Today I get to — officially — call myself a published author.
Sitting here, typing these words, really feels like a pinch-me moment.
The seed of storytelling was planted within me from a very young age, and over the years I have consciously and actively tended to it in many different forms. I have also rebelled against it and rejected it, only to be pulled back by its undeniable force. Like a hypnotic siren song, it has called me — over and over and over again — to be true to myself and do the thing that beats within my heart and pulsates through my veins:
WRITE.
For the first (nearly) 8 years of my life, I was an only child.
Anyone who has ever been an only child — even for a brief or temporary chapter like me — will know that when it’s just you as a kid, it’s up to you (and only you) to entertain yourself. Especially if you were born in any decade prior to the 2000s.
Me being me, my form of self-entertainment was writing stories.
(Yes, really. You can’t make this shit up.)
I am of the vintage that I would sit down at my parents’ electric typewriter and craft stories and characters and worlds from my imagination. I could spend hours here. Filling blank pages with tales from my formative little mind. It delighted me no end.
Fast forward to high school, I excelled in English — my favourite subject — and when I had my back surgery at age 15 and had to miss an entire term (10 weeks) of school, my English teacher allowed me to submit a journal of my experience to count towards my overall grade for the year. I got full marks.
In 2013, at the height of popularity for blogs, I started my own. Primarily focused on fashion and lifestyle, every piece of writing and clothing was interwoven with my own personal story to create a connection with my readers and allow them to get to know me a little better. My blog’s tagline was: ‘Styling my life, one story at a time’.
As I began to fully embrace and embody my personal and spiritual development in adulthood, I looked to women such as Gabby Bernstein and Rebecca Campbell as my guides. It wasn’t just their ways of teaching that appealed to me: it was the fact that these women were published authors and creators of products that were having a profound impact on other people’s lives — mine included.
I started to think that maybe… just maybe… this could be possible for me too, one day.
That I could be lucky enough to create a legacy that would outlive me in the form of books and decks and other beautiful and meaningful things.
Today is the day it becomes a reality.
And it starts with one chapter in one book.
‘Unity’ — the book collaboration that I am a contributing author to — is available for pre-sale today.
My story appears in Chapter 3 and is titled, ‘The Mid-Life Sensual Awakening’.
The story of how I came to be involved in Unity is a beautiful and interesting one.
I had just recently decided to streamline my business model — doing away with group offerings and live-run online programs, masterminds and courses.
The reason for this choice was to free up space, both within me and on my calendar, to recommit and devote myself to my original love: writing.
Not long after I had made this decision and announced it to my community, my friend Chelsea shared with me a post from The Kind Press, an independent Australian publisher, seeking applications from women with a passion for writing to be part of a book collaboration project. The book was titled ‘Unity’ and it would be an anthology of personal stories from women, a collection of significant life moments that would form a connecting thread that weaves us all together in this rich tapestry of life.
I remember it clearly: it was a Thursday evening and we had just had dinner. I poured a glass of wine, asked my husband Chris not to talk to me for the next 30 minutes, and clicked the link to take me to the online application for Unity.
After answering all of the standard questions — name, contact details, and the like — I was faced with the toughest one: what would my chapter be about?
My first response was pretty generic… SAFE… if I’m being truly honest.
It had the themes of self-trust and self-empowerment which are two strong themes that underpin the foundation of all that I do, but I had phrased it in such a way that was too broad and not nearly intimate enough for a book such as this. So I deleted the paragraph and gave myself a silent pep talk to actually write the topic that was burning bright within me. The story that was alive and true and simply had to be told in Unity.
And so, I began to describe my sensual awakening that has taken place this year.
I talked about what I had moved through, what it has meant to me, and all the ways it has changed me. I also shared that I wanted to be the connecting thread for women in their late 30s (and beyond) who were also in the formative stages of their own sensual awakening and I wanted to be the one to paint this invisible thread gold.
A few days passed and then I received the news I had been secretly hoping for: my application had been accepted and I was in!
From here, the reality of what had just transpired began to kick in. I now had to write 3,000 words about a topic so raw and fresh… and about to be published in an actual real-life book.
I managed to write my entire chapter in two sittings at one of my favourite cafes in my hometown of Lennox Head — a place called Shelter. This place has magical creative qualities for me and is where I crafted what would come to be Chapter 3.
After submitting my chapter, I waited to receive my publisher’s edits with bated breath. They came through via email, but it took me 3 days to pluck up the courage (and be at the right point in my cycle to receive such important feedback) to actually open the email and look at the edits.
Turns out I didn’t have much to worry about — there was a single amendment, a simple change of phrase to be stronger and more direct — and that was it. Job done.
And now we fast forward a couple of months to November 2023, and Unity is no longer a Word document or a PDF… it is a published book, and I am one of its contributing authors.
(These photos were taken on Monday 6 November 2023: the day I received my author copy of Unity… you can probably see by the look on my face how special and significant this moment felt to me.)
A courageous anthology of personal stories, by eleven writers: Rayne Jobling-Paitai, Tara Winters, Sonia Bavistock, Hannah Thomas, Kate Jones, Tammy Guest, Natalie Simes, Pina DiDonato, Suzie de Jonge, Ana Asanovic and Anita Carr — weaving a rich tapestry that illuminates the universal experiences of triumph, struggle, love and growth.
Each chapter serves as an intimate window into the lives of women from all walks of life, embracing the full spectrum of emotions, experiences and perspectives. From tales of resilience and healing to stories of love and loss, these powerful narratives will highlight the raw beauty and complexity of being human.
The underlying message of Unity is simple yet profound:
we are more similar than we are different.
As you delve into these pages, you will be struck by the threads that bind us together — the shared hopes, fears, dreams and desires that unite us across cultures, generations and backgrounds. In celebrating our collective strength, this book offers a sanctuary where you can find solace, empathy and a renewed sense of belonging.
Unity is available for pre-sale now (it officially goes on sale 23 November 2023) and can be ordered from the following websites:
Thank you for being here and witnessing this moment and this milestone in my life.
As you can imagine, this is a day of celebration for me, and I so appreciate being able to share it with you.
Here’s to dreams coming true…
Even if they happen in ways we never could have imagined.
— Sonia. x
"asked my husband Chris not to talk to me for 30mins" made me giggle. You NEED that quiet space alone with yourself sometimes. So proud of you for your chapter, this is just one of many I'm sure, but even prouder of you for realising you were being too safe and going all in. Can't wait to read Unity x
Just ordered my copy 🤗 Congratulations Sonia 😘 You always inspire me to follow my heart, as you continue to follow yours 💜