The Story Behind the Story with Lisette Meuse-Manuel of Moncton, NB, Canada.

 

Let’s welcome Lisette to the Scribbler.

She is excited to have her new book in her hands and is ready to share her story with everyone.

Watch for her debut book signing at Chapters in Dieppe, NB in October.

Read on, my friends.

 

 

Lisette is originally from Baie Ste-Anne, NB and now resides in Moncton, NB where she has been working in the beauty and wellness industry for over 35 years. She owns a skin care clinic that specializes in advanced facial treatments, reconstructive tattooing, menopausal skin concerns and nutrition coaching.

 

 

 

Working Title:    Prepare to Pause. A wellness guide for women.

 

 

Synopsis: This is an informative self- help book written to help and empower women to stay strong, healthy and confident at middle age. By the year 2025, there will be over 1 billion women going through the menopause. Nutrition, sleep, skin care and stress are some of the subjects covered in this book as well as mindset and motivation to help women understand and prepare their mind of body for this hormonal transition.

 

 

The Story behind the Story: This book was not planned at all! It just kind of happened as I was preparing a draft for a printable pamphlet to give out to my clients during consultations. As I started writing, my own story started to unfold and write itself as I experienced a very difficult menopause. Daily conversations with female clients going through the same thing made me realize how thirsty for knowledge, support and solutions we all are. I started doing tons of research and compiled my knowledge and experience on various subjects and suddenly chapters started appearing. I soon realized this was no longer a bullet form pamphlet... haha. I started feeling out the territory to see if women would be interested in such a book as it is a bit of a taboo subject. The response was phenomenal, so here I am.

 

 

Website:   www.dermakaesthetics.com

 

 

A question before you go, Lisette:

Can you tell us about the perfect setting you have, or desire, for your writing? Music or quiet? Coffee or tequila?  Neat or notes everywhere?

 

Definitely Coffee. Preferably  organic dark roast with a splash of almond milk in my favorite ceramic mug that was gifted to me years ago. This is my first book and I wrote it during my work day in between clients as a lot of the content ideas came from conversations that happened in my treatment room. I usually have soft, ambient music playing that puts me in a kind of zen state of high focus.  I wrote this mostly on my laptop, but also used a voice recording app on my phone to quickly capture ideas before they slipped away. But honestly, I am a pen and paper girl. I love the feel and sound of a heavy pen on a crisp, blank piece of paper. For the next book, I am imagining myself sitting on my comfy couch staring out the window on a stormy day, with a fancy notebook, a good pen and a steaming cup of coffee. I have no idea what the next book will be about or when that will happen, but it definitely will.

 

 

Excerpt:

 

We live in a time where ageism is real and the search for the eternal fountain of youth is alive and kicking. Women after a certain age often feel, and sometimes do, become invisible. This happens in the workplace and even on the big screen where famous actresses just suddenly disappear. A certain very competent woman news anchor comes to mind. Not long after letting her natural silver hair grow out, she was quickly replaced. Our society celebrates youth, which has become synonymous with competence and sexiness.

However, in many cultures around the world, matriarchs are celebrated and revered. They do not try to change their appearance and hide their age. They are looked up to by the younger women for their wisdom, knowledge, and life experience. They have rights of passage ceremonies and special herbs and remedies for various symptoms, information which is passed on through generations. Older women teach and guide younger women, so they know what to expect when changes start happening. Here in North America, we pretend this middle phase of life does not exist. It is like a big secret that no one feels comfortable talking about. Throughout my life, I have done a lot of reading and observing of older women for cues on what I should be experiencing and how to prepare my mind and body during this life stage. Our bodies go through an incredible change physically and mentally, and not many of us are prepared for it. We are taught about puberty in school and learn very basic skills to deal with that. But when menopause hits like a hot freight train, we are often left confused, sweaty, dizzy, and utterly exhausted.

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for being our guest this week Lisette. Wishing you all the success you deserve.

 

 

And a big thank you to our visitors and readers. Don’t be shy, leave a comment below.