When I was a kid, I was a big reader. Also, a fast reader. I always had a book on the go and went through them quickly. Voracious might have been a word used to describe my reading style. My mom got me a library card at age two and carted home massive piles of books every couple of weeks. I received books for every birthday and every Christmas and I never went anywhere without taking my book (whichever one I was reading) with me.
It didn’t take me long to realize that there was a human being behind each of the books I devoured. Who were these wonderful people that created the magical worlds I found myself in? I remember staring at their names on the cover or their photos on the dust jacket and trying to imagine what their lives were like. I also started trying to emulate what I read, writing stories that featured kids in the starring roles – solving mysteries, having adventures, saving the day.
I knew from a very young age that I wanted to write books, but societal messaging about a career in the arts and inner stumbling blocks kept writing on the sidelines for a number of years. Eventually, I found a way to “write for a living” but I wasn’t writing things that were close to my heart. As a professional writer, I created pieces that other people asked me to write. Marketing and speeches for private companies, newsletters and pamphlets for non-profit organizations, and annual reports and magazine writing for academic institutions. I even wrote other people’s stories that were published in book form under someone else’s name.
But being a writer and being an author are two different things. Today, I’m so proud to announce that I’ve written a book that has MY name on the cover. The writing and publishing of this book is my own homecoming. With it, I am finally realizing my biggest dream.
It’s called Writing Your Way: A 40-Day Path of Self-Discovery. In a nutshell, it’s a guide that will lead you through a 40-day process of creative reflection, helping you discover, uncover, and move closer toward your own big dreams. Daily writing prompts are included to help you tune inside and find your own inner truth. I believe it’s this inner wisdom in each of us that inspires change, growth, forward momentum, and even full-on transformation.
My book also grapples with the things that get in the way; those blocks we have that might keep us from pursuing what we deeply desire. Fear, lack of time, our fierce inner critics, cultural or family expectations, the pressure to be like everyone else, the need to make money, etc. That list is long and the things on it stop us from becoming the most fulfilled and truest version of ourselves. I know this from a lot of personal experience, and in the book I tell some of my own stories to help you feel less alone.
Here’s the link to my book on Amazon, and in a few short weeks, it will be available at national book chains and smaller independent booksellers as well! Wherever you are in the world, I would be so happy if you called your local indie bookshop and asked them to purchase a few copies.
If you buy my book and find it meaningful or helpful, here are some other things you could do to ensure it reaches the greatest number of people:
- spread the word to others!
- write a review on Amazon!
- post something on social media that links back to me – my social accounts are at the bottom of this message
- use these hashtags #writingyourwaybook #reneehartleib
- recommend me to creators or producers of podcasts you know and love!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
