Q: How did you come to the decision to write your story and publish it? Were you ever concerned about the vulnerability of opening up so deep to the world? Were you nervous at all?

A:

Aloha Rose,

I get this question from time to time, and when I do, I love it because it makes me believe so many of us have our own stories to tell. 

Before I can answer this though, I need to distinguish something important: My story isn’t exactly my story, per se, but that of my family who helped rescue me from the throes of addiction to get me the help I so desperately needed. That was the story I wanted to tell with One Hit Away because I wanted to reaffirm how valuable it is to have a support system for someone struggling with addiction. 

That said, those who know my story have often told me how inspired they were because of it and that always made me dream of writing my memoir. Family and friends connect with the love they have for my parents who faced the insurmountable odds of finding me and getting me help. They respect the hoops we had to jump through to get me into detox, then into treatment. And they love how things worked out, which sadly is not always the case.

So that’s the first answer—I wanted to share my story with others because I believe there’s value in knowing hope is out there.

When it comes to publishing, I should note that prior to going the indie route, I did try to query an agent (many, many agents ugh) and obtain representation but hit a wall. I went indie as a result of refusing to let gatekeepers hold me back from sharing my truth. I was told I needed a platform to be sellable; without one, it almost didn’t matter what the writing looked like. 

I refused to let that hold me back, and fortunately, One Hit Away has been well received so it worked out in my favor . . . but it’s been a struggle learning all of the facets of indie publishing. Everything is on my shoulders from the craft to marketing to website design et cetera. But I love it, and if you have a story to tell, you can always query first and if there are no bites, go indie. Don’t let anyone hold you back from sharing the story you were born to tell.

That said, opening up to the world is an interesting experience, to say the least. I struggled with it for a bit when drafting the book and came to a fork where I had to choose to be completely honest if I wanted to make the most impact. There are scenes in One Hit Away that, prior to publication, I had never shared with the world, yet I knew people would relate. I shared my step one, which is my lowest of lows, but sometimes that’s what it takes to connect with others. That scene and others like it were important to include because people like me who have been there knowing exactly where I’m coming from, and if I could make it out . . . maybe they can too.

I also am cognizant that my boys will read my book one day and while that’s good and bad, my apprehensions take a backseat to the greater good I believe has come from sharing my journey. I can’t tell you how many reach out to me and share how my writing has impacted them, and for all the fears I had going into this project, that makes it all worth it. There’s nothing better than staying in service and turning a negative into a positive and in that regard, I wouldn’t change a thing.