Book – Coming in 2024 

Using writing as a tool to help myself and others heal, learn and grow, for as long as I remember. From journaling to blog posts, I have been using writing as a healing art form for decades. I’m really excited to announce that my first book is due to be published this year. The title is Illuminating the Stories that Bind Us. Please check out the summary below and some common stories we hold that aren’t true and limit us from living to our fullest potential. Please let me know if you can relate to any of the stories or if you have another one to add.

A Brief Description of my Book

Illuminating the Stories that Bind Us is a self-help book written with each and every one of us in mind. We all have stories and limiting beliefs that show up as obstacles between us and a life of bliss, joy and fulfillment of our dreams and desires. Our stories get in the way of having healthy and fulfilling relationships and living out our purpose. These stories are often related to our worth (I’m not good enough) or money (I don’t have enough money to do what I want) or guessing what other people think (I will get fired when they learn I’m an imposter). My hope and mission is that as a result of reading this book, readers will become more aware of their own limiting beliefs and stories that are keeping them from living out their fullest potential in their relationships and in their lives. I believe that the work we can invest in bringing these stories into light and transforming them can and will serve as an anti-depressant, anti-anxiety and suicide prevention tool. Studies have shown that when we apply  mindfulness skills to our lives (Illuminating the Stories)  and move toward a life of joy using creative expression (art forms) we decrease levels of stress, anxiety, depression and anger. 

Using actual stories participants have shared on my podcast, real life stories from my personal life as well as my experiences with clients in my private practice, I illuminate common stories that we carry. The transformative knowledge of Internal Family Systems by Dr. Richard Schwartz is used to help us go even deeper into the genesis of the stories that we carry by helping us also identify possible parts that are carrying the story (e.g. Inner Critic: I am not enough).

A section on stories and relationships helps us all take a closer look at all of our relationships; from romantic partners to colleagues, and make sure that our stories aren’t holding us back from our fullest potential in relationships. Readers are invited to apply the content to their own lives through journal prompts and worksheets to not only increase their knowledge of the stories binding them but also help guide and facilitate their process in breaking through them and transforming them. Also included are tools and worksheets that you can use with a friend, partner or colleague and guidance on when and how they should be used is also explained.

woven into the book are songs that have been prescribed to help participants break through the stories. The importance of using music as a tool to transform these stories is another dimension of this book that is explored more intentionally in the section on breaking through our stories. It is only part of the process to illuminate the stories. After you shed light on the stories, then it is time to take the action needed to dissolve them so that you can step into your dreams and your fullest potential. The second part of the book focuses on using music and performing arts and how I have used those mediums in my own personal journey toward actualizing my dreams and living my best life. Also shared is the Divine Dream Dance I created to map us through various stages that we bump up against when we follow our dreams. 

Stories: List of common stories – can you relate to any of these?

Remember Awareness is 50% of the solution with gentle curiosity and compassion, take the first step of becoming unstuck by naming the story that binds you.

 (*many thanks to all of the participants and other people who have volunteered and shared their stories so that we can set free as many people as possible).

Couples/Romance/Love

You don’t appreciate all that I do. 

I’m not pretty, smart nor interesting enough to be loved.

I’m too fat to date anyone.

I am broken so nobody will ever want to be with me.

If I can’t change you, there’s something wrong with me.

Because I have been duped in a relationship before, I will be duped again.

If I commit to someone, I will hurt them so I’ll just stay single.

My divorce taught me that there is no such thing as happy endings. 

Money/Work

I have to work hard to make money. 

I have to work all of the time so that I’m never homeless.

Family/Parenting

Everything has to be perfect for my kids, otherwise, I’m a neglectful parent.

I owe my parents so much because I treated them poorly. 

I do not deserve a big home. 

Self-esteem/Body image

I’m never going to lose weight because I let myself go for too long.

Giving and Receiving 

If someone gives to me, they are expecting something in return. 

Procrastination and Perfectionism

If it’s not going to be perfect, I’m not even going to try and start nor finish something.

Career/Success

My mental health challenges around OCD, Anxiety and Depression make me feel like a failure and unable to have the career and social life I used to have.

I am aging out of my profession because of rapid technology advancements.

If I celebrate my successes, I will be punished for being self-righteous. I must stay humble. 

Mental Health/Mental Wellness

When my heart races and my chest tightens, I think it’s a heart attack when it’s actually anxiety.

Grief

I don’t have a right to grieve that person because I am not immediate family. It’s harder on them, than me.

Creative Arts

I’m not good enough to sing, paint, dance….

Arts are self-indulgent.