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

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw-6BAFja4I

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.

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/

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dui51ogYlec

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.

Here is a taste of what that experience was like:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL0U9OtpEFQ

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.

Writing brings with it a great deal of wonderful and terrifying emotions — all of which, by the way, have really helped me to explore different aspects and challenges that I have always wanted to try, but never felt I had time to do. I was out of balance. I confused being engrossed in what I did for a living with what I needed to do to enjoy my life.

I have learned that doing the best job you can does not always equate to happiness when you ignore what you need. So I have returned to more creative paths and am becoming reacquainted with illustrating, writing, stained glass, clay, photography and videography… everything that I left behind when I was engrossed in a very overly analytical job. (And my 3 dogs and 3 cats prefer this mom to the workaholic mom.)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvxATjyUtDQ

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.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=C92iG8L-k5Q

Dr. Lee Weisbard received her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Colorado School of Dentistry in 1984. After working for six years in Public Health Dentistry at Westside Neighborhood Health Center, she opened her unique practice in the Denver Technological Center, where her business continues today. Her areas of expertise include implant and cosmetic dentistry along with general practice. Dr. Weisbard is married to David Rosenthal and has three daughters and three adult stepsons. She enjoys the arts, skiing, and cheering her children on in their sports and activities.

Visit her website, Weisbard Dental.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kUKPud8KCQ

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.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B21sdlCSGQ

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.

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.

I am fortunate on so many levels and through writing a chapter in this book about my adoption experience, I hope will help someone else who is adopted feel very special and fortunate as well.

After a successful 20+ year career in the corporate world, Sharlene Douthit became a business building entrepreneur in the Denver area. In addition to being the owner of Simply Good Investments, a real estate investment company specializing in single family fix and flip projects, Sharlene is also the owner of Simply Good Staging and Design Company, Simply Good Photography, a portrait, wedding and special event photography business, and Financially Fit Females, an education based financial support group for women. www.FinanciallyFitFemales.com

Outside of work, Sharlene volunteers her time at Dress for Success Denver, a non-profit that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women in work and in life. Sharlene also helps with fundraising and awareness for Project Cure, a Denver based International Organization that collects, sorts and delivers imperative medical supplies and services to third world countries around the globe.

Sharlene serves on the Board of Directors for Fashion Group International of Denver, which is a global non-profit, professional organization with over 5000 members in the fashion industry. FGI’s mission is to be the pre-eminent authority on the business of fashion and design and to helps its members become more effective in their careers.

In her spare time, Sharlene enjoys reading, traveling cooking and soaking up the Colorado sunshine by running, skiing, and hiking with her beloved Labradors, Chauncey and Foster.