When I was a little girl, all I ever wanted to be was a writer.
I loved books, and would devour them often in one sitting, Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton were my favourites. We used to travel from the South to the West of Ireland every summer to visit family, and we had a cassette in the car of “The Twits”. I knew it inside out and back to front. I pictured myself as an adult, leaving my house every morning to walk to my writing shed at the back of the garden. The shed would house a typewriter on a desk, a straight back chair, and an old blanket to keep me warm, although the tabby cat on my lap would also help. I would, of course, wear a beret, at a jaunty angle.
Somewhere along the line, that vision for my future started to fade, and eventually, it disappeared completely.
I hit speed bump after speed bump, and for one reason or another, I became a shadow of that confident, self-assured, focused, and sassy child. I was so confused about who I was, that it was impossible for me to visualise a future where my dreams would come true.
Sound familiar? Can you relate?
Today, I pre-ordered my first book for my daughter, and I gave a little head nod to my younger self, and that lost teenager, wishing they could see me now (although I’d have to explain the internet because neither of them would have a clue what online shopping is).
Because of my work as founder of The Shona Project, I have been given an opportunity, by my friends at Gill Books, to write the book I needed as a teenager, and to give the advice I wish I had been given.
Although… I was unlikely to listen.
So here it is……
I wrote this book for every one of the 13,000 girls I have met in schools all over Ireland, and who shared their stories, worries, opinions, and thoughts with me.
And if you have a dream, take it from me that while the journey there might be a windy one, and while you might come off the path completely from time to time, if it’s meant to be, life will find a way.
Tammy x
Gill Books Launch their Spring/Summer 2021 Catalogue today and you will be able to see You’ve Got This! in it!! Check it out here.
One of the most exciting things is that you can pre-order You’ve Got This! right now! Here’s where you can put your order in 😉
Dubray: http://bit.ly/YouveGotThisDubray
Eason: http://bit.ly/YouveGotThisEason
Outside of Ireland – Book Depository: http://bit.ly/YouveGotThisBD
