The Gift in Your Story:
11 Women Share Their Inspiring Transformational Journey to Healing
by Kelly Snider
About the Book
Reveal Heal Transform
Your Story Matters
Dive into the deeply engaging stories of eleven amazing and resilient women as they share their heartbreak, challenges, and successes on their journeys to find deeper meaning and purpose in every situation.
If you’ve ever struggled with self-confidence, if you’ve ever had your fairy-tale romance break into pieces, if you’ve ever wondered if your dreams will ever come true; this book will inspire you and help you identify the gift in those deeply challenging times. You will be able to reveal your own strength and resiliency in the stories shared in these pages. You may even be able to take the first steps on your own healing journey towards sharing your own story, and, in turn, use it to inspire, encourage and even transform. Because your story matters.
Every interaction has the potential to be an Epic Exchange.
About the Author
Kelly has been a storyteller, a dreamer and a connector of people for over twenty years. As an event producer, she crafted each event to highlight her client’s individual stories and needs. Since the 1990s, Kelly’s story-focused events have raised over twelve million dollars net for North American charities.
Kelly’s mission has always been to inspire others through sharing the stories that connect us all. She has utilized her events, the Power of Story Conference in 2017, the podcast Epic Exchanges, and now the Epic Exchanges book series, to help others find the gifts in their stories in order to share, inspire, and transform lives. Kelly excels in finding the things that connect people; whether it is charity, food and wine, or just good conversation, she is able to see the possibilities that are often overlooked in both business and personal interactions. Kelly’s generosity in sharing her own stories has emboldened many to find the freedom and the strength to share the own stories.
Epic Exchanges the Podcast: Apple Podcasts and YouTube
Interview with Kelly Snider
Please share a bit about your journey to become a published author.
Ever since discovering the impact that my story had on people I casually met over 15 years ago, I knew I wanted to help others share their own stories to inspire and encourage a larger audience. This collaborative book, The Gift in Your Story, was really the culmination of that journey. I was introduced to Julie several years ago by an author in the first WOW book and felt that she had the missing pieces that I needed to make it all finally happen. Having an expert in the field who has such a huge track record of success for authors has been invaluable.
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What led you to publish a collaborative book instead of a solo book?
I am working on both this collaborative book and my solo book which is planned for release late spring/early summer this year! The collaborative book was my first idea a few years ago, but I kept being put on hold due to other commitments. The pandemic cancelled all those commitments so now was the time. My passion is helping people share their stories so they can inspire many more, so a collaborative book is one way of doing just that.
What did you find most difficult about the writing and publishing process? What was the easiest? What unique challenges arise when you have multiple authors?
Multiple authors mean multiple voices, and everyone is at a different place on their own journey. Some have healed more than others. Some already have a great grasp on the positive outcomes – or, as I like to call it, the GIFT – that their challenges brought. And some need a little nudge to get there. The best part of this process was seeing each author get clarity and confidence with not only their story, but with how it all has come together on the printed page.
Please share about the new book you will be launching February 25th. What inspired you to write this and how did you choose the authors you included?
“The Gift in Your Story” launches on February 25, 2021. The eleven women who have contributed to this book are all wonderful people who I have been able to call friends over the years. One I have known my entire life, and others I met early in 2020 – but every single one of them had a story that impacted me, so I knew that they had the ability to impact many more. I have been definitely blessed to rekindle friendships throughout this project. Knowing that everybody has a story that matters, stories that will help at least one other person – and then seeing how these women’s challenges and letting go of hopes and dreams, and finding their own self-confidence and worth – has been the real gift.
What do you hope readers will take away from reading The Gift In Your Story?
I hope that readers will find something that speaks to them about their own journeys. I hope this book helps them recognize that they are not alone in their struggles and challenges, there is that proverbial ‘light at the end of the tunnel”. I also hope that each reader recognizes that perhaps they too have a story that can help someone else and maybe they want to start exploring how to share it.
What would you like readers to know about you?
I have always been passionate about the stories that connect us. For over 20 years I used story telling in my event production business to ensure that individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations would connect with their audiences on a deeper, more meaningful level. Away from work I love the ocean, music, my family, my dog, and long walks with good friends talking about what really matters.
Could this book become a series of collaborative books? Do you have any new titles in the planning stages?
Yes – this is just the first in the Epic Exchanges series of books. An epic exchange is any interaction where one or all people come away feeling inspired, encouraged, motivated, or even transformed. That is the purpose of this book series. The next title, set for a late September release, will be The Strength to Shift, featuring 15 people sharing their stories of making major shifts in the areas of relationship, career and/or health and wellness.
In closing, can you please share a favourite quote?
“When you stand and share your story in an empowering way, your story will heal you and your story will heal somebody else.”– Iyanla Vanzant
Co-Authors
Emily Scott
Emily Scott is a project manager and Salesforce enthusiast by day and an award-winning self-taught artist by night. Born and raised in the Kootenai Valley in northwest Montana, she headed to Seattle for college and grad school before spending several years overseas interning, participating in Peace Corps, travelling, eating, and seeking epic nature, all the while growing her art business. Nineteen countries later, she is back in the Pacific Northwest making art inspired by the natural wonders from her travels and surroundings, creating works that emanate the constant soothing-yet-powerful energy of our universe.
Emily is passionate about empowering women to step into their true Selves, to love themselves, and to take control of their own personal uprising, whatever that may look like.
Deborah Sauro
Deborah was born and raised in a home that welcomed anyone and everyone. She and her husband have continued this tradition throughout their marriage, taking in anyone who needs a place to stay and a family to love them. She has been inspired to continue the legacy left by her parents to embrace those around her who need unconditional love, understanding, and support.
Deborah spent thirty-five years working in various retail and hospitality positions, including two years spent working aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean where she met her husband. She also worked as a makeup artist in film and television. Since semi-retiring in 2018, she has worked as an assistant with an events management company and is currently creating social media posts for a friend’s company.
While currently living in Squamish, BC, Deborah is lucky enough to have family all over the world and enjoys splitting her time between her two homes, one in Canada and one in Italy.
Terry Fodë
Terry Fodë is known for wearing a lot of hats. Some of her past employment includes working on cruise ships internationally, marketing vacation ownership properties while living in Mexico, and providing project support and coordination for the construction and commissioning of a cyclotron facility. She currently works as quality assurance and a lab technician in radiopharmacy.
When not working, Terry can be found with her hands in the dirt or out enjoying nature. Passionate about self-reliance, she grows her own vegetables and practices food storage. She is currently pursuing projects that combine helping remote communities increase their food security with helping youth from these communities gain a passion for self-reliance.
Originally from British Columbia, Terry has called Northwestern Ontario home for the past thirteen years. Her love of languages, art, and culture has recently led her to explore the history, artwork, food and culture of indigenous communities in her area.
Kristin Ormiston
Arriving in the spring of 1969, Kristin Ormiston was an infant witness to several important historic events, including the first man on the moon and the Woodstock Music Festival. This would have a ripple effect that stretched out into the rest of her life. Kristin met Neil Armstrong at a leadership convention when she was nineteen years old, and her musical style has since been compared to Woodstock-era artists Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez.
Kristin’s family has a history of mental illness, strong leadership, and a dash of obscure brilliance. This made growing up a complicated process. She has directed the energy resulting from these challenges into a quest for wisdom, and the reflections of her discoveries are shared through her songwriting.
Kristin has lived and performed all over the world, including seven years employed by Rosebud Theatre in Alberta and another seven at the Chemainus Theatre Festival in British Columbia. In 2011, she relocated to Tokyo where she eventually became the Artist in Residence at New World International School. She later returned to Canada, and in 2018 she began working and performing at Gather, a restaurant and live performance venue on Pender Island, BC, where she owns a hobby farm. Kristin’s next album, Love Found Me, will be released in 2021.
Spotify: Kristin Ormiston
Apple Music: Kristin Ormiston
Therese Lafleche
Therese Lafleche has been travelling and moving to new countries since the age of seventeen. She has done so as a young woman, as a single mother, and now with her husband and son. She believes that travel is the best education one can get and is the perfect way to relax, discover yourself, and grow as a person.
As the founder of Passport Lifestyles, she has a vision of bringing cultures together through language and travel. She has been offering language and cultural retreats since 2017 and is now inviting you to get the full experience of France from the comfort of your own home. Within her membership group, you will get to know the history and culture of France; discover hidden gems, hot spots, fashion, and travel tips; and receive insider tours and special offers from French artists and merchants. You will also have access to live cooking classes with a chef in Paris as well as language lessons. Once you know which areas intrigue you the most, she can customize a retreat for you or you can join one of the planned retreats.
Angel Baney
For over twenty years, Angel Baney held a career as a bodyworker and movement specialist. In that time, she opened up several spas and served as a teaching assistant for one of the top massage therapist leaders in the world. She also treated rescue workers in Pennsylvania and New York while they were searching for survivors of the 9/11 tragedy, and the massage chair she used is now part of history at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.
In March 2020, Angel pivoted her career after the world shut down due to the pandemic. She is now a certified B.A.N.K.™ IOS Coach and is licensed to teach B.A.N.K.™ relationships and fundamentals. Her passion is to help mothers communicate with their preteen daughters so they can build strong bonds. Angel also serves on her daughter’s school board and chairs the parent-teacher committee. She is passionate about helping her community and both fundraises for and donates to several charities.
Angel currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband Tom. She has one daughter and three cats. Most of her immediate family lives in Pittsburgh, and they enjoy spending time getting together.
Heather Ann McBride
Heather Ann McBride is a daughter, sister, mom (of both people and cats), friend, filmmaker, upcycler, and resume writer at InClarity360. If she isn’t writing a resume or on the phone with a client, she is turning junk into cool, usable things or driving to the Oregon coast to stare at the ocean. It gives her inner peace to know that she is part of something bigger in this universe. She strives to experience a human revolution each day guided by her mentor and founder of Soka Gakkai International Daisaku Ikeda, whose organization promotes a global Buddhist movement for peace, education, and cultural exchange.
Sarah Voth
Sarah graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education. She has been teaching in the French immersion program for the last twenty-eight years and is passionate about her craft and the students she works with.
Sarah has experienced the pain and growth that comes from divorce and writes about her personal journey in this book. She wants to share her story in hopes that it might support others on this difficult road. She also wants to impart some of the valuable lessons she learned along the way—lessons that might help those currently in relationships.
Moira Ellis Lynch
Born and raised in West Vancouver, Canada, Moira Ellis Lynch had a career in local government that spanned almost three decades before she relocated to the scenic countryside in rural Wales with her Irish husband. During her career, Moira worked in parks, recreation, and cultural services administration as well as human resources, holding both union and management positions.
Moira’s personal interests are in the arts and include organizing special events, fundraising, singing, playing guitar, dancing, and taking part in the visual arts. She is a dedicated helper, always making someone smile with a small gesture. Her days are full of creativity—gardening, growing food, baking, gourmet cooking, painting, crafting, decorating, writing poetry, and more—as well as managing her country house and spending quality time with her husband and two cats. She and her husband enjoy travelling, entertaining, singing, and playing guitar together—and most recently, writing songs during lockdown.
Moira has had many experiences worthy of putting into a book and her plans for the future include many stories yet unwritten. She is also hoping to one day build a B&B in Ireland; in the meantime, she will just keep enjoying her happy life.
Buffi Davids
Buffi Davids has lived a varied life that has included careers ranging from being the production and stage manager of a symphony orchestra to the owner of a small baking company. She presently fills her days with teaching as she learns to homeschool her two active children. Her journey from the working world into motherhood and homeschooling has been an adventure that at times feels like running an obstacle course— full of difficult and unexpected challenges as well as highly fulfilling moments.
Writing has been a passion since she was a child, but for several years she had laid down her pen. It has been a joy for her to pick it up again to share a piece of her story with hopes of letting another mom know she is not alone in this everchanging journey.
Tammy Haywood
Tammy is a serial entrepreneur who learned at her father’s feet, so it’s no surprise that her husband and two grown sons all run their own separate businesses. She is a firm believer in the motto, “Do what you love and the money will follow.”
Tammy’s sensitivity to ambiance and beautiful spaces led her into the field of interior design, where she has achieved success as a freelance designer with projects ranging geographically from Florida to Whistler in addition to building her dream home in Pitt Meadows. Tammy achieved her Bachelor of Arts at the University of British Columbia with a major in psychology.
Raised in West Vancouver, she has a love of the mountains and the ocean and continues to enjoy connection to lifelong friends. She has three children, including a daughter who has inspired her to become the best female role model she can be. As a news junkie and voracious reader, Tammy excels at research and writing and is interested in travel, culture, and current events. She shares a passion for health and wellness with her current business partners.