Finding Peace of Mind: The Memoir Is Finished
After two years of work, my memoir Finding Peace of Mind is finally complete. This blog shares the process, the hurdles, and the personal lessons learned.
Well, I finally made it.
After starting two years ago, my memoir ‘Finding Peace of Mind – An inspirational journey through bipolar, depression, addiction and dyslexia’ is now complete.
There were a few hurdles to overcome. First of all, I don’t particularly enjoy writing—and there’s still a part of me that believes I’m no good at it, that no one will understand what I’m trying to say. The breakthrough came when I decided to write as I speak. Most people understand me when I’m talking, so that approach helped take a lot of the pressure off.
Then there was the sheer scope of the task—days, weeks, and months of writing, followed by even more editing. I borrowed a saying from the 12 Step fellowships: “One day at a time.” I adapted this to mean “one activity at a time,” made a daily plan, and kept returning to it.
I also made a conscious choice to enjoy the process—using my love of learning to help me stay engaged.
One key priority was to ensure there was no self-pity, blame, or resentment in anything I wrote. To help with this, I asked for professional support. That turned out to be vital. The process included:
- A male editor
- Followed by a female editor
- A sensitivity check (carried out by the female editor)
- A proofreader
- And finally, a designer for the cover and interior layout
The sensitivity check alone raised 240 points. When I first saw that number, my heart sank. But the feedback was fantastic. Many of the comments asked me to clarify things I’d taken for granted—words, phrases, or situations. Working through these gave me a much deeper clarity of thought.
Towards the end, my inner perfectionist made a return and whispered that I should do even more. But this time, I recognised what was happening. I reminded myself of the 20/80 rule: 20% of the effort gets 80% of the result—and I’d definitely gone way beyond that.
