3 reasons why I wrote my book
Today, I want to open my heart and tell you why I chose to write this book.
Bringing a book into the world is no small thing. It is a journey of grit, tears, breakthroughs and quiet victories. The publishing world has shifted dramatically over the past five years, and with the rise of AI, it will continue to change at lightning speed. I have taken the old-fashioned road , no shortcuts, just countless hours with my laptop on my lap, sometimes with tears rolling down my face, sometimes brimming with pride when a chapter finally came together.
There have been days when the words refused to arrive, when the screen stared back at me in stubborn silence. And there have been days of pure magic, when the writing flowed so freely I could hardly keep up. The highs and lows come thick and fast, and it is not a ride many people queue for willingly. But for me, the pull was too strong to ignore.
When I was ten years old, we moved house. Our boxes sat unopened for months. I waited impatiently for my beloved Barbies to appear. They never came, at least not quickly enough, but I did have pens and paper. Somewhere in the unpacking chaos, I found an old notebook I could claim as my own, and for reasons I still cannot fully explain, I began writing my first memoir.
I would sit by the window, gaze outside, and write about what had happened that day. Sometimes there was little to tell - school, home, sleep, repeat. But the act of writing filled something in me. It gave me space to wonder, to reflect, to feel.
Not long after, I fell in love with painting. I would cut out images from old magazines and try to recreate them, first in watercolours, then leftover pots of house paint, then acrylics, chalk and oil pastels. I painted fish, landscapes, flowers, people, even scenes from Pearl Jam's music videos that I had paused for hours. I copied Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night with as much devotion as a thirteen-year-old could muster.
Art felt like breathing. Creating was simply part of who I was. And it still is. This book is for anyone who knows, deep down, that there is more in them than the life they are currently living.
Now that my book is about to be released, I am taking my own advice. I am closing the chapter on my CBT practice and stepping into art full time. I do not know exactly where it will take me, but I knew I could not give myself that permission until I had written this book.
Reason One
The spark for this book came in 2019. I knew I wanted to write again. Creativity calls to me in waves, and at the time I had no project, nothing to pour myself into, until a friend suggested I keep a journal about the ways I was giving my power away to others. (the full story is in the book)
That suggestion became a mirror. I began to see just how often I prioritised the happiness of others over my own, how desperately I sought validation before I dared to act on my own ideas. The bittersweet truth was that I never truly trusted myself. Not once.
This book became my place to learn how to sit with all of me. To make decisions without twisting myself in knots over how people might react. To stop asking for permission to live my life.
Reason Two
I am a country girl through and through. I like things to be practical, tangible and clear. Give me a process, a method, a way to get from A to B. I knew I did not want to write a book that felt unreachable — the kind where, three chapters in, the author already has a perfect life, a glittering career, or millions in the bank.
When you are a working-class woman, the idea that you can simply change your mindset and manifest a completely different life does not always feel believable. So I wrote a book that takes you deeper into your own relationship with yourself, step by step, with honesty and without pretense.
Because for me, the dream is not about becoming famous or earning millions. My dream is time with my family, the security to take holidays, the space to breathe and feel free. And that is entirely possible without chasing a version of success that never felt like mine.
Reason Three
The lessons in this book have been lived, tested and shared with hundreds of people who have come through my office. I have seen them work in real lives, with real struggles and real responsibilities. I have watched people anchor themselves in self-trust, shed the weight of self-doubt, and step into lives that feel right for them.
And if they can do it, why can’t you?
This book is my invitation to you to live by your own rules, to stop giving your power away, to trust yourself deeply, and to create a life that is truly yours.
Pre-orders make the world of difference. If you would like to reserve your copy head over HERE
I cannot wait for you to hold it in your hands.
