Natalie: Hi, I’m Natalie Ledwell and this is the Inspiration Show. Today on the show my special guest is going to be talking about unwavering strength. Where to find it and if you find yourself in a very challenging situation, how to work your way through it. So please welcome my guest, Judy O’Beirn. How are you Judy?

Judy: Well, I’m great Natalie. Thank you so much for having me on your show.

N: And it’s a pleasure to have you here. So, what we do is initially start with your background story and how you got into doing what is it that you do.

J: Well, thank you, thank you. I’ve actually been working with authors for many, many, many years. (00:45) publishing and working with working with my sister, Peggy Mc’Caul. It’s funny because I never believed that there was a book in me and everybody would say that, no, no, no, and then a sequence of events happened that altered my life greatly and it was that time that I wanted to honor my family and write the book. So I began the series.

N: Yeah, excellent. I mean a lot of our community knows about Peggy very well and what she has been doing. So we have to elaborate, what were these series of events that got you to discover that there’s actually a book inside you.

J: About 6 years ago, the sequence of events was a lot of my family ended up getting diagnosed with cancer. Ultimately, passing away and then 4 short years I lost my mum, I then lost my job in a corporation and that’s how (1:52) publishing services began. I lost my dog to cancer, my 1 sister-in-law to cancer, another sister-in-law to cancer. Ultimately, my husband to cancer and my daughter’s best friend and I forgot to mention this, is that I lost my brother only a few years before that to cancer. So it was the sequence of all those that I needed to honor and represent and that’s how I came to writing unwavering strength.

N: I know. I can’t imagine having, I mean I haven’t had anyone that close to me passed away except for an auntie just recently. But to have that many people close to you, do you start to question something about yourself when those kinds of events happening around you so often?

J: In fact, you know it’s a joke kind of that you might be touched by Judy and you do. You heavily question yourself but I also know that it also helps to define sort of your soul’s purpose and who you are. That’s when I discovered that I was born to be a caregiver. I was born to be with others and to care for others. I really found that that strength came through as I was going through each one of them.

N: Right. I supposed the question I want to ask is seeing all these different people ultimately pass away from cancer, what do you think are the contributing factors in getting sick like that?

J: I think definitely the biggest one was smoking. I think majority of them are smoking and I do think that our mind-setting is that we believe that they’re all (3:48) older and you have this mindset that the doctors are right. Whatever they deem it to be, it is. And I know, I tried desperately to talk my husband in going for alternative treatment, switching doctors, escalating the treatment that he was receiving and it was just like I trust my doctors, so I want to do what they want to do. I think it wouldn’t have changed the outcome but it certainly might have changed the progression.

N: Yeah, absolutely. I’m sure that your dog (4:23)…

J: (laughs) that’s true.

N: So tell me about the book itself when you talk about unwavering strength that you’re talking about the strength that you found to be able to move through each of these different situations?

J: It actually is. It first originated from my husband’s strength. The fact that he had to watch my mum, our dog, his two sisters all go through cancer and passed away from it and he ultimately had the same diagnosis, it was his strength that I wanted to acknowledge.

N: Right. Okay. So, what was about him that you found so inspiring?

J: It was his strength to be able to carry on. I don’t know how I would ever receive a diagnosis like that and not lost my mind. To have known and seen people and the effect of what it does. So, his strength to have sat there with his sisters and held their hands and been pillars for them really made me want to honor him by writing unwavering strength. I came up with a concept with my sister actually, she helped me with the title, only a month before my husband died and it was intended to be about him, in the end it also is going to be about me and my recovery. I didn’t know I would need the strength that I needed to get past it all.

N: Yeah, absolutely. So, what type of person would benefit from reading the book?

J: The book is actually a compilation of stories. It’s 32 stories and it’s all about different varying things. It could be the multiple deaths like mine. It could be recovery. It could be bullying. It could be a death of a child. It’s for widows going through a challenging time themselves and be inspired and knowing that there is a soul’s journey, a soul’s purpose and that they’re not alone. If nothing could be more important than letting them know that.

N: Yeah, because that’s the thing, all of us are suffering on the inside and because we have to put out that strong front to be able to help us deal with that situation sometimes it closes us down from the support we need. So tell me is there any common themes that you saw between each of the stories, where they went to and how they found the courage to move through the difficult situation?

J: The most common thing is they have a choice. Everybody in the book and going to be in the series of the book all come to a point in their life where they choose and it was like, I know when it was because I was through the last of the deaths, thank goodness touch wood, it was a choice. I can either choose to let the grief or the event consume me and determine my future or I can rise with it and become a better person from it and honor the event that has transpired and share it with others. That’s just been an amazing, amazing event.

N: Yeah, I know. For everyone that’s going through grief, there’s no right or wrong, there’s no length of time. Everything is personal and you have to do that in your own time but what I love about this project and this book is that, when the time is right for you, you were able to sit there and go, okay, what is something positive that I could draw out of this situation and was able to go through from that. Is that how you feel?

J: Oh, absolutely how I feel. Absolutely, I went to the depths of my sorrow and that’s when I knew, go on one direction or another and it’s like I’m choosing to go on the other end and it has been surprisingly the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life.

N: Yeah. So what is something that you have learned about yourself through going through so many sorrows?

J: I think it’s my strength. I knew I had the strength to help others, that’s almost a given for me. It’s easy. It’s my inner strength that’s my ability to draw people in and show them that they have their own strength. I think that’s really important to me.

N: Okay. So I know that you have the book, is it available now? Where can people purchase the book?

J: The big day is September 30^th for the release. So right now, we’re doing it in pre-order status but as of next Tuesday, September 30^th that would be available on Amazon and Barnes and Nobles. Of course we’re doing a promotion with gifts. There’s actually 3 songs that will accompany the book that were performed by 3 different artists, all titled unwavering strength and will be given away with the purchase of the book.

N: It sounds like more than a book. You are creating a community for people to connect as well?

J: Oh definitely, definitely. I affectionately called it a movement and the people who have come to us in our community we are actually calling ambassador because I really feel that that’s what they are. I think everybody is an ambassador of unwavering strength. They just have to learn to recognize it.

N: Can you may be share one of the stories that’s in the book that really has touched you?

J: Oh there’s been so, so many wonderful stories. One of the very first ones that comes to mind is an author named, Bryan (10:07) and his story is called, believe. And he actually, September 13^th last year, his wife ended up having a brain aneurysm and went into coma and she passed away this past April, and his strength with his two sons of going and visiting her and understanding why she survived that day and how to help each of his family members come to terms with her going away and how he’s also honoring his wife by being an author in my book, writing a book about her, creating a foundation. It’s just wonderful to see these things.

N: It’s amazing isn’t it? I know that cancer can be a such a dreadful, dreadful disease but there’s always two camps to it, the camp that will have the opportunity to say goodbye and to voice how much I love them rather than something that happens so suddenly that it was unexpected. So all the stories are specifically like cancer or tell me a bit more about the stories in the book.

J: No. They’re very, very diverse stories. I have Bryan’s were his wife had the aneurysm, so she went into a coma for several months. I have one about a child that died only days after being born. I have one about a phobia. I have another one about bullying. I have another one about drug addiction. I have divorce. I have a loss of a brother, a mother from all different things. Many, many stories aren’t about death, it’s about a challenging time even work or just getting a US immigrant status has been a challenge for one of my authors. It’s just beautiful stories, beautiful people.

N: Sounds like there is something there for everybody.

J: Oh yes. Oh yes.

N: Excellent. Well, Judy, it’s been awesome having you here today. Where is the website where we can send people to find out about the book and the movement and everything that’s going on with the program?

J: It’s at unwaveringstrength.com and all the information about the book and the, as you said, the movement, stories, the co-authors it’s all there on the site.

N: Wonderful. And remember guys if you click on the banner on the side there you will be able to go straight through Judy’s site from there. So thanks again, Judy. It’s been an absolute pleasure and thank you for bringing this work to light. Like I said, most of us when we’re suffering through really challenging times, first, we have to cope with it, we have to put up this armor around ourselves and sometimes those armors stop us from asking from support. So this sounds like a great place to get support from people going through something very challenging.

J: Yes. Thank you so much. I’m so honored to be on your show today. Thank you, Natalie.

N: Wonderful. Now guys I encourage you to share this video. You can do that by clicking the Facebook and the Twitter share buttons above. You could also make sure that you download the app so you can watch the shows on the go. And actually, also leave your email on the box on this page so I can send you the manifesting with the masters video e-course. It’s actually valued at $87 and I would love to send it to you for free. So until next time remember to live large, choose courageously and love without limits. We’ll see you soon.