When Christine Kloser heard over and over that women in her Network for Empowering Women Entrepreneurs (NEW) networking organization wanted to become published authors, she thought that there must be an easier way for them to achieve this goal. So she published a compilation of 41 of their essays on topics ranging from ‘Roadmap to Retirement,’ ‘How to Be Your Own Best Matchmaker,’ ‘Overcoming Overwhelm’ to ‘How to Stay in Your Pajamas All Day…And Still Run a Business’ and ‘Financial Alchemy.’ ‘I wanted to publish a book, too, but with planning for a baby and running a business, I didn’t want to take it all on at once,’ said Kloser, who is expecting her first child this month and is the founder of the NEW, a networking group that incorporates spirituality with business and financial training and education. ‘Combining our resources, it was actually pretty effortless.’ The result is ‘Inspiration to Realization,’ a self-published compilation of women’s essays on personal, business, financial and spiritual fulfillment. Four of the contributors are from the Palisades, and they, along with Kloser, will speak about their book on Thursday, February 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Village Books, 1049 Swarthmore. In April, Kloser sent out an e-mail asking if any of the other women in the 400-plus-member networking group were interested in contributing. ‘I asked, ‘If there were something you could teach readers, what message would you want to get across to them?” Through all the submissions, Kloser picked 40 to include, plus her own, and the book began to take shape. ‘I saw themes that were coming forth from what had been submitted. I saw where different chapters fit in.’ Kloser considered herself a project manager on the book, submitting her own chapter, as well as hiring editors and designers. ‘It was beautiful how it flowed together; it felt very organic.’ The book was printed in October, six months after the initial idea came about. Palisadian contributors to the book are Spheres magazine publisher Deborah Koppel Mitchell, hypnotherapist Debbie Friedman, entrepreneur Wendy Robbins and motivational speaker Kathryn Tull. Kloser and the local authors’ essays all appear in the spiritual fulfillment section of the book. Psychologist Yvonne Thomas, a Palisades High graduate, also contributed an essay on ‘The Superwoman Juggling Act’ for the personal fulfillment section. A large number of Palisadians belong to the NEW networking group, which has monthly meetings in Santa Monica. For her essay, ‘Follow Your Heart: The Only Path to Fulfillment,’ Kloser relates her own personal journey. ‘I’m happily married, preparing to start my family in a matter of weeks, and started a business that helps a lot of people. I was willing to follow my own heart, say no, swim upstream and stay true to what felt right to me. I knew that was what I had to write about.’ Palisadian Kathryn Tull, a certified domestic violence counselor who has a master’s degree in clinical psychology and a clinical practice, wrote about ‘The Path to Personal Resiliency,’ which talks about the resiliency she had to build as a survivor of domestic violence. ‘It was an opportunity to be able to express my message about family violence’what my children and I lived through, and what it took to be able to come out from that and rebuild my life,’ says Tull, who is working on two books of her own. Palisadian Deborah Koppel Mitchell, who leads a women’s circle, wrote ‘Coming Full-Circle Into Your Ideal Life.’ She describes a women’s circle as ‘When two or more come in the space of a circle to listen and be heard while being fully present. ‘Being in circle can serve as an important reminder to each of us to tap into that ‘Goddess’ part of us, and not get lost or caught up in the hectic pace we have created in our lives,’ she writes. ‘It was an opportunity to be in a book without having to do a whole book,’ says Mitchell who has been inspired by her participation to do more public speaking. ‘It gives each of the authors a project to have under her arm.’ ‘This project felt to me like a gift that our family of friends through NEW could share with women around the world,’ says Palisadian hypnotherapist Debbie Friedman, whose chapter is entitled ‘Manifesting Made Easy’ and starts with the query: ‘Are you ready to manifest true wealth and success in your life?’ ‘I wrote about the nine-step process that I use in my work helping people to know that they create their lives, and supporting them with tools and techniques to consciously create the life they love to live,’ says Friedman who also has a self-published book called ‘Manifesting Made Easy.’ The writers range from being in their 20s to their 70s. ‘There’s something for every woman in this book,’ says Kloser, who is married to PaliHi JV baseball coach and author David. ‘Women who pick it up find they’re drawn to something that strikes them.’
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