Nothing Short of Joy: How I Moved From Misfit to Magic by Memoir Author Julie Bond Genovese
Posted by Kathleen Pooler/@kathypooler with Julie Bond Genovese/@jujujubee2002
“If we give meaning and purpose to our pain, it can become the soul’s springboard to joy and understanding.” Julie Bond Genovese, Author, Artist, Speaker.
The first time I met Julie Bond Genovese, author, artist and speaker, was at a Women’s Voices Women’s Vision conference in Saratoga, New York in June, 2015 where she gave this motivational speech, “The Power of Perception” as part of the EVE (Empowerment, Vision and Entrepreneurship) Program where a select group of women presented their projects.
After meeting her, I knew I had to read her memoir, Nothing Short of Joy, to learn more about the story behind this dynamic and inspirational woman. She has faced so many challenges–dwarfism, severe arthritis, multiple surgeries–and overcome many obstacles yet moved forward to “turn her pain into purpose”. She discusses how writing helped her find her path to joy.
My reviews can be found on Amazon, Goodreads, LibraryThings and Riffle.
Welcome, Julie!
Julie Bond Genovese, Author, Artist, Speaker
Nothing Short of Joy: How I Moved From Misfit to Magic
Running circles around my childhood were names like midget, shrimpy, freak. The doctors threw in a few more: deformed, abnormal, birth defect. Born under the microscope of spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, a form of dwarfism, I felt lost and broken.
For years I was terrified I’d never get the goodies in life, never know love, never find my place in the world. I armored myself against the bullies, medical studies, degenerative arthritis and surgeries. My back became as curved as the question marks that defined my world. But my body, the arch enemy, would one day become a cool and clever teacher. Adversity is hilarious that way.
At thirty-four, the arthritis in my right shoulder pitched a massive fit. The doctors said both shoulders needed replacements. Three years earlier I’d had both hips and knees replaced; I couldn’t face any more. The pain put an end to my freelance art biz. I proceeded to throw myself a year long pity-party. No one was invited. Life is so unfair! What did I do wrong now? Art was my comfort, my living. My body ruins everything! I’ll always be a DEFECT. Disabled. Doomed.
Fear tends to leave me a tad dramatic.
But hadn’t life shut me out, first? The playing field seemed unfair – so why try? I assumed life would just keep hurting me over and over. Meanwhile, my heart held out hope, and my soul had a super game plan — an inner metaphysical make-over was on the way.
My dad offered me a loan for a computer so I could learn graphics with my left hand. After a halfhearted hunt-and-peck start, I was hooked. Not on graphics though – I fell in love with email. It was 1998 and this was mind-blowing. I ended up in a wild tsunami of creative writing – venting my rage and devastation out onto the screen. Despite my years of kicking and screaming, an epic rescue had begun.
As I unloaded my old sob-stories, they began to look suspiciously recycled. They cried out the same word over and over — defect!Defect! DEFECT! Hmm…
I’d thought my negativity was a reflection of the “bad hand” I’d been dealt, but when I took a closer look, I’d made my world reflect my predictions. Rats. I’d been asking for healing, but I’d been focused on the hopeless.
Would changing my own fearful Belief System (BS) really heal my life? Unleash the majesty? I typed faster. A treasure hunt was on.
Artwork and quote by Julie Bond Genovese
My BS had long insisted I was the lowly victim. Had my fearful beliefs been directing the show all along? No way. My right hand started to jump into the typing. Week by week, the shoulder pain decreased. Self-expression became unexpected medicine.
I read more self-help books. Talked openly with friends. Listened to inspiring tapes. I began to repeat in quiet whispers: I am beautiful just as I am. I am valuable. I am lovable. I am enough. The choice for joy began to rise up to replace the old lies.
My writing was helping me to grieve, to heal, and to realize I wasn’t so different after all. Whoa. My heartaches were like everyone else’s – universal fears of being different, flawed, not good enough. It wasn’t my circumstances that were holding me back, it was my feelings of powerlessness against them. A more positive focus could bust through that old BS.
By believing in the strength of spirit, a feeling of wholeness began to return. I was free to interpret my imperfect human circumstances in a more empowering light.
Suddenly, I wanted a megaphone. The idea that my story could help others heal, too, lit me up! My memoir, Nothing Short of Joy, was propelled by that hope. It was turning my pain into purpose.
As I was busy writing, one more teensy plot twist dropped in. Brain surgery.
I had two conditions that needed correction: Hemifacial Nerve Spasm and Arnold Chiari Malformation. There were several arteries pressing on a cranial nerve at my brain stem. It was causing an uncontrolled, painful jitterbug in my head and face 24/7. My facial nerves were short-circuited and on constant dramatic alert. The way I’d led my life had become imprinted on my physiology. Reject, victim, DEFECT. It was all in my head.
The surgeon would first remove a 2” x 4” piece of skull at the base of my neck and, in a second surgery, pad the pissed-off nerves with tiny bits of soft teflon, therefore decompressing the brain. Put that way, it actually sounded kind of good.
Both surgeries were a success. Major relief. A few months later, as I read through a hospital bill, I stopped at a tongue-twister sentence: “Suboccipital craniectomy with C1-2 laminectomy and duraplasty . . . repair skull defect.”
There it was. That tyrannical word. I waited for the pain; there was none. I read the word again to double check. DEFECT. But the sadness was now just a story in a book, instead of heavy on my heart. A smile flew across my life. The pain had lost it’s grip because faith had taken hold.
Big challenges still splat hard on my doorstep. I often flounder and want to fold. But nothing has ever been the same since I learned this truth; if we give meaning and purpose to our pain, it can become the soul’s springboard to joy and understanding. My body hadn’t been in my way; it had somehow shown me the way.
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Thank you Julie, for sharing your heartfelt story behind your memoir and for showing us, by your example, how negotiating our way around the pain in our lives can help us become fully alive and connected to our purpose.
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Author Bio:
Julie Bond Genovese is an inspirational speaker, creative living coach, blogger, artist, mom and best-selling author of her award-winning memoir, Nothing Short of Joy, endorsed by Wayne Dyer, Dr. Christine Northrup & Dr. Bernie Siegel. Julie has been featured on TV & radio including Anderson Cooper Live, NBC LX & Oprah Radio. Being born a dwarf, with degenerative arthritis, was not the poison Julie originally believed – it became the cure. As she began to view her challenges as sacred choices made by the soul, everything shifted. Julie mentors spirit-led creatives on how to use self-expression to transform life’s grief and energize ginormous joy. Please download Julie’s free ebook,
“Release the Blocks So Creativity Rocks!” at her website at www.nothingshortofjoy.com
Other social media links:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/NothingShortOfJoy
Twitter – twitter.com/jujujubee2002
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/juliegenovese/
Google+ – https://plus.google.com/u/0/107597962513652247564/posts
Nothing Short of Joy Synopsis:
Born a dwarf with degenerative arthritis, Julie B. Genovese traveled a path unlike many. During her visits to the Center for Birth Defects as a child, she was displayed on a table and studied by genetic specialists who rarely had the opportunity to see a case of spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia.
With a childhood rife with negative labels and laughter, humiliation and heartache, Julie was terrified that she would never find happiness. Lifelong physical limitations, as well as bi-lateral hip and knee replacements, left deep emotional scars. It wasn’t until after two brain surgeries, she was able to make peace between the medical and the metaphysical.
After screaming at the rain for years, Julie realized that she could calm the storm inside. Through trial, lots of error, and endless soul searching, she made happiness a decision. She was, at last, in charge of creating her own Eden and would stop at nothing short of joy.
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How about you? How do you negotiate your way around the pain in your life? What is your Belief System? How do you find joy in your life?
Julie has graciously offered to give away a paperback or ebook of her memoir, Nothing Short of Joy, to a commenter whose name will be selected in a random drawing.
We’d love to hear from you. Please leave your comments below~
Next Week:
Monday, 5/9/16:
“Why Self-Care is Essential For Memoir Writers”
