Someone pinch me - an author's dream come true

Today, I celebrate.  I hold, in my trembling hands, speaking in a whisper with a barely audible voice, with nerves nothing like steel, but more like wet noodles, with knees knocking, heart palpitating and mind-spinning, but in the words of author Elizabeth Gilbert “. . . choosing the path of curiosity over the path of fear,” I step out from behind the shadows of my computer monitor and into the light of Amazon, print on demand and (dare I say it) book reviews (and clearly the longest run-on sentence every written). 

In one hand, I hold my baby, my real baby who set me on this path.  My little boy who is the best thing that ever happened to me as a post-forty-year-old woman.  In my other hand, I hold an advanced readers copy of my memoir Starving Girl – My 30-day Experience with the Miracle of Intermittent Fasting and Prayer (Three Orchard Productions). 

I’ve been working on this book for 8 months – 8 long months of self-revelation, sleepless nights, growth, spirituality, glory, mind-blowing evidence and let’s not forget, hunger. That’s right, hunger has been an incredible motivator - from hitting rock bottom to having to dig myself out to discovering the most beautiful journey.  I’ve done this all with somebody I really didn’t know very well, somebody who I wouldn’t have picked, somebody who I wasn’t sure if she could really do it.  That person is me.  The reason this story has a happy ending is because along the way God showed me who I really am.  Hoping for a release date of September 24, my birthday.  What a gift that would be! 

"Ta-da, my mom did it," Canyon says.  I love this little boy so much.

After much thought, typing, deleting, writing, editing, starting over, looking for deeper meaning and then finally just having some fun with it - here’s the back book blurb. 

The proverbial bowl of flying spaghetti was a common theme for Laura Lofgreen, a 43 year-old mother of six very active children, including a new baby.  Obese, overwhelmed and living in a state of procrastination, she decided to either change her life or age quietly into the sunset of poor health and unfulfilled dreams. Lofgreen had spent decades dieting, but hunger always got the best of her.  When an out-of-the-blue revelation told her to fast for 30 days, she hesitantly stepped into the world hunger.  Why would she put herself in such a position?  Her Christian faith encouraged fasting, a task she’d ignored for 20 years.  Could there be more to this timeless, religious practice than she realized?  Determined, she struggled, resented, fought and eventually rejoiced in the lessons she learned from daily 16-hour fasts. 

Food; a sore spot for many women struggling with body-image reminded her of Eve and the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.  Since the beginning of time, food had been a tool for good or bad.  Laura constantly asked God questions:  Why was obesity wide-spread?  Was over-eating and depression linked?  Why did some have so much while others starved?  Why was body size related to self-worth?  Why had she turned to food after being sexually abused?  When every impulse and craving of her body was not satisfied, her motivation became stronger and she became more present in life.  She experienced improved relationships with her family and her mind became a breeding ground for deep-thinking and positive affirmation.  In essence, the dreams she’d long buried became reality. 

Laura Lofgreen is a published author (The Memory Catcher) and founder of project: USED; raising awareness through vintage dresses for the 1 out of 3 girls who are sexually abused.  Lofgreen graduated Magna Cum Laude in Communication from Arizona State University. With over a million hits, most days you can find her writing on her blog My Dear Trash (www.mydeartrash.com).

When Starving Girl is up on Amazon, I’ll post a link.