I’ve always been of the belief that the best writing comes from experience. Our latest Author Spotlight, Steve Patterson, is doing just that. We had an opportunity to talk to this new author for the first time in our Author Spotlight series about his first book, ” This is How it Feels to Heal“.
Please, enjoy the interview and support our independent and self-published artists.
What inspired you to become a writer?
A significant life crisis suddenly forced me to resign from journalism after more than 15 years of reporting what others were doing. Subsequently, following many years of dealing with liver failure, later liver cancer, and alternative healing practices I engaged in along the way, I felt it was time to share the story I am often asked to recount.
Me: a man who was diagnosed with as little as six months to live in 2011 and who released a book about the saga just three years after it ended in 2019 sits today in Mexico City after traveling across Latin America for fifteen months as a remote worker.
In telling the doctors, “I don’t buy your myth of death,” as I did, I was not joking. I wasn’t kidding when I said I would leave the United States during the health crisis. I gained more from the experience than I lost, but it was not easy. Sometimes the pain was excruciating, but that is how it feels to heal.
Who is your favorite Author and Why?
While not an author by trade, Doctor David Hawkins’ books “Power versus Force” and “Letting go” are two books of the past decade that have helped me understand the significance of the mind-body relationship. Over his many decades of research in consciousness, both scientifically first and later in more esoteric approaches, his work has had the single most significant impact on how I see myself in the world.
Describe your new book “This Is How It Feels to Heal” in 30 words or less:
The story of a man who had everything going for him, from his family life to business success, turned to shamanism in the chaos of co-occurring terminal diseases.
Why should we read it?
In demonstrating that opportunity lies in the challenges, this book proves that no matter what obstacle stands in the way of success and wellness. Furthermore, the opinions of others on how you choose to pursue healing are not necessary; the saga shows that being stripped of everything creates a fresh bedrock to rebuild.
Through this book, we discover how our socially conditioned lives have hindered our personal growth since childhood. Our lives can be lived the way we intend when we free ourselves from outdated beliefs.
What books have influenced your life most?
In addition to Hawkins, Lujan Matus’ many books on eastern and western shamanism helped me create my own path in the early days of my illness. Likewise, other works in shamanism, such as those by Sandra Ingerman and Carlos Castaneda, have also had a significant impact.