Member 23 - The Height of Hope
Tell your readers a little
about yourself, where you grew up, where you live now, where you went to school, etc. Let them get to know the personal you.
I grew up in Finsbury Park, London, to a strong single-parent mother. I spent time from a young age at my local library, “Stroud Green Road Library.” I loved it there from a young age, taking in classic books, creating with the vibrant community, and learning through diversity and education. At the age of 3, I started playing the piano - a talent I accidentally spotted when, at my local library, I began drawing notes of music on scrap paper at 2 years old. At 11 years old, I got a full scholarship for just under 10 years of my life at Trinity Conservatoire, where I studied classical music and theory with some of the greatest musical and forward-thinking geniuses of all time from around the world. Music has a strong correlation to structure and math and is a mix of tempo, timings, and creativity - this then helped me with my schooling. Excelling in math, English, and other subjects, I leaned in against any adversities in my home life and to my strengths of growing
through learning. The fire inside me burning brighter than that around me. From 16, taking on work experience at an EMI record label to heading up the digital remits of some of the biggest media and tech companies, I never lost sight of that hunger and fire. But my biggest learning and value is…it not about money
and titles, it’s about being rich in heart, experience and humbly helping
others. I use my platform to do just that, flying around the world and working with different communities, from Favelas in Brazil to female-run monasteries and orphanages in Nepal. I also want to be able to give those in need a voice. My writing helps by spreading awareness of many challenges and inequities faced by females across the world. Mutually helping the reader explore their own inner
being and personal transformation. This is my first novel and certainly not my
last!
What inspired you to author
this book?
My particular inspiration for
this book was two things. It is based on true events but fictional in part.
Life over the last couple of years hasn’t been the smoothest, but that is where
I have felt my biggest growth, both inwardly and outwardly. I’ve been on a
personal journey of being able to understand myself more, being okay with
silence, and exercising high resilience. I wanted to share some of the tools that
helped me on my journey while also being able to open up these tools and
explore within others. No one is walking alone, I can’t give people a
physical blanket - but I can provide them words, a book, a guide a metaphorical
blanket that helps them shelter themselves from hard weathers. For people to
feel they are not in the world alone, we have power inside us and all around us
when sometimes it doesn’t feel like it…. I also wanted to weave in female
empowerment - I trekked myself to Everest-basecamp off-season. It’s a highly male-dominated sport, and I work in a highly male-dominated industry. I’ve had my fair share of inequities over the past year or so…but I battle through - I needed to look at things differently, gain another perspective, and learn from another leader. That learning came from my female guide in Everest, seeing how she led with strength and empathy in life-and-death situations, making a call. Furthermore, the importance of teamwork, strategy, etc. I could correlate to my
corporate role; I wanted to share my learnings not just with others for
self-help but for business acumen, too. I learned how to be an understanding leader, how to galvanize teams, and how to walk through the snow with no trail to break it for them
to safety. I wanted this; I needed this at the time, and there are many people out there who do, too. Whether leading or being led, every step is an intention, and we must make each step a good one.)
Where did you get the
inspiration for your book’s cover?
For my book cover, I wanted something that was striking yet simple. The mix of cool colors sends both a feeling of chill and purity. This book is about harnessing the mind, and I wanted to cover to reflect this - the blue tones echo the symbol of serenity, stability, inspiration, or wisdom. Whereas white is symbolic of purity, perfection, honesty, cleanliness, and beginnings!! The mix of the two colors brings a host of hope to the reader, reflecting the content inside the book. The number 23 and why the Title Member 23 - there are many meaning for this.
You have to read the book to find out! So I won’t share too much I’ll give you
a taster though of a little extract: “Member 23 is for anyone who has ever felt
knocked down by life, for those searching for meaning amid chaos, and for
anyone wanting to discover the power of true teamwork, leadership, and
resilience. This book is a story based on my experiences, but in many ways,
it’s also yours. Throughout this journey, the number 23 will feature prominently,
reflecting its significant nature. For any mathematicians or number enthusiasts
reading this, 23 is a prime number and a “happy number.” To determine if a
number is happy, square each of its digits and add them together. Repeat this
process until you either reach 1 or encounter the same number twice. Some see
this as a pathway to your core number—1—or a reflection of what you hold
inside, as mirrored in 23:23.”
Who has been the most
significant influence on you personally and as a writer?
Well, there are a lot of incredible literary greats who inspired this and significantly influenced my writing. Start with all of the reading I do and research on the philosophy, diving into old stoic philosophy from Marcus Aurelius to Epictetus, understanding their experiments, theories, and observations, then tying this to modern-day life to understand the foundation and evolution. I have a tact to lean into my intellect when times get hard and use challenges to move forward and learn rather than falling apart - I get a lot of my strength from these incredible ancient philosophers. I also read the plentiful books myself, from The Power of
Now by Eckhart Tolle, which is beautifully written and has helped in lots of
my journey too…all the way to Money Matrix by Rob Moore, which glorious
examines and helps us dive into thoughts and constructs around systemic
societal practices and living without attachment to material physical desires. I am always open to new books, reading, and experience- life is to be lived, and I like to live richly through knowledge and stimulated through adventure…
What were the struggles or
obstacles you had to overcome to get this book written?
Writing the book came from the
basis of the journal I had written in Everest. Every day during my month in Nepal, I was journaling. Writing down thoughts, feelings, and emotions. No matter
how big or small the breakthrough or fear, I wanted to capture it. Writing down how I was feeling was therapeutic, but I also knew I could then reflect, read over, and piece it together. When I started to read back over my journal and the hundreds of handwritten pages I had captured through icy cold weather, submersion in sleeping back, and using boulders as a table to write….it was then I had an “ah-ha” moment I could turn this into a novel to help others in similar positions. It was hard to polish my rough journal, and it was illegible in some parts of my handwriting. It was also hard to detach from it as it’s so personal to read it in the third-person, fictionalize it more, and create a more tangible structure. It was
difficult to be vulnerable enough to put a piece of work like this a story very
like mine to a global platform, we are published in over 500 retailers
globally. It was hard as during this period I suffered a horrible loss whilst
going through an extremely difficult time, I used the pain as power to put
together a parable of climbing any peak any height using your own inner
strength and those who really do have the intention to support and co-lift with
each step. There was a time during this I felt so sad, I felt like giving up, but
then I looked in, I looked up, I saw that number 23, I saw inside of me and
those cheering me on, and I knew just like my climb to Everest, I just had to
keep moving forward with Every Step Is An Intention.
Tell your readers about your
book.
To summarize my book, in a feeling is “Hope," whether it's your darkest hour or the most difficult conditions, there is a way out…there is always hope, and we should never lose it. We have hope in higher
power within ourselves and from those around us. Sometimes, it can feel like we are alone; we are isolated and cast out - the universe is such a wide, vast entity, and we are just a small seed. You see a seed grow. It connects, it blows away, it lays routes, and it multiplies - that is us. There are billions of us around the world growing, transforming, and being moved in directions we sometimes can see but are optimal in the bigger picture for our transformative journey. My book
describes this message, helps readers explore this theory and makes sure that
the literature within it is not just words but a way of life, a lifestyle!
Who is your target audience,
and why?
Member 23 is inclusive my target
audience is all those who need to find us, you may know this already or you may
not. Anyone can become Member 23 - from explores traveling for escapism to C Levels question self and business or those at home raising families. All different readers but with the commonality that change is needed in their life. They feel a yearning or change for the better, they want more from the earth
but don’t fully grasp yet that the earth has started being cultivated inside of
them. Member 23 helps unlock this and is an impactful guide to self-transformation, self-help, and personal growth.
What do you consider your
greatest success in life?
My greatest success is “when your
intentions are pure you don’t lose anyone, they lose you” - no matter the environment,
the levels of corruption or inequity I am still able to project myself onto
others from a place of purity, support and high values. I am not driven by
pushing others from a peak or fighting to be the best, as what is the best? - I am driven by morals, ethical practice, and equal rights. Personally, what I see as my biggest success is that strength means you have everything, which could be nothing, but by nothing, you can have it all. I can
see the bigger picture in the grand scheme, and I pride myself on that. My
success is true freedom right there. No skeletons, no ties, no regret, no bad karma,
no fear of “nothing” and no attachment to “everything.”
What one unique thing sets you
apart from other writers in your genre?
What sets my book apart is its
multifaceted nature, the interaction of fiction and fact, support and self-questioning.
It’s a fast-paced ascent that deep dives into the here and beyond.
There isn’t a female story quite like it a women throwing off the boardroom
shoes - closing the glass office door and emerging into the wilderness of both
heart, mind and surroundings with an equally amazing trail blazer (my guide
Binsa in book) to climb to the heights of hope. This book isn’t something you
just read and sit down on a coffee table, it’s a thought provoker, mind changer
and one that in many ways bridges the theoretical to the practical - a book of
life to be lived!
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