For years, I carried my story inside me. A story of grief, resilience, and transformation. A story that has touched everything I’ve done as a nurse, health coach, yoga teacher, and even as a kidney donor. But the question was: how do you actually write a memoir? How do you turn decades of inspirational life stories into a book people will want to read? Not everything is included. What do you choose to share?
This is how I did it.
Keywords: grief and healing stories, inspirational life stories, how to write a memoir, midlife transformation, kidney donor story, writing through grief, inspirational memoir 2025.
Finding the Spark
In 2023, I packed my bags and went to the Watermill at Posara in Italy. Tucked away in the hills of Tuscany, it was the perfect place to slow down, reflect, and finally listen to the voice inside me that kept saying, “It’s time to write.”
There, under the guidance of Jo Parfitt, I learned how to write life stories. Not just dates and facts, but the heartbeat behind them—the emotions, the lessons, the meaning. You don’t just tell your story; you paint your story for the reader with your words. That week was the spark that lit the fire. For the first time, I realized I wasn’t just daydreaming about writing a book. I could actually do it.
From Freeze to Action
Not long after, life threw me into a season of high stress. After spending time in Italy working on renovating our beloved family home in Elba (you’ll read more about that journey in my memoir), my body began sending me signals. My cortisol levels were elevated—not in a good way. I was exhausted and overwhelmed.
That’s when I found my mindset coach Emily Judice. I worked with her for six pivotal months. With her guidance, I moved out of a freeze state and into action. Emily gave me tools not only for writing but also for living with clarity and strength. She helped me shift from stress to possibility, and her influence was so profound that she appears several times in my book.She taught me tools to regulate my central nervous system.
Those six months became the bridge from wanting to write a memoir to actually preparing to write one.
Choosing the Right Book Coach
Even then, I knew I couldn’t do it alone. Writing a memoir is like climbing a mountain—you can go further and faster with a guide. So, I began researching book coaches.
Here’s the truth: there are so many of them. Different prices, different approaches, different promises. It’s overwhelming. But here’s what I learned: you can’t choose based on your limitations. You have to find someone who sees your strength—even when you can’t.
For me, that person was Sandra Rodriguez Bicknell. From our very first conversation, I felt a connection. Sandra understood not just the kind of inspirational memoir I wanted to write, but the kind of legacy I wanted to leave. She believed in me before I fully believed in myself. She reminded me that the story I had been carrying wasn’t just worth writing—it was worth sharing.
With Sandra’s guidance, I started turning scattered memories and stories that I didn’t know how to fit into my book into chapters. And slowly, those chapters became a manuscript.
The Person Behind the Book
Metamorphosis: The Gift of a Life Lived Twice is about grief and healing, transformation and hope, and what it means to live on purpose.
It’s about growing up in Venezuela, losing my father to cancer when I was fourteen, and how that loss shaped the way I moved through life. It’s about leaving behind one country for another, reinventing myself through more than one career. It’s about choosing to donate a kidney to a stranger in honor of my dad and discovering how one act can ripple into many lives. And it all had led me to summiting mountains—from Kilimanjaro to Patagonia, not just for adventure, but for a higher purpose.
This memoir is raw, vulnerable, and honest. Some people are deeply excited to read it because they know me, and they know the woman I am is because of everything I have lived through. Others think it’s crazy and so scary—to put your life out for the world to see. And they’re not wrong. Writing through grief and sharing my deepest story is intimidating. But fear has never run my life, and it never will.
Courage Over Fear
Every time doubt crept in, I reminded myself: vulnerability is not weakness—it’s what connects us.
When you read Metamorphosis, you’ll get to know me as a person who became an RN, walking alongside patients through cancer and transplant journeys. You’ll meet me as a health coach, helping women navigate midlife transformation. You’ll even glimpse me as a friend, mother and wife—a woman who has stumbled, gotten back up, and chosen not to let limitations dictate how she lives.
My challenges, fears, and limitations don’t define me. They never have—and they never will.
The Invitation
Writing this book has been one of the most challenging and rewarding things I’ve ever done. And now, I can finally share it.
✨ Metamorphosis: The Gift of a Life Lived Twice launches October 3, 2025.
This isn’t just my memoir—it’s about all of us. It’s about grief and healing stories, resilience, and hope and purpose, and how choosing to move forward can transform your life.
👉 Be the first to read my story. Mark your calendars for October 3, 2025 when the Kindle edition goes live. Make sure you’re on my email list so you don’t miss out.