The Power of Joining our Voices

 

I am in a place I have wanted to be for so very long and I am here because of the power of joining my voice with that of other like-minded women with something to say and a need to be heard.

I am in this place and I am grateful. And I simply cannot let the launch of Strong Like Butterfly pass me by without stopping to recognize these women for their contribution to the book and Girl Body Pride. Lissa Rankin? Mercedes Yardley? Schmutzie and Carol Cain?

Someone pinch the high school me because I’m pretty sure someone sat me down at the wrong lunch table.

I’m not supposed to be in the same breathing space as these women. And I dared to approach them, ask for their words, and publish them in a book with my name after the words “Edited by”. Not only that, but they all said yes. Strong like Butterfly is now available for you to buy and soak in the strength of the words because it’s palpable; believe me when I say it is.

I’m still processing the experience. Even if the book never becomes a best seller or sells enough copies to impress publishers, the experience is one I will always treasure as an important step in my own journey because it’s proof that I valued myself enough (even for just a moment) to breathe the same air as Leslie Marinelli, Abigail Green, H.C. Palmquist, and Jeanne V. Bowerman. I didn’t shy away from asking Shoshana Rachel, Alexandra Rosas, or Therese Walsh for their words. I saw myself as an equal.

We’ve made progress, people. Let’s run with this. Every day I write words that are meant to inspire you and serve as a reminder to myself to keep trying because the journey is just as, if  not more important, than the destination. Every day, I post words with some variation of that message, written by myself or a contributor, and I hope that someone sees themselves in our words because not feeling alone is so important in this whole mess. And today, I thank the women who shared the words that I shared with you because the experience itself was a gift.

Please, I’d love for you to take a moment to stop by and say hello to each of the Strong like Butterfly contributors in their own writing space. Each has her own voice, her own strengths, and her own style. Each is brilliant in her own right. That’s why together, we all happen to kick major ass.

Strong like Butterfly writers:

Lissa Rankin, author of Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof You Can Heal Yourself (Hay House 2013) from LissaRankin.com.

Therese Walsh, author of The (Crown (October 13, 2009), from ThereseWalsh.com

Mercedes Yardley, author of Beautiful Sorrows (Shock Totem Publications (October 16, 2012) from A Broken Laptop

Leslie Marinelli from The Bearded Iris

Jessi Sanfillippo from Shuggilippo

Carol Cain from Girl Gone Travel

Jeanne V. Bowerman from Ramblings of a Recovered Insureaholioc

Abigail Green from AbigailGreen.com

Sue O’Lear from Mrs. Fat Ass

Elan “Schmutzie” Morgan from Schmutzie

Kim Tracy Prince from House of Prince

Heather Palmquist from Wanton Acts of Writing

Shoshana Rachel from Shoshuga

Alexandra Rosas from Good Day Regular People

Thank you for your words. 

 

* A special note to my readers: Erin Margolin is sharing the Strong Like Butterfly love on her site today and has a chance for you to win an exclusive SLB bracelet by Berkey Designs! Stop by, read her fabulous synopsis of the anthology, and enter for a chance to win a beautiful reminder to yourself to just keep trying. 

And don’t forget that you have a chance to win a bracelet courtesy of Berkey Designs right here on Girl Body Pride. Simply review the book by February 14 and email me at girlbodypride dot com. Thank you for being a part of this journey.

 

Pauline Campos is the editor of the new ebook anthology, Strong Like Butterfly, which features the writing talents of writers Lissa Rankin, Therese Walsh, Mercedes Yardley, and many more. She contributes to Funny Not Slutty, Owning Pink, and 30 Second Mom. She blogs three times a week at Aspiring Mama (or when she remember to take her Adderall) and is the founder of Girl Body Pride. Strong like Butterfly is currently available on Smashwords.