Another new beginning
Sometimes circumstances force us to grow. Other times, we step out on our own. Either way, personal growth requires fortitudeOctober 2024
Dear friend,
If you find personal growth exhausting but you can’t stop mining life for lessons, you’re in the right place. Each month, I’ll dig into what makes me tick to unearth universal truths for all most many of us. Are you an outlier? I often feel that way. Maybe we have more in common than we think.
Don’t expect treatises or dissertations here. I’m shooting for a 5-minute read. Once a month on a weekday at noon. That’s as committal as I can get right now.
If you like what you read, please give me some love with a heart. Comments are even better because others can share in your aha moments. Of course, if you’d prefer to share a confidential thought only with me, feel free to reply to this email.
BTW—the green button below (and elsewhere) may say “Pledge your support,” but it really means “Sign up” or “Subscribe.” You can “pledge” for free—the only way it will ever be with me—so don’t be shy about clicking.
Freelance WriterFor this inaugural Substack post, I’m sharing my new professional identity: Freelance Writer.
This title sounds more purposeful than Writer or Author, and it reflects my goal going forward: to generate income from my writing.
In 2016, I had to quit working due to chronic health issues. I knew the universe was giving me the gift of time to finish the memoir I’d started around 1999, two years after my son Matthew was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
I’d never been a writer nor planned to be one, but when I accepted the universe’s gift, I embarked on a journey to own the title.
An early version of my business cards.I thought it would take 6 months to finish my book. Seven years later, Growth: A Mother, her Son, and the Brain Tumor They Survived hit the shelves.
Not only was I not drawing a salary during those seven years, but the process of studying my craft dug a deep financial hole. I may never dig myself completely out, but I’d like to throw in a few shovelfuls of sand to pad the bottom.
This year, I’ve sold two essays (neither has gone live yet) and taken on a couple of “beta-editing” clients. I’m also in the process of launching my speaking platform. Maybe that will bring on the dump trucks.
It feels good to earn money. I feel like a professional again. I’m also worn from seven years of intense growth. Part of me looks forward to the day I can write only when it suits me, when I don’t feel internal pressure to keep up with social media, when I don’t have to work so hard.
Someday I’ll get to cruise. Until then, I’m in a season of growth—personal and, I hope, financial.
How do you feel about personal growth, and what does “cruising” mean for you? Let me know in the comments!
The Share GROWTH button below (and elsewhere) allows you to share this post via email, and on Facebook and other social media platforms, etc. Easy sharing is one of the features that drew me to Substack.
Share GROWTH--Make it Personal
MEMOIR INFO & NEWS Growth: A Mother, Her Son, and the Brain Tumor They Survived.Medical gaslighting and a mother’s people-pleasing collide, shattering her expectations of motherhood and threatening the survival of her young son.
Karen is a happily married, slightly frazzled working mother of two when her eight-year-old son, Matthew, develops a strange eye-rolling tic. Gradually, her high-energy kid becomes clumsy and lethargic, her “Little Einstein” a gifted program dropout. Karen knows something is wrong. But she can't get anyone to listen and lacks the backbone to crack the resistance. After three exhausting, desperate years, finally, an MRI reveals the truth: a brain tumor, squishing Matthew's brain into a sliver against his skull. Following a delicate surgery, doctors predict a complete recovery. But the damage from the delayed diagnosis prolongs Matthew's recovery, challenging Karen to grow in ways she never imagined.
A fast-paced page-turner told with candor, insight, and wit, Growth takes you on a rollercoaster of painful truths and hard-won transformations.
Available where books are sold.
Where to listen to GROWTH on audiobook:More retailers will soon offer my book, so if your favorite listening site isn't included, check back in next month's newsletter.
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This Healing Words podcast interview went live this month. The host, Pamela Nichols was prepared with insightful questions. She really did her homework!
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