Monica Anderson talks about her book, What If…, her struggles, her life and being attuned to her spirituality. Monica Anderson is also the author of Chemistry with Kismet.

Dear Reader,

When ReadersMagnet reached out to me inquiring into my new book, And What If . . . Concepts Challenging the Norm, I was caught completely off guard. Having recently self-published through Amazon, as well as working on self-publishing through Barnes and Noble Press, I am new to the publishing world. For me, this was a sign of the importance of the perspectives I must share with the world.

And What If . . . was a concept birthed on the morning of January 28, 2021, as I sat in my driveway having just dropped off my children. At the time, I was reading Rachel Ellis’s Girl Wash Your Face and struggling with a recent change of visitation schedule between my children and their abusive father and stepmother. Life at the time was, in my perception, nothing more or less than a continual struggle. My children had undergone trauma for years, having spent nearly a year without being forced to endure the abuses they suffered at the hands and mouths of their father and stepmother. The courts decided to resume visitation. I was mentally crippled, wondering “What if…” all the time.

What if Child Protective Services had believed my children, the medical doctor, the school officials, and the child psychologist who all reported the abuses and impact upon my children?

What if the judge had allowed my daughter to use her voice and testify despite her father and his lawyer’s threats to drag court out longer to have her testimony stricken?

What if my ex-husband could feel empathy, caring about and for his children, and had not begun to abuse them in a manner like how he had abused me?

What if, what if, what if. It was complete torture. That morning I pulled my cellphone out of my purse, opened the Notes app, and wrote a series of universal Whatif questions. After typing them out, I closed the app and resumed the work on my first book, a teaching memoir, Chemistry with Kismet: Journeying into the Self to Heal the Mind, the book that allowed my voice, my truth to take flight into the world. After the publication of that book, I found myself in contemplation. What should I write next? It was during this contemplative phase, I had a series of conversations with people from my past, both from my childhood and my teenage years. A burgeoning theme arose out of these conversations: I was not the only one who was suffering with the anxiety induced whatifs, this was a widespread theme.

Sitting down, I started thinking deeper about the questions, the concepts, and the life events and perspectives I have experienced and developed over the years. As though possessed, I sat down at my computer and started writing. Moving from one question to another, thinking about the steps and tools I had utilized to overcome challenging what if moments, and infusing every word with the intention to help others heal the barrage of anxiety-ridden questioning I had healed in my life.

Every author who has published, whether traditionally or via self-publishing, knows there is a need to focus upon a target audience. (This is especially true when writing a book proposal and/or querying agents and indie publishing companies.) Defining a target audience has become my Everest question. I have lived and learned through many experiences, while simultaneously being limited and bounded by myself and others in my life. Living my life on my own terms, as I am now doing, I have grown to despise limitations. I genuinely believe the people who this book is meant to reach are those who are seeking self-help, seeking answers, seeking guidance, and seeking relief from the anxiety hamster running on the what-if wheel in their mind. The concepts and experiences shared in the book have a market appeal applicable to all genders, and many ages. Though not being intended for children, I believe emotionally aware teenagers and adults would greatly benefit from the challenges at the end of each chapter in And What If . . .

As a Reiki Master, an avid reader, and student of Psychology and Spirituality, my life is always laser focused on energy. Even Einstein knew all things are, at their basest form, energy. We are all made up of energy interacting with other energy. Life is made up of flow and flux of energy, swirling through and all around everything. The concepts within And What If . . . are infused with energetic changes, expectantly waiting the readers. My hope is to reach people in need of a fresh, new perspective and energetic cleansing. I believe in a greater force in the Universe, and that we all find, or are brought to, the messages, people, and things that we need in our lives. My book is a part of that greater force, out in the world to bring to others what was once brought to me.

Now that the book has been released into the world, I am going to continue to promote it on my social media pages as well as talking about it on my website and its companion podcast, thekismetchemist.com. As every author knows, when you close out one chapter (or one book, as it were), it is time to open another one. Taking up the authorial pen once more, I continue to strive to bring further healing messages into the world.

Everyone has a dream in their heart. My dream is and always has been to make a difference through the words I put on paper. Teaching my children how to live their best lives and believe in the impossible, I know that every experience is meant to happen. Becoming an author is my dream come true. Hearing from readers of the help received from my words, I know, definitively, I am living my true life’s purpose. If I can do it, you can too.

With Gratitude,

Monica Anderson

For more of the work of Monica Anderson check out her blog.