pain stories

Interview with Pittsburgh-based Lynda Schuster about her memoir of her life as a foreign correspondent and ambassador’s wife

March 5th, 2018|memoir writing, pain stories, storytelling|

Journalism. Memoir. Just seeing the two words side by side beckons contrast. One's factual, the other largely personal. One's reporting, the other is scene-driven. And yet, if you linger a bit between the two, you'll start to see some subtle overlap. Reporters hook their readers with scenes. Memoirists to report things I am forever fascinated by [...]

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The One Thing I Learned about Rejection from 60 Days of Crowdfunding My Memoir

June 26th, 2017|courage, crowdfunding, defining moments, dreams, memoir writing, new books, new memoir, pain stories, Uncategorized|

Today I want to talk a bit about rejection and how it affected me personally as an author specifically with crowdfunding. When I finalized the decision to go the crowdfunding route for my second memoir Sand and Steel: the Spiritual Journey Home, I was a bit hesitant. I had already published an award-winning book called [...]

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How The Courage to Send My Son to Sleepaway Camp Changed My Life

June 16th, 2016|courage, defining moments, faith, joy, mindset, new memoir, pain stories, reflective thinking, storytelling, success, the heroine's journey, transformation, vulnerability, writing|

They say that you develop courage when you're thrown into new situations and for the parents among us, our resilience is constantly tested. Especially when we're sending our kids off to summer camp. I've always been a worrier. And a catastrophizer. If you've gotten to know me from my memoir Accidental Soldier: A Memoir of [...]

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The ONE Lesson of Courage I Learned Serving in the Israel Defense Forces

September 15th, 2015|new memoir, pain stories, the heroine's journey, transformation, vulnerability|

Each day as I build my business, I'm constantly making decisions that take me out of my comfort zone. You learn things as you go in less-than-perfect conditions. You feel inadequate, afraid, insecure. There's no guarantee you'll succeed and that can feel scary. Courage is a mindset that when nurtured earlier in life, allows you [...]

The Power of One Woman’s Quest: Everything I Ever Learned I Got from Serving in the Israel Defense Forces

November 14th, 2014|authenticity, Classroom, defining moments, faith, memoir writing, new books, new memoir, pain stories, the heroine's journey, transformation, vulnerability, writing|

In 1989, I was a sophomore at Suny at Albany. While my peers were declaring their majors, I felt I was wasting my time, which made me feel there was something wrong with me. One night, I had banged my head against the wall of my room crying. I've got to get out of here. [...]