BookLover Sue: Author Interview & Giveaway - Chrysalis: Personal Transformation From The Inside Out by Ann Vanino

Chrysalis: Personal Transformation From The Inside Out

by Ann Vanino

GENRE: Personal Growth

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BLURB:

We are living in a time of transformation. Old ways are fading. New ways are emerging. There is an increasing focus within. Many of us are feeling a desire to create a new direction for our lives.

Chrysalis: Personal Transformation From The Inside Out uses nature’s process of Chrysalis- a caterpillar transforming to a butterfly – as a guide for our own personal transformation. Each stage of Chrysalis provides a jumping-off point, upon which to reflect about our own experiences as we each transform.

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EXCERPT:

Chapter Three

Growth and Struggle

Starting With Yourself

In your own Chrysalis, you start from where you are, developed and conditioned by the outside world. Who would think a caterpillar’s tissues would create a butterfly? It is a beginning for you, different from anything that has gone before.

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Great Destruction Brings Rebirth

There are other examples in nature of great destruction bringing rebirth—volcanoes pushing rich new soil to the surface, small earthquakes releasing pressure on a fault line and weathering and erosion creating new land forms.

In your Chrysalis, effort is well spent in balancing the destructive and creative forces occurring in your life. It is a time of some chaos. Your point of gravity is shaken, and stability is not yet regained. Enduring your Chrysalis involves maintaining balance between creation and destruction through discipline and developing habits that support you through this time. As parts of your life crumble, you may need more nurturing. As the new enters your life, you may need to give yourself some time to acclimate.

As you endure creation and destruction or face uncertainty in your life, know that rebirth awaits you.

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Why Change?

Wasn’t the caterpillar beautiful enough?

Yes, it was.

Its new opportunity, as a butterfly,

Lies in its wings—to fly.

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Try this:

Think of a time in your life when you were scared, but you kept going.

What gave you the strength and courage to proceed? (You can use that again.)

What would have happened if you did not proceed?

How would your life be now?

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Talking with author Ann Vanino!

What is your writing environment?

I am fortunate to live in the High Mojave Desert of southern California at 4500 feet in the mountains. We are surrounded by nature’s beauty – 8000 foot mountains, juniper bushes and pinon pines and, below us, the desert floor. Outside my office windows are a flowering Scottish broom plant and lilac bushes. I have a hummingbird feeder that draws the hummingbirds to my window. I see sky, the moon and birds in flight. It is peaceful and quiet and I am so grateful to have this place to write.

Who is your perfect hero/heroine and why?

Someone who is on a journey to transformation. I am fascinated with the concept of The Hero’s Journey that has been found in stories and life from ancient times till now. In The Hero’s Journey, the hero accepts a call to adventure (after first refusing it) and steps into a challenging unknown. Then the journey begins with challenges, miracles, allies and enemies. Every hero’s journey has a “supreme ordeal” that is a life or death situation for the hero. The hero prevails and returns to the Ordinary World transformed and with gifts to give to others.

What authors have caught your interest lately and why?

I was very moved by Ta Nehisi Coates’ Between The World and Me. It is about race in America – a topic so in front of us these days. His writing style speaks to me and learning of his experiences changed me.

I received a notice from my local library about a novel, Before The Fall by Noah Hawley about a plane crash off Martha’s Vineyard and the circumstances surrounding the passengers. Most likely, I would not have known of it otherwise. The characters were rich, it was well written and I read it, happily, in a week’s time.

What type of book have you always wanted to write?

I have not yet written a full-length fiction book. It is a very different art from non-fiction. I have thought about writing fiction for years now and have a concept for a book. To do it well, I have a lot of learning in front of me. I am now reading John Gardner’s On Becoming A Novelist. Maybe some day!

I have put my toe in the water with a short book I wrote in 2007, Power Stories: Mythical Tales of Personal Power At Work (www.annvanino.com/books). They are fairy tale-like short stories about people finding power and fulfillment at work.

Top 3 things on your bucket list?

Going into space (safely)

Contributing to significant change in our world that leads to harmony

Going to Africa

How did you get the idea for Chrysalis?

I began thinking about the parallels between personal transformation and the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. As I coached clients, I started using the analogy often. Then my muses got active, encouraging me to write a book. At first I resisted, as I had a lot of things I wanted to do for my business. Soon I gave in J and started writing. Once I did, the book flowed.

What are you working on now and when can we expect it to be available?

I have just finished a book Kaleidoscope about new energy we are experiencing on earth that I plan to release later this year. I am writing a book now titled Hummingbird and have just finished writing the first chapter.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

Spend time in nature, reading, cooking and my coaching practice gives so much back as I see my clients create the lives they want to live.

What is one interesting fact about you that readers don’t know?

I ran New York City’s Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Team. I managed a Division that included a team of 8 chemists and chemical engineers who responded with New York City’s police and fire departments to over 600 incidents a year. The first responders were heroes. Managing the team, I was involved in incidents involving chemical explosions and fires, leaking electrical transformers that had hazardous chemicals in their oil, expired chemicals dumped in public spaces or found in illegal drug labs that were oxidized and highly explosive and transportation accidents involving hazardous chemicals.

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