This book Changed my Life

Author Catalina Margulis shares her story of the transformative power of storytelling

By Catalina Margulis

When I started writing my book Again, Only More Like You, I had been laid off, restructured out of my job. AND I was pregnant. On top of it all I was turning 40. Having spent my whole life building a career I could be proud of, the pinnacle of which was becoming an editor at national fashion magazine most women would kill to work at, this felt like the ultimate fall from grace. I was literally barefoot and pregnant, with 4 kids, and no hopes of returning to the work force, at least any time soon. I had no options and zero opportunities, and a young family to help support and care for. I felt like I had let everyone down, especially myself. 

It wasn’t just that I had lost a job, though. I had fallen out of love with my work years earlier, and at the time, I was in a contract position for a magazine and company I couldn’t stand. 

It was the fact that I was losing my identity along the way. If I wasn’t that person—the jet-setting magazine editor I had worked so hard and so long to become—who was I anymore?

So I did the only thing I knew to do—I wrote. I let it all out, all the hurt, pain and frustration of being a working mom. And also the angst around motherhood that so many of my friends were experiencing—the impossibility of it all, the choice to be a mom, especially for my still single friends.

The funny thing is that writing that story about my broken life healed so many parts of me. I confronted my worst fears, and I imagined what my life could look like in a fictional world where anything is possible. What was the best thing that could happen? 

The crazy part is—much of it ended up coming true.

Over the course of writing that book (and revising time and time again), a life unfolded that would allow me to spend more time with my kids AND have a career that I loved. I became a champion of fellow authors and ended up becoming a book coach to help others make their book publishing dreams come true. 

Along the way, I made a promise to myself to be 100% book, 100% passion project, 100% of the time. And it happened.

After years of miserably trying to make it work in a career that was culturally toxic, spiritually draining, and creatively unfulfilling, in that moment of finding myself out of a job and pregnant—the worst setback imaginable, for me anyway—I had clarity that this career, this whole life I had been working toward, was no longer working for ME.

And that realization kicked off an entrepreneurial and spiritual journey of passion, fulfilment and self actualization that has led me to doing my favourite thing in the world: Writing books and helping other authors share THEIR story, so they can launch themselves into the future THEY’VE always dreamed about.

No matter their circumstances.

No matter their back story.

Just like me.

And just like Carmen and Ally, the main characters of my story. Even though we meet them just as their lives seem to be falling apart—Carmen loses her job, while Ally’s latest love affair crashes—the journey they take us on is seeing how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together when we follow our hearts to build ourselves back up—again, only more like you. The story asks the question, Where do you go when you spent your whole life getting here? And the answer is a resounding Yes, your best is yet to come.

Today I have a thriving business where I’m in control of my hours and my time. (Even if sometimes entrepreneur life means working around the clock.) 

I have a team of women and moms who support me, as I support them with flexible schedules and compassion when life happens, cheering them on with their own passion projects. I work with people I care about, on books I’m passionate about. I don’t have to feel bad about staying home to look after a sick kid, or PD days. Maybe even more importantly—I have a life and schedule that allows me to write and create my own books, which are as much apart of my self care practice as anything else, and which fuel me and fill me up, so I have more to give to others.

Because of my book, I launched a podcast. I became a speaker, facilitating workshops on book publishing and book creation for hundreds of would-be authors. I’ve helped experts launch and grow their business and help thousands of others who read and use their books to drive their own lives forward. And I’ve made so many new friends…

My book has grown me in so many ways—sometimes I wonder if that’s been the whole point all along. It’s taught me to get loud and step into the spotlight. It’s pushed me out of my comfort zone. It’s showed me how to ask for help and how kind and generous others can be when I do. It’s even brought me closer to God, who has turned out to be the best co-author anyone could ever ask for.

This book changed my life in the best possible ways. As I hope it will do for you.

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About Catalina Margulis

Catalina Margulis (catmargulis.com) is an author, book coach and publishing consultant, and mother of four. A former journalist, and editor at ELLE Canada, Flare, and Today’s Parents, the Toronto-based LatinX author has been featured in more than 40 publications, including The Globe and Mail, Reader’s Digest, Yummy Mummy Club and countless others.

Her book Again, Only More Like You (againonlymorelikeyou.com) follows best friends Carmen and Ally, who are approaching their 40th birthdays while grappling with personal crises. Carmen, once an overachieving magazine editor and now a stay-at-home mom, finds her life unraveling just as Ally, her free-spirited single friend, faces her own romantic failures. Together, they must confront the question: are their best years behind them, or is 40 just the beginning of something amazing? 

Perfect for fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Jennifer Weiner, Again, Only More Like You captures life’s heartbreak and humor in equal measure, showing how women can reinvent themselves and create meaningful lives at any stage. 

Connect with Cat on Instagram at: @catmargulis

Buy the book at: againonlymorelikeyou.com 

 

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing