The Most Underrated Personal Growth Tool

That Also Lets You Escape Laundry and Emails

Growing up, I thought of fiction as an escape — a way to step into another world, meet fascinating characters, and temporarily forget about real life.

Turns out, it’s so much more.

Fiction can transform you. It sneaks in new ideas, shifts perspectives, and makes you feel things you didn’t expect. And sometimes, a story hands you the exact insight you need wrapped in a moment so real, it stays with you long after you’ve closed the book.

That’s what hit me after a recent conversation about my books. My Women of the Canyon series isn’t just about women over 50 embracing change. It’s about purpose, legacies, friendship, and stepping into the next chapter of life.

Readers of all ages can see themselves in these journeys, even if their circumstances are different.

That’s why I wrote Skylar Evans’s story—to explore what it really takes to begin again.

An accomplished archaeologist, she had spent decades unearthing ancient civilizations, but had never truly uncovered herself. When she finally wrote a memoir, her first book in her own voice, she wasn’t just publishing. She was stepping into a new identity, one that felt more vulnerable than any dig site she had ever explored.

Unboxing Courage

Skylar’s hands trembled as she slit the tape. The box sat heavily on her kitchen counter, the weight of self-doubt almost crushing. She paused. What if no one cared? What if they laughed?

She shook her head and pulled the cardboard open. There it was—her name in bold print. The cover image of pure white bony hands glistened in the morning light.

Her breath caught. I did it.

She flipped through the pages, the familiar words suddenly foreign, yet hers.

A smile crept across Skylar’s lips. Even if no one read it, she’d faced her fear. That’s what mattered most.

For Skylar, the real achievement wasn’t in her past successes or whether this new book would sell; it was in starting. As a writer, the hardest part isn’t publishing but overcoming the fear of putting yourself out there. You can’t succeed if you never begin. And sometimes, just finishing that first book, even if no one reads it, is the victory that matters most.

So next weekend, take a mini-vacation—not to the beach, but into a story. Give your brain a break from the to-do list, let a novel pull you in, and see what lingers when you come up for air.

And if you happen to choose one of my books for this little escape? Well… I certainly won’t stop you.

You might even meet a part of yourself you didn’t know was waiting.