If you’re new to A Fresh Chapter, you might want to know where it all began. But, if you’ve been with me since the beginning, feel free to scroll past the first few paragraphs and jump down to see what’s ahead...

How A Fresh Chapter Began

Three years ago, I wrote a letter to Oprah that changed everything.

It all started with a walk. I was a few weeks out of the operating room and still nursing the pain of my double mastectomy. Feeling hemmed in by the four walls of my apartment, I slipped on my gumboots and slid out into the misty Vancouver air. As sea gulls dive bombed above me and a strong wind tossed the sea into a field of whitecaps, I stood on the shore and wept.

As I swiped my sleeve under my eyes and inhaled hard to steady myself, I struggled to admit that I felt wedged into a life that didn’t belong to me anymore.

My professional recruiting persona no longer fit, but my lofty dream of being a writer felt unrealistic and unattainable. Even as the chapters of a memoir appeared on my computer, I wanted to quit because I felt like a fool. Who was I kidding? I didn’t know anything about writing. I needed someone to pluck me from my situation and hold my hand while I figured out how to get an editor, an agent, and a publishing contract. I wanted certainty in a world whirring with unknowns and as I turned for home, I thought of one person who had the power to change everything.

Out of breath, I slammed the door of my apartment and didn’t even sit down before my fingers flew over the keys of my laptop. I wrote and re-wrote my letter to Oprah until I was sure that she would see my potential and help me launch my writing career. I pressed send and checked my Blackberry every few hours as I waited anxiously for a reply that never came.

Instead, I woke up the next day and my life felt the same as it had the day before: messy, confusing, overwhelming, and terrifying.

Not sure of what else to do, I took someone’s advice and started a blog and that letter to Oprah became my first blog post. I knew nothing about blogging, but when I pressed “Publish” for the first time, I felt the rush of doing SOMETHING. I kept writing and eventually a few people started reading. I made plenty of mistakes. I wrote too much about myself and I forgot the lessons I’d learned as a recruiter. My ability to make connections and build a network had set me apart professionally, but I had failed to carry this over to the online world or to realize that I needed to help other people achieve their dreams in order to get closer to mine.

A New Series on Starting Fresh

Along the way, my dream has shifted from writing a book to volunteering globally and creating a foundation for other cancer survivors to do the same. As part of this evolution, I have read countless books, watched endless TED talks and discovered amazing online resources that have helped me to feel comfortable with trusting moments of clarity amidst weeks of confusion.

Now, I feel like it’s time to evolve A Fresh Chapter and make it less about ME and more about YOU.

When I thought about how to do this, it seemed naive to think that a new reader to a Fresh Chapter would have the time or the inclination to sift through three years worth of blog posts in order to find insights applicable to his or her life. I know each of you has a unique story and a different reason for why you want to start fresh. Regardless of if you’re nursing a broken heart, feeling stagnant in your career, or coping with the devastating loss of a loved one, you might have reached a crossroads where you have to move forward because you can’t stay where you are.

Even though I don’t pretend to have all of the answers, I’d love to share the insights that have most helped me. So on Monday, I’m kicking off a new series called Start Fresh. Each week, I’ll open up the archives and share the most influential lessons I’ve learned.

In our fast-paced, information-saturated world, I want to be able to build a bridge between you and the ideas or people who might hold the key to your next step. Although I’ll still bring you on the road with me and share the evolving Fresh Chapter story, I look forward to finding ways for both of us to move our dreams forward.

So stay tuned. We’re kicking things off on Monday with a lesson Martha Beck taught me about how one word can change your whole life.

If you want to have the Monday Start Fresh series delivered directly to your inbox, click HERE to join the Fresh Chapter Tribe.