Inspiring post from @tamaralevitt Tomorrow is a special day. <3 It marks the official release of Happiness Doesn’t Come from Headstands. And yes, it may be just a kids book but for me it’s so much more than that.
The idea for this book came to me after a series of consecutive failures that left me lost in life and lost in myself. It was a time of great fear and uncertainty, of depression, anxiety and shame, of sleepless nights and loneliness, of forgetting who I was and losing faith in my path and confidence in my talent. And this went on and on and on for quite some time, until in not knowing what to do or where to turn, I did the only thing I knew: to create from exactly where I was, in the dark. And so I wrote a children’s book about failure and perfectionism and patience and self-compassion and all the things I most needed to remember.
And now, seven years, after first self-publishing this book, and now releasing it again tomorrow, I’m filled with gratitude. And although we hear a lot about gratitude these days, I don’t throw that word around carelessly. I actually mean it, 'cause when you know the darkest dark the smallest amount of light can mean the world.
So today I’m thankful that I was able to take a big deep breath and find the resilience to take one step after the next. I’m grateful I was able to figure out how to write and illustrate and self-publish a book, which was no small feat at a time when, really, I had little other than one person’s support. And I’m grateful to the friends who remained throughout that time because I was far from my best. And thanks to everyone who purchased a book from that first print run.
After receiving many rejection letters from publishers (proof above), Wisdom Publications called me up to let me know that they were interested in publishing not one, but two of my books. I'm so grateful, Wisdom.
Thanks to everyone celebrating this milestone with me. And if you don’t feel the sun shining down on you today, If there is darkness in your world, I hope that you can find a little inspiration in this story, remembering that you can only go halfway into the darkest forest, before you are coming out the other side. Xo