Top 5 and the Still(ness) of Showing Up
How a soul+FULL book rooted in honesty about depression, grief, and healing from a local perspective has found its way into the hearts atop the charts
Last week I announced the release of my newest book, Love Ain’t Neutral - a soul+FULL Journey through the seasons, and it’s been a fun ride! I’ve watched with awe and gratitude as the book has steadily risen in the Amazon Best Seller Poetry Charts.
Love Ain’t Neutral hit:
– Top 25 in Amazon Hot New Releases for Poetry
– #1 New Release in Motivational & Inspirational Poetry and Asian-American Poets
– Top 5 Best Seller in both categories
– Top 75 in Death, Grief & Loss
– Top 10 Gift Idea + Wish List Book
As I’ve been wandering through this experience, people have had some really awesome things to share, like:
When I told my former Publisher/Editor, who gave me one of my first writing gigs for a magazine, about it and thanked him for seeing something in me and believing in my abilities even when I didn’t, his reply was simply:
“I still believe in you.”
It’s all pretty surreal. But you’re here because I said how did we get here.
Let me break that down.
Alignment
It was extremely important for me to release this book during Mental Health Awareness Month as the first section of the book was written while I went through a cycle of depression, a rough season that was ultimately surpassed by an even worse time and the grief after my Dad passed in 2020. This substack has documented my journey back to my Voice while navigating Life through that and my experience of therapy to better understand and manage my persistent depressive disorder.
May also happens to be AANHPI month. As someone born & raised in Hawai‘i who has ancestry tracing across the Pacific to Asia and South East Asia, the odds, or in this case, the algorithm and search queries are in my favor.
All of this just aligned and were it not for the perseverance as both a writer and human just doing my best to be healthier and kinder, this wouldn’t be here.
Exactly What My Homie Thought Above
“… the internet caught up…” And really, the world is different.
The resources available now along with both the destigmatization and normalization of artists going straight to the audience is a huge change. As creatives, we have tools to go to market without waiting for someone to say whether or not it’s good enough.
Freeing the artist up to do the work and share it.
What My Former Publisher and Editor Said
When I look where I am today, it is the belief, the challenge, and the experiences with people - family, friends, loved ones, and strangers - who at some point in time saw my Soul.
I’ve been gifted with a lot of support from people who saw something that I didn’t, couldn’t, or wouldn’t recognize at different points in the Journey.
When we take the time to hold space and speak from the Heart, it all matters and helps to move us individually and collectively forward.
Perseverance
This is my 15th book. I might have taken a break from publishing for a few years but I never stopped writing and as I’ve grown, my merging with the craft has developed.
No matter what, I’m gonna keep doing this as long as I’m alive.
And if someone out there reading this is on the fence on whether or not commit to going full send, if you follow the invisible thread the Journey will take you as much as you take it.
THx for being out there!
And if you’ve already purchased, please leave a review.