After a lovely time away, we got stuck at the airport trying to get back to the UK. Being stranded for hours and hours with no information, tested every resilient bone in our bodies!
AH – It certainly wasn’t our best moment, but it gave us a great dose of inspiration. We wanted a theme that was accessible to a wider audience than our first book, and Barcelona airport was a lesson in how adversity can happen at any point in time, particularly when we least expect it. What matters is how we manage it…resilience!
RT – Exactly that. The curveball must leave us stronger, not smaller.
AH – Our research showed us that resilience is something people can find hard. Most of us don’t entirely know what it means and so we wanted to create a guide that readers could pick up and use to build positive resiliency practices. Our framework is something we’ve both genuinely benefitted from in our own lives.
RT – It’s been amazing to see the difference the book is making already. We were very conscious whilst writing ‘Resilient You’ that we are still learning what we ourselves need in place to remain resilient, and that we can’t possibly know everything. That’s why this time we invited experts to contribute, from a Shaman to a virtual assistant to a personal trainer. We felt it was so important to add that diversity of thought, so readers could truly find the resiliency practices that best resonated with them, and implement lessons learned through the book in a way that was authentic to them.
Who’s Resilient You for? Who should read it?
AH – ‘Resilient You’ is designed for anyone who wants to strengthen their personal resilience – which, realistically, should include all of us. You don’t need to work in cyber or technology to benefit. Whether you’re navigating professional challenges, personal pressure or simply looking to build healthier habits, it’s for you.
RT – When I think about who should read it, like Amelia said it’s for anyone. You may already see yourself as a pro at resiliency. You may be thriving in some areas but have gaps and opportunities for improvement in others. Or you may be struggling with burnout. The purpose of this book is not to make you overhaul your life or feel guilty, but it’s instead to give you space to consider what you could be doing to help you feel that you’re in control of your life when things get tricky.
Tell us about the Resiliency Quad. What does it mean? Where did you get the idea from?
AH – The Resiliency Quad is about rethinking what resilience really means. Too often, we’re taught that resilience is a personality trait…something you either naturally have or you don’t.
We see resilience as an ecosystem made up of four interconnected areas that continuously influence one another: your physical wellbeing, your emotional world, your relationship with technology, and your capacity to develop. When one area is neglected, the others are affected too. But when they are supported together, resilience becomes something sustainable.
RT – The idea came from a blend of research and lived experience, watching people, ourselves included, trying to push through in environments that demand more and more of us. What we kept seeing was that resilience wasn’t about pushing harder, it was about balancing better. So at its core, the Resiliency Quad is about reflecting on the four quadrants – physical, emotional, technological and developmental – and understanding what we need to put in place across each of these to show up fully.
AH – What’s important is understanding that these four quadrants are deeply interconnected. When one begins to suffer, the others are often affected too, sometimes in ways we don’t immediately recognise. Physical exhaustion can reduce our emotional capacity and digital overwhelm can impact our focus and motivation, to name a few! That’s why resilience isn’t about excelling in just one area.
You’ve collaborated with a lot of incredible industry professionals on the book. What was that process like?
RT – Gosh it was so much fun!!!! As I said before, we know we don’t know everything, and so we really wanted to bring others into the narrative to share their experiences of resilience.
AH – The process itself was surprisingly straightforward, especially considering that everyone involved was working remotely. We sent each guest writer a series of ‘agony aunt’-style questions, inviting them to reflect openly and honestly on their experiences. What made the process so special was seeing the individuality of every response. More than once, their words moved us to tears.
RT – Talking of tears, our foreword from Luke Evans is just incredible. You know when you read something and it just hits home. That’s the foreword. Luke’s words resonated, maybe even hurt a little, but I know I felt seen.
AH – We hope readers feel truly seen as they move through the book. Across the four quads, there are a wide range of experiences and approaches to resilience, reflecting the fact that no two people navigate life in exactly the same way. Our hope is that readers will ultimately find the practices that genuinely support their own resilience journey.
Did you learn anything from the writing of book two?
RT – For me I’d say the importance of being transparent. On a personal level, I have found the last six months really hard. There’s been illness, loss, burnout – All the life experiences that make us human. And being able to tell Amelia how I was feeling and what I needed, meant I could write in a way I felt safe and unpressured.
AH – I would agree, actually. It’s been a particularly busy and stressful period, both personally and professionally. One of the biggest lessons I’ve taken from this experience has been the importance of being kinder to myself throughout the process. With Securely Yours, we worked to incredibly tight deadlines and turned the entire project around in just a matter of months. This time, we approached things differently. We built more space into the schedule and brought in support from an editor, which was immensely helpful in reducing some of the pressure.
You’ve also started a podcast since we last spoke! Who’s it for? What do you cover? What do you want people to take from it?
AH – The podcast has been an incredible amount of fun to create. At its heart, it’s built around human conversations (with some very interesting people)… the kind people don’t always feel able to have openly in professional spaces. The conversations span a huge range of topics, from burnout and impostor syndrome to active allyship, sexual harassment, career progression, and, of course, the realities of working in industries like cyber security.
RT – In the last few series, we’ve also brought in guest voices from across the industry, people who share their own lived experiences and perspectives. We wanted to make the podcast as accessible and relatable as possible, so having guests has really supported that. What we really want people to take from it is that they’re not alone. We can all find life tough, we can all feel isolated, and the podcast is about breaking that down. It’s about sharing experiences, normalising challenges, and giving practical advice so people don’t just survive in their careers, but genuinely thrive.
…what’s next? (dare I ask!)
AH – We definitely have a few ideas up our sleeves, but for now, book writing is on pause! Both Securely Yours and Resilient You came from a genuine sense that there was a need for those conversations and resources to exist in the world. If we were to write another book in the future, it would be for the same reason-because we had identified a problem that we felt genuinely needed attention and could help people navigate in a meaningful way. In the meantime, we’d like to connect more with our audience, and we’re looking forward to speaking at InfoSec in June!
RT – Absolutely that! We want to continue giving back to the community, so potentially some more training sessions, and of course we want to continue to do the podcast!
AH – Yes, plenty more exciting episodes and guests to come!
Resilient You: An Agony Aunts’ Guide to Keeping it Together is available to purchase on Amazon now!
