Writing a Book While Pregnant (and in the Fourth Trimester)

By Sheila Vijeyarasa

Some books take time to percolate. Mine arrived like a bolt of lightning, then poured out in a steady, determined trickle over two trimesters of pregnancy and the first three months of my son’s life. Yes, I wrote my second book while growing a human, birthing that human, and learning how to breastfeed him in between Zoom interviews and story edits. It was wild. It was hormonal. It was perfect.

I didn’t plan it that way. But truthfully, nothing about my life has really gone “according to plan” and that’s the whole point of this book.

It was after wrapping up filming for Season 3 of Big Miracles, a documentary-style series about real-life IVF journeys now streaming globally on Apple TV, that I felt a deep, almost cellular urgency to write. The show had given me a national platform, and strangers began stopping me in the street, sharing their own fertility battles, miscarriages, and quiet, painful hope. I felt like I was carrying not just my story, but the stories of so many women who had never seen themselves reflected in mainstream media.

But this book isn’t just about IVF. It’s about what happens when life does not go to plan. It’s about what happens when we’re forced to pivot, sometimes with grace, sometimes through gritted teeth and create meaning in the mess. I wanted to speak to the woman sitting in a silent house after a miscarriage, the one navigating menopause in a workplace that doesn’t talk about it, the one wondering if she’s failed because she hasn’t “found her purpose” yet.

A core concept of the book came to me in the shower (where all divine inspiration descends). I asked myself: What if Plan C was always the plan?

We spend so much of our lives striving for Plan A, the marriage, the baby, the promotion, the five-year vision board. Plan B is the compromise. Plan C? That’s where the gold is. That’s the divine detour. The road we didn’t want to take but ended up needing. That’s where identity is rebuilt, and resilience is born. And I wanted to write about that path. The one I walked. The one so many women walk in silence.

Writing this book wasn’t just a creative process, it was spiritual midwifery. I wasn’t just birthing a baby. I was birthing a truth. My writing process was fuelled by decaf oat lattes, raw emotion, and a kind of hormonal honesty I’m convinced only pregnancy can offer. I didn’t have time to second-guess myself. I wrote like my baby needed it. Because maybe he did. Maybe we both did.

I’m often asked, “How did you write a book while caring for a newborn?” And the truth is, I didn’t have the luxury of overthinking. I wrote when he slept. I edited while feeding. And I cried, a lot. But somehow, the timing was divine. I was cracked open in all the best ways.

And I wasn’t doing it alone. My husband was my rock throughout. He cheered me on, held our baby so I could keep typing, and reminded me, especially on the hard days, that my words mattered. That this message had weight. His belief in me never wavered, even when I doubted myself.

I also knew that I didn’t want this book to just be my voice. I wanted a chorus. So, I interviewed 12 of my clients, women of different ages, cultural backgrounds, and life circumstances. Some were single mums. Some were navigating divorce. Some had just left decades-long careers to find themselves again. Their voices gave the book depth. Their stories offered more than my own could.

This book, The Power of Little Steps, became a roadmap. It’s a deeply personal, practical, and empowering guide to navigating life’s unexpected twists. I didn’t want to just share stories, I wanted the reader to walk away with a full toolkit. Something they could reach for in their hardest moments. Journal prompts. Mantras. Truths. Tools.

I also wanted to challenge the traditional self-help tone. I didn’t want to sound like a guru or a TED Talk. I wanted to sound like your brutally honest best friend after two glasses of wine, the one who tells you to stop waiting for clarity and just take the next brave step.

Because that’s what bravery looks like most of the time. Not a grand leap, but a shaky, quiet, courageous step forward.

And if you’ve ever felt like you’re off-track, late, or lost, this book is a love letter to you. To the late bloomers. The restart queens. The women who had to break down before they broke through.

In hindsight, it was the most fertile period of my life, emotionally, creatively, spiritually. I was writing from the inside out. And it’s why this book feels different. It wasn’t crafted during the most perfect conditions a write would expect. It was written on the couch, in milk-stained pyjamas, with my son sleeping on my chest.

The vulnerability, the softness, the rawness, it’s all in the pages.

And if there’s one message, I hope every reader walks away with, it’s this: You’re not broken. You’re just being rerouted. And your detour? It might just be the divine plan after all.

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About Sheila Vijeyarasa:

Sheila is a dynamic leader, certified NLP practitioner, and executive coach with an MBA (with Distinction). A former CFO of Simon & Schuster Australia, she now helps women unlock their power through mindset work, energy alignment, and executive training. Her first book, Brave: Courageously Live Your Truth, introduced her philosophy of soul-driven leadership. Through her programs and media appearances, Sheila continues to champion courageous living and the quiet revolution of intuitive, feminine leadership.

THE POWER OF LITTLE STEPS

Brave and media-savvy author Sheila Vijeyarasa shows how tiny yet potent steps can lead to monumental change. Her story is about overcoming life’s difficulties to create the biggest of miracles. This will inspire you to live your dreams with authenticity and joy.

The Power of LIttle Steps is a guide to creating significant changes through small steps to achieve the life you want. Spiritual mentor Sheila Vijeyarasa shares personal experiences and deep insights to help you navigate life’s unexpected turns and embrace new perspectives. Filled with inspiring stories, it delves into the importance of self-love, acceptance and healing from trauma to help you on your way. Through this journey, you’ll learn the art of manifestation, the significance of purpose over perfection and how to gain the courage to break free from societal norms. The Power of Little Steps invites you to rewrite the rules, practise gratitude and embrace conscious living. Ultimately, this book aims to empower you to create a life of resilience, authenticity and joy.

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Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing