Inspiration and some laughs The past 10 years of my life was a willful evolution that took me from grieving to great. The decade began when I was laid off from the job that supported my entire family, and four days later, my husband died. My book talks about how I worked hard to survive and transform my life. I learned how to make more money. I got physically stronger. And I fixed some relationships that were broken because I finally recognized I had a hand in breaking them. I wrote Willful Evolution in hopes it might help others take a fresh look at their own lives to consider if they need inspiration to launch their own evolution. Because that’s what my book can do. It can inspire you, and it will also make you laugh. In 2010, I was laid off from my full-time job as a communications specialist in a hospital while I was on a family medical leave, taking care of my husband in his last days. I heard my boss tell me my position had been eliminated as I stood on my front steps; Ed lay in a hospital bed in my living room just inside the door. He died four days later. I had no income. No partner, and two teenaged children to raise. I told the story of that devastating loss in my first memoir, “Divine Renovations,” which was published in 2011. My new book, “Willful Evolution,” is a sequel to the first book, and it is poignant, inspiring, and at turns, downright funny. The book shows how I reinvented myself, building not one but two successful businesses and otherwise turning vulnerability into strength. When you read “Willful Evolution,” you will hear stories of my travels to far-away places, meet some of the wacky men I met while online dating, hear how I used yoga, exercise, and adventure to gain physical and emotional strength, and see how I met the man I wanted to marry after learning in my gut that I would be fine without another man. My book is about wrestling fear, building relationships, and finally growing up—in my mid-fifties. Think “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert; “Love, Warrior” by Glennon Doyle; and “Daring Greatly” by Brené Brown. My book is as inspiring, amusing, and powerful as these. “Willful Evolution” will make you laugh and empower your soul. My hope is that people who read my book will find new strength in their own lives, take risks, set new goals, and reinvent themselves! I publish my book through my business Janice Beetle Books, through which I help authors bring their book to the bookshelf. I am not just another self-published author. I have been a writer in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts for over three decades. I have worked for various daily newspapers, earning front-page headlines in the Daily Hampshire Gazette and Springfield Republican; I have published in magazines, including Nick Jr. Magazine; and I wrote promotional materials for prestigious organizations in the Valley. I promise you will enjoy my book and that something you read will resonate and make you feel creative and inspired.