“I knew a book was a good idea. Science was the missing piece in my spiritual journey, and I wanted to share it with others. I began writing, using lots of science and a little bit of my story, but I ended up tabling the idea. Several months later, I became aware of Amanda—a “messenger coach” who seemed a perfect fit—and I jumped on the opportunity.

When she asked if I wanted to write a reference manual, a memoir, or a transformational book, I said, “Transformational, but using science, not my story.” She could sense my FEAR of being vulnerable but frankly said, “If you want your book to be transformational, you need to write your story.”

It made sense, but I was trying to avoid my story because I wanted to protect my kids. My marriage of forty-four years had just ended and they didn’t need to see their mom’s story in print. She offered to help with the wording, and I reluctantly said yes.

We started by developing an overarching framework, and then it was time to write. Each day I’d block out time to write, work on one story at a time, email it in, and after a few days, I’d get it back—with red ink everywhere. Amanda was committed to returning me to the purpose of my book whenever I journeyed off the map. She even included additional reader feedback to help me see how the heavy-on-science approach was landing.

Several months into it I was getting pretty tired of it all. I was tired of the rewrites, sick of the topic, and sick and tired of handling tech problems. I couldn’t decide on the book title, kept changing my mind on the book cover, and I just wanted to be DONE. And I began to wonder, Is this really worth it? Why am I doing it anyway? People don’t want to hear my story. I’m sick of it myself.  

And that’s when I realized the value of having a coach. Amanda would call when she didn’t hear from me, asking where I was with the writing and mentally, physically, and emotionally, and assured me these feelings were normal.

Little by little, slowly I went step-by-step until the book was finally ready to be uploaded on Amazon. That was another moment when I wanted to scream, and I couldn’t have done it without Aaron’s help. And when I finally hit the upload button, I leaned back in my chair, took a long deep breath, closed my eyes, and immediately asked: Did I do the right thing?

Amanda assured me I had, and everyone who has read my book since has said, “Wow. Great Story. WELL DONE.”

If you’re on the fence about jumping in and hiring Amanda, don’t think. JUMP. It’s the KEY to finishing a book that resonates with others.