One Courageous Step at a Time
One Courageous Step at a Time
It was my first winter in the Cape. I’d arrived nine months previously, to endless blue skies and a long summer on the beach. A rented cottage on the Peninsula had been my bolt-hole. There, I’d rested and recovered from the burn-out I’d pushed myself into in London.
It was June, now, and I’d moved to a hobbit-like house at the top of a hill in Hout Bay. My English body, used to central heating, shivered in the damp Cape Town air. Outside, a storm was brewing, probably like the ones that dashed ships against rocks in a bygone age. I pulled a blanket around me and gazed at the trees bowing under the force of the wind.
A blank page threatened me from the laptop. A novel? What was I thinking? I knew nothing about writing fiction! The child inside me bit her nails. The adult reminded me I’d travelled over 8,000 miles alone, to a country I’d never before set foot in. “You’re amazing!” she whispered. “You can do it!” I’d generally say that to others. There are incredible women out there doing powerful things, most of whom go unsung. Women can be resilient, compassionate, intuitive.
They’re capable of great empathy, wisdom and intelligence, and yet. I want to unleash the feminine, tell her she’s loved and accepted just as she is. She doesn’t have to conform. Woman is free to create herself from her inner essence, express her feelings, sentiments, and not buy into the hype. Be real. Be true to your deeper self.
That takes courage.
I closed my eyes and took slow, deep breaths. Years of meditating had taught me to let go and turn within, fully present to the eternal now. At that moment, I connected with something more, something out of reach yet intimately known. Greatness, I thought. We all have a greater self, calling us to overcome the conditioning of childhood, the misgivings, the sinking feelings of not being enough. It was Greatness, through intuition, that had insisted I write and impressed on me the importance of a novel. Why can’t I write ‘Seven Things to Help you Awaken’? The silence continued.
I opened my eyes and started writing. It was drivel, but I kept going. An idea was forming, and I stuck with it. London was the setting. A career woman, a therapist, who was burning out. Wasn’t that a bit too close to home? It’s okay. Keep going. One step at a time, beyond the comfort zone, not listening to the critical voice within, but staying focused on the result. That’s how to progress. Become aware, rise above, grow in consciousness, expand—one courageous sentence at a time.
At 4 o’clock, the habit of a lifetime roused me from my trance. I cradled a mug of tea, my fingerless gloves keeping me from scalding. Rain slapped at the French Windows, obscuring the mountain view.
What if I could pull this off? What if I could write a novel about a woman who empowers herself? Finds a path that’s her own? I could show her warts and all, battling with her successful life, juggling the demands of family and work. It could encourage others to get help, pursue their interests and open to something more. The wisdom I wanted to share could be woven into the story, somehow. Now that would be empowering! It had to be compelling, with a light touch. Inspiring. The heroine must take the journey we all fear. She had to face it for us.
It took discipline, disappointment, a steep learning curve and two more years before finishing the first manuscript. It didn’t work. I had to rewrite it. It needed plot points and suspense, fully developed characters and a proper storyline. It had to be entertaining yet authentic. I took a year off to research.
Carving out time between work, my new husband, friends, family and spiritual life, Wednesdays became my sacrosanct writing day. It took another three years to complete. With every scene, I’d swing from the certainty that it was terrible, through the thought that it wasn’t bad, to transitory moments of elation, believing it was brilliant. Quite suddenly, like those ships on the Cape of Good Hope, I’d be dashed against the rocks, plummeting beneath waves of doubt and hopelessness.
Empowerment is about being your own advocate, believing in yourself, your dreams, your hopes and your aspirations. Are you true to your greater self? Are you doing battle every day with your limiting beliefs, excuses, busy life, and resistance? Becoming self-aware, growing, striving to be better – that’s empowerment. We perfect, polish and continue in the face of crippling self-criticism. I couldn’t have completed Red Dress alone. It took a raft of women to mentor, advise, encourage, bolster and soothe, but the book is now published and due for launch in July 2021.
It’s about a 40-something career mum, Katy, who’s stressed-out, time-starved and battling with her mental wellbeing. She’s locked in a dysfunctional marriage, grappling with teenage children and wondering why her outwardly successful life is inwardly painful. Instead of putting on a brave face and pretending it’s okay, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and healing. With some trepidation, Katy dives into an alternative, spiritual life, which leads to her towards meaning and purpose.
Red Dress is the first in a trilogy. It’s light-hearted and funny, yet profound and accessible. All the approaches in the book are authentic – from the therapy sessions to the meditation technique and the things that Katy discovers. You can read it on different levels: A contemporary woman finding her way out of a stifled life, a study of dysfunctional relationships, an insight into the world of awareness and healing through therapy, or a roadmap to spiritual empowerment?
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Red Dress, a novel by Bridget Finklaire
John Hunt Publishing
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BRIDGET FINKLAIRE – BIOGRAPHY
Bridget Finklaire is an Author, Spiritual Teacher and qualified/experienced psychotherapist and hypnotherapist. Her debut novel, Red Dress, is published by John Hunt Publishing and launches July 30, 2021. The book is an engaging, light-hearted story about a forty-something career mum who’s stressed out and disenchanted with her successful life. It can be read on different levels and is filled with spiritual wisdom. It’s fiction but loosely based on Bridget’s life. Like the protagonist, Katy, Bridget was a Harley Street therapist. Unlike Katy, she’s been on a spiritual journey for almost 30 years.
Bridget’s ‘why’ or purpose is positive transformation of self, others and ultimately, humanity. She’s been described as a natural communicator, a brilliant teacher and an inspiring leader.
In 2018, she drew together her spiritual wisdom, her experience as a therapist, and her knowledge of creating intuitively. Thus was born a unique training. The Bone Circle is an extensive programme that empowers people with the tools to create life ‘on purpose’ – consciously and according to their highest purpose.
Her core message is “Love is the Way.” She holds a vision of people awakening to the truth of who they are, creating meaningful lives with joy and purpose, and collectively creating a new way of being. Bridget is particularly interested in working with circles of women who support each other in awakening. Teamwork is an integral part of The Bone Circle.
Bridget was born in Hampshire, grew up in Derbyshire, and lived in London for almost 30 years before moving to Cape Town, South Africa, in 2012. She’s studied and taught many spiritual disciplines and continues to study and teach regularly.
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Website : www.bridgetfinklaire.com
Author Page : https://www.facebook.com/Bridget-Finklaire-159750304132320
Instagram, Pintrest, LinkedIn Bridget Finklaire & Twitter @BridgeFinklaire
Red Dress, a novel, by Bridget Finklaire
Published by John Hunt Publishing
RED DRESS
‘Engaging, light-hearted and deeply touching, this book deals with universal themes: alienation, exploration and the quest for reconciliation – with who you were, where you are and what you want to be.’ Jane Bailey Bain, Author, Lifeworks
Katy is a career mum in her 40s who’s stressed out, time-starved, and disenchanted with her successful life. She has a handsome husband, a house in London, and two teenage children. Her therapy practice in Harley Street is thriving, but she feels empty and lost. She’s forgotten who she is and what makes her tick. An impulsive decision sets in motion a domino effect that changes her life. A series of events, a meeting with someone from the past, and a sequence of numbers, send her on a rollercoaster ride to finding herself. With some trepidation, Katy embarks on a path of spiritual awakening and embraces a new way of thinking.
BUY HERE
Category: Contemporary Women Writers
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