"Coming through a dark
night of the soul, or a period of low mood, can feel like springtime. Suddenly
you see bright colours, whereas before everything seemed very grey. You begin
to appreciate the little things once more, such as the sound of birdsong, a
frosty morning, the sun on your face or a scattering of wild flowers. You become
increasingly aware of the gift of your life and more inclined to make the most
of it. Suddenly, you want to do everything! The world is full of possibility and you are
open to it once more. Having finally emerged from the chrysalis, you are ready
to test your wings and fly!"
I have been so excited about the release of my new Celtic Magic Oracle Deck, I had completely forgotten that my second psychotherapy book was also published on the same day, October 1st and I am beyond proud of this one. This is the book that I was working hard on over Christmas last year and it was so hard to keep it a secret!
The Wiccan Guide to Self-Care is the book that I always imagined myself writing when I was up to my eyes in four-hour-long university lectures, extended essays and clinical practice hours. It is the book that I was secretly making notes for in class, when I should have been writing observational feedback for Triad exercises!
From the day I walked into my very first counselling lecture at Level One, back in September 2013, I already had the goal in mind to write and publish a book like this one. Over the years however, I was frequently told by other counsellors that it is impossible to get a psychotherapy book published and they should know because they've tried and failed, and they're already qualified...and so on and so forth. Undeterred, I maintained my goal, allowing that ambition to grow and develop as I moved through five years of university level training, before graduating as a fully qualified psychotherapist in 2018.
Of course, the fact that so many other counsellors were at pains to try and put me off the idea of writing and publishing a book on this topic, really only served to spur me on even more. If they were feeling the sting of competition, then as far as I was concerned, that meant I was onto something! I also knew I was in a far stronger position than they were, because I was already a traditionally published author, with a network of contacts across publishing houses and the magazines that I wrote for at the time.
Is it quite arrogant to assume that you are, one day, going to publish a book on a subject in which you're not yet even qualified? Probably. Is such an accusation enough to stop me holding onto that ambition, and subsequently seeing it through to a successful conclusion? Never!
I prefer to think of it as professional confidence, rather than arrogance. I knew I was in a strong position to achieve the goal. I had already made a name for myself as a book author in the publishing industry. I was already successfully publishing articles in the top UK magazines on various therapy related topics. In addition, I began to write a monthly psychotherapy column for a magazine almost as soon as I qualified, back in 2018, which continued for three years. This was just a few months after I left my role as a key-stone columnist with Spirit&Destiny magazine.
So publishing a book on the topic of psychotherapy wasn't much of a stretch for me. It was more like a natural progression of my writing expertise. In comparison to the other counsellors, who had never published anything via the traditional publishing industry, it's not really that surprising that I succeeded where they failed.
That said, the fact that I had so many naysayers heckling me along the way and wishing me to fail, as they had failed, does tend to make the triumph of publishing The Wiccan Guide to Self-Care even sweeter. When people go out of their way to try and derail you, or sabotage you in some way, its usually because you are more likely to succeed at something than they are! Take such behaviour as encouragement and stay your course. Turn the naysayers into the motivation you need to prove them wrong. That is exactly what I did and I achieved my goal.
The Wiccan Guide to Self-Care, which takes the reader/client from Rock Bottom, right through to the moment that they are ready to leave therapy and try their wings, came on quite a journey to get to its publication day. Initially, the synopsis I wrote back in 2019 was for a straightforward counselling book, but I felt that it was missing something. It needed something to set it apart from other counselling books, which are usually academic tomes aimed at psychotherapy students, rather than for the general public. Like my psychotherapy column, I knew I wanted this book to be aimed at the general public, including my current Mind, Body, Spirit audience, so I tweaked the original synopsis and added in a witchy element.
I did this during the first Covid lock-down of 2020, when I also updated my Author CV and One-Sheet, so that I had a full book proposal package to send out. Then, having just graduated with a Masters Degree in Creative Writing, I submitted to my publisher in 2021. My editor liked the idea, but she wanted to concentrate on MBS initially, so this book wasn't actually commissioned until 2022, meaning that it was rather a long nail-biting process. It was certainly worth the wait!
From as far back as 2011 I was writing posts on this blog about wanting to blend my Wiccan work with more mainstream self-help, and in The Wiccan Guide to Self-Care I have done just that. This is an amalgamation of my practical knowledge and experience as a counsellor, and the magical work I am known for.
Blending topics is always a risk, because you are reaching two audiences with one book. There will be some people who don't like that I have written The Wiccan Guide to Self-Care, be they hard-core Wiccans who would have preferred it to be a spells-only book, or counsellors/self-help readers who don't see the point of including witchcraft at all. There will also be some readers who simply aren't ready for the teachings I present here, because it requires a very proactive approach from the reader. Some people are just looking to wave a magic wand and make everything better without any effort on their part, but that's not what any of my books are about! You have to be prepared to do the leg work. Still, you can't please everybody and I knew when I tweaked the initial synopsis that a book like this one will always have its critics.
For my own part, I'm really happy with how it turned out and I know that my publishers love it, with editors saying how much they have personally benefited from reading it. So I know that the book is helpful to those who will read it with an open mind and a willingness to learn and try new things.
I also feel a significant sense of accomplishment, in that I feel I have achieved a certain amount of social justice in publishing a book like this one. It has always been a bugbear of mine that one-to-one counselling is so difficult to access for some people. Private counselling is expensive, meaning that those on a low income simply can't afford it, while waiting lists for free counselling via the NHS and charities such as Cruse Bereavement Care, are extremely long, leaving people hanging when they need help.
While my book is certainly never going to be enough to plug the huge hole in such counselling services, I do firmly believe that it can help people in a real, practical and immediate way - and it only costs a one off payment of £10. Or you could borrow it free from the library, so it is an easily affordable, readily available source of therapeutic help, which can only be a good thing. It's not meant to be a substitute for counselling, unless you want it to be, but it can certainly bridge the gap and tide someone over until they can access one-to-one therapy.
That was always the main goal behind this book - to leap-frog right over the expensive, elitist snobbery of counselling and give everyone, regardless of income or background, an inexpensive, readily available source of instant therapy - one that offers the same professional tools they would pay to access within a private counselling practice.
What meant the most to me, during the writing of this project, was not how many spells I could include in the book, but that I managed to get the vital therapeutic information out there in an accessible way - accessible for everyone, whether they can afford a therapist or not!
Although I have never subscribed to the old adage that counsellors are going to change the world one client at a time, which to me seems rather pompous and full of hubris, I do believe that books have a far wider reach than any counsellor, in any organisation, ever will.
This then is my book - The Wiccan Guide to Self-Care - an ambition long held, one I was often ridiculed for, but one I achieved nonetheless. Hopefully, it is a source of therapeutic comfort, help and guidance for those who need it most.
I really hope that you like this magical, psychotherapy book and that you find it useful. It is the culmination of my personal decade-long counselling-practitioner journey and I am so happy that it is published!
Finally holding this book in my hands feels very surreal. Publication of my work isn't something that I ever take for granted and it never gets old! It is always such a thrill, no matter how many books I've published over the years.
If you too are struggling with naysayers in your life, just remember - first they laugh - then they copy!
I hope that you enjoy my latest book.
Serene Blessings
Marie x
AD; THE WICCAN GUIDE TO SELF-CARE is available now in both digital and paperback formats. The CELTIC MAGIC ORACLE DECK is also out now.
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