We are now in the editing and layout phase of our third and final volume of Speaking Your Truth.
We aim to have Volume Three released in late August 2012!
Please support and follow this project on our Facebook Fan Page.
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.” Maya Angelou
An Interview with Candace French
1. Which Volume did your story appear/Title of your chapter?
Volume I/Living at Choice
2. What was your experience in writing and submitting your chapter for consideration?
Writing and submitting my chapter for consideration was an extraordinary healing experience for me. I struggled as I wrote to come out of hiding in shame because of the other individuals involved in my story. Andrea and Lisa encouraged me to dig deeper and reveal more. They knew I had a courageous story that needed to be told.
3. How did it feel when the book was published?
I felt great strength when the book was published because I had taken a stand for myself and my truth.
4. Did anyone contact you after reading your story? If so, what was that experience like?
I am surprised at how I am still recognized from my story in Speaking Your Truth Volume I. The experiences with individuals who have reached out to have inspired me to continue with my writing. I know what I share when I write makes a difference in someone else’s life.
5. Have you used the book to build your business platform? If so, how has it added to your business life?
Yes, I have used the book to build my business platform. In fact, Truth is the core of my business. Contributing to a book that became a #1 Bestseller has added to my business life especially my bio.
6. Have there been any unexpected surprises in your life as a result of being a part of Speaking Your Truth?
The unexpected surprise I have experienced in my life as a result of being a part of Speaking Your Truth Volume I is being part of an extraordinary community of strong women who are committed to making the world a better place through speaking their truth. I feel such joy when I connect with women who contributed to Speaking Your Truth Volume I and II. I am looking forward to connecting with the women who are part of Speaking Your Truth Volume III.
7. Would you recommend the experience to other women?
Yes, I would recommend the experience to other women. In fact, I have already recommended it to a handful of connect with women who I feel have a compelling story to tell.
8. Any other thoughts you would like to express?
Experience Speaking Your Truth through submitting a chapter, encouraging someone else to submit a chapter and reading the courageous stories that have already been published.
Candace A. French is a Consciousness Ambassador and Life Mentor. Enjoy her chapter on page 208 in Volume One.
Kick-Off 2012 with an inspirational bang! We are so excited and delighted to be in the first-ever Spirited Woman 2012 Directory: Resources for an Inspired Life! The magazine-style Directory features Every Woman Visionaries from six countries and over 25 states, who are changing the world one Spirited Woman step at a time. It is filled with inspirational stories and an array of uplifting resources.
We are featured in it.
The Directory is our New Year’s gift to you to share with your friends, family, and associates. This is a remarkable resource. But, the women in it are even more amazing, each in her own phenomenal way.
You can check it out here – http://www.thespiritedwoman.com/directory.
You can also join our Facebook event here https://www.facebook.com/events/345679685444373/
Donna Mazzitelli was in both Volume One and Two of Speaking Your Truth. Enjoy a short video by Donna Mazzitelli as she shares an excerpt of her story:
Through finding her own voice, Donna Mazzitelli reconnected with her love of writing and editing. As “The Wordsmith,” Donna especially enjoys helping you bring out the power and magic of your own written words to share your story and/or grow your business. She offers a wide array of writing services, including ghost writing and partner authoring for everything from blogs to books. Donna also provides complete editing services. Along with her independent services, she is part of the Self-Publishing Experts team. Donna was also a contributing author to Speaking Your Truth, Volume I. She can be reached at donnamazzitelli@gmail.com.
I am very excited to be published in the anthology Speaking Your Truth: Courageous Stories From Inspiring Women - Volume II. My story, “The Glazed Penguin” is about an actual call that I took one night as a 9-1-1 Emergency Dispatcher here in Colorado.
Here is a taste of what that experience was like:
Being a part of Speaking Your Truth has meant letting go. Coming from a career where confidentiality is paramount, a relationship with a man who, as an IT professional, understood how the simplest thing can reveal volumes of unintended information, and a support network that is only supportive if the story agrees with their own version of reality, I was very cautious about joining this project. However, sometimes a story simply must be told, and over the years I realized that my experience kept coming up now and then, and I also realized that this is a story that is not typical for dispatchers and needed to be told in a broader sense, secrecy be damned.
As the role a dispatcher plays is a complicated one — and by that I mean the dispatcher rarely gets closure for any call that they take, rarely learning the outcome of the patient which can lead to a great deal of frustration and agitation — this story had a very profound effect for me as I was going to know the outcome of this call no matter what. In fact, it was one of the few calls that I was able to have deep closure on in 15 years as a dispatcher. In a way, having this knowledge was both healing and haunting, and still is to this day.
Writing is not new to me, but being published in this way is. I’ve been published many times in local periodicals when I was the Division Director for a local fire department, but telling a story that is close to your heart has an entirely different feel. Continue reading
Enjoy a video by Deborah Tutnauer as she reads an excerpt of her chapter in the book Speaking Your Truth means to her.
Deborah Tutnauer, MEd, MSW is a network marketer who builds her business predominantly on the internet. She also provides life coaching for women with a focus on business and entrepreneurial success. Deborah splits her time between the mountains of Colorado and San Diego, with her husband and their nine-year old daughter. Visit her website to find out more about Deborah.
Enjoy this short video by Tryna Cooper about what being in the book Speaking Your Truth means to her.
Tryna Cooper grew up in Colorado. She is married to her husband of 35 years, Larry; they have three children and five grandchildren. As a lifelong entrepreneur, she is currently co-owner of several small businesses, including Textile Consultants, Inc, and Meetings and Events, LLC. Tryna has also been on a path of spiritual study, teaching, and service for years and holds a Master of Metaphysics Certification through the Self-Actualization and Enlightenment Center. Her newest business venture is as partner in Journeys For Conscious Living, Inc. (J4CL) in Arvada, Colorado. Through J4CL, she hopes to help other create balance in the lives in order to reach their fullest potential as spiritual human beings.
Laura Jacob expresses what it means to her to be in the book Speaking Your Truth in this video:
Laura Jacob is the proud mother of amazing twins, Garth and Veronika. She is a life coach and Religious Science practitioner. Laura also practices dental hygiene in Denver and is currently the president of the Colorado Dental Hygienists Association. She is the founding president of the Mothers of Multiples Society and forever a strong advocate for women and children. She is currently in a wonderful, loving relationship and is crazy about elephants since her return from Thailand. Laura is passionate about speaking your truth and advocates always saying what you mean and meaning what you say! Contact her at LauraJacob@comcast.net.
I’ve never considered myself to be a writer, but when I read the stories in Speaking Your Truth Volume 1 there were many that resonated with me and I got inspired to give it a shot.
Through talking with Lisa, I realized that I do have several great experiences to share, and she helped convince me I could come up with something to write about.
I had a few ideas I was tossing around and spent some time talking through them with Lisa and a couple of other friends. When she mentioned that she didn’t have any chapters on adoption, I decided that I would chose that as my topic. I blocked a half day on a Saturday to write and went to a coffee shop with a friend who also wrote a chapter in this book and we cranked them both out together.
I thought this might be therapeutic, cathartic somehow, to write about a topic that I don’t really talk about much. I figured I would break down, cry, get it all out kind of thing, but as I was full on into my story I was just remembering some great stuff about my childhood, and kept thinking about the strange turn of events that led to me landing in the family, the home, the small town in Illinois that helped form who I am today. I just kept feeling this overwhelming sense of gratitude.
I’ve always considered myself lucky, but this was a set up before I was even born. These fortunate set of circumstances landed me in the right place at the right time and it has never crossed my mind that this could be a random set of events. I know I grew up where I was supposed to grow up and I know I was set up for success from the very beginning.
I wrestled with some more involved titles for the chapter but I kept coming back to “Fortunate Life” because of the double meaning for me. Fortunate that I was not aborted like many unplanned pregnancies, and fortunate that I ended up with loving, caring parents right out of the gate. I was only in the hospital for 5 days and then went straight home with my adopted family. Continue reading
