An Interview with Danielle and Writing Her New Book.
I am excited to share the journey of my newest book with you. I have wanted this project for a long time, and it’s finally coming out in May of 2022. My new book will help me share the wisdom passed down through generations and make it accessible for everyone! Please read about my writing journey and discover what my new book is all about.
Why are you writing this book?
The journey to writing this book began in 2016 when I helped my family write a book of family values. That was a 2 year process and helping my parents bring something to fruition made me reflect on “what is my story?” My 50th birthday was approaching and I thought, can I capture my 50 years of wisdom into a book to pass onto my children outlining my life lessons. In beginning to document stories my thought expanded to can these stories and tools I’ve come across help others, like me, who feel less than, not enough, unseen when surrounded by abundance. I’m writing this book with the hope that it will help another human being know they are not alone. I work as a coach one on one with individuals. I also work as a family advisor with families who want to transition wealth from one generation to another and as a solo-entrepreneur I can only reach a limited number of people. The intent of my book is to reach many more individuals and families to share my wisdom with. The underlying message is that it is a journey, not a particular destination, that we are destined to and as long as we can clearly define our reason why we are on such a journey can we then know we are enough and achieve a sense of fulfillment.
What is your book about?
My book is about me and the lessons I’ve learned throughout my life. It outlines what it was like growing up as a third generation of a family enterprise. How we have teachers around us, and the greatest lessons in life are not learned in a classroom or lecture hall. I speak about tools I’ve come across to overcome the false stories I’ve told myself without even realizing it. The book is about using me as the example of how so many of us perceive things that make us move forward in life without shining our full light. Living behind a mask instead of shining bright and showing our true self to the world. It’s about the mindset we carry, connecting back to the wholehearted person we are and knowing we are enough. The underlying intention of the book is to connect with your true self so you can stand strong and be a positive force within your family unit. In doing so you stand united and can come together as great stewards of wealth that get passed along from one generation to another. In achieving this a family remains in harmony and each individual lives fulfilled and a family thrives.
Describe to me what your writing process is like.
Writing a book is a tedious process. And I must say, it never feels complete. As a life learner there is always another lesson I want to add and have my readers learn from. I also perceive I’m not a good writer and this stems from the story I’ve told myself since highschool when my English teacher never gave me a mark greater than a 72% on any writing assignment I handed in even when I thought I merited much more due to my efforts and what I thought had a great level of creativity. These little moments create life-long beliefs and we often don’t stop and ask – Is it true that because I received no greater than a 72% in English class that I’m not a good writer? In writing this book I often had to remind myself that “I am enough.” If even one person can grow from reading my stories then the process is worth all the effort that goes into putting my story out. My why was clear.
Did you have any help writing this book?
I did not do it alone. I reached out to an individual who helped me start the process. She asked questions, recorded my stories and asked for my written stories. I compiled my journals and reflections I’ve recorded in writing over the years and together we built an outline with the idea to start with my foundation, then detail my defining moments, and end with tools I used to achieve living a fulfilled life. As a clear outline was formed the writing to fill in the blanks came easy. I provided all the input and she placed them in an order that created my first masterpiece. It was like pieces of a puzzle all coming together. My first manuscript was complete and what an accomplishment. I sent it out to a handful of individuals I wanted full critique from. I made minor adjustments and had a manuscript I was proud of. I was so pleased I reached out to a book designer who had the tools to format the manuscript and send it to print. I received a box of 15 books that I shared with my immediate family. Now came the question “Do I publish it?” That’s a process I’m still grappling with. I’m a humble individual and being in the spotlight is not my preferred place to stand. I’m very much a behind the scenes type of person. At the same time I’m an individual who welcomes opportunity and there is an opportunity here to share valuable learnings. Now that I’m on the road to publish my work I was searching for someone who can add the “WOW!” factor to my words. The process still continues.
Tell me about who inspired you to write this book and who motivates you the most.
The inspiration came from the process of helping the family document our family values that stemmed from my parents immigrating from Italy to canada. The book was filled with Sicilian proverbs that were the basis of the lessons my parents taught us throughout my childhood. When that book was complete I was inspired to document my story and leave my 3 girls. Traditions and passing values along from generation to generation are valuable. In the end they were my true motivators. For they are the third generation in which our family wealth will be transferred to. I do not want them to be in the statistics of the proverbial saying of “Shirtsleeves to Shirtsleeves in 3 generations”. The book is written with the intention of providing lessons to overcome this proverbial saying and to build a solid foundation for my girls and others like them to be stewards of wealth that passes along a family bloodline.
What is the reason you wanted to write this book.
I wanted to write this book first to leave a piece of myself to my girls. My girls are readers and leaving them a book that outlines all the lessons I’ve learned throughout my life seemed to be a priceless gift. In doing so I also realized there are many others that can learn from what I’ve learned and experienced. I began repeating some key stories to my clients, and thought, can many others grow from reading my stories? The bottom line is to share my knowledge and hope someone else can learn from what I’ve written and know they are not alone and most importantly to conclude that you are enough just by being who you are.
Were there any challenges you faced when writing this book?
The greatest challenge is believing my story can benefit someone else. All I can do at that end is put it out there and let each individual take what they want from it. All I know is I’m putting it out full heartily and with all the positive intentions to help someone else like me find fulfillment and know they too are enough. Another challenge is feeling it has all the magic to be impactful in the eyes of another reader. I tell the story from my perspective without knowing all the other ways it can be interpreted. At this I ask everyone who takes the time to read my story to be curious and not pass judgement. A challenge in writing a book is knowing when to stop the editing, adding to it and saying “this is it!”
Tell me about the things you learned from writing this book. Tell me about your writing journey.
The writing journey continues way past the completion of putting words to paper. Compiling your thoughts and thinking of their impact is powerful and greater yet is sharing your work and seeing someone else’s perspective. Does your message come across clearly? Is the point being made? What do you want the reader to reflect on? These are constant thoughts. There is great learning moving along from a thought in your head, to words on paper, to reading your words out loud, to having a conversation after someone else reads what you’ve written. Throughout the journey, I realized I have FOMO (fear of missing out), and it came through in my writing that I wanted to put it all in there and share every lesson I’ve come across with my reader. This is when having an editor is important and keeping in mind the purpose of the book. Writing the book made the lesson of knowing your WHY come to the forefront. Read my book to learn more about that and other tools I share.