It Was Inside You All Along

A reflective story about self-worth and inner wisdom made for children.

It Was Inside You All Along gently invites readers to look beyond AI and our noisy world to remember who they truly are.

When I found out I was going to be a grandmother, my world changed in an instant.

Of course, you're over the moon for your children as they prepare to welcome their own little bundle into the world, but what completely took me by surprise was what happened inside me. Becoming a grandparent awakens something profound. I don't think anyone can truly explain it until you're living it yourself.

From the moment I knew Lila was on her way, alongside all the warm, fuzzy and nostalgic emotions, a thought kept circulating in my mind:

'If I could teach my grandchild just one thing, what would it be?'

Those who know me well will know I've a few lessons up my sleeve! But truly - if I could give her one piece of grandmother wisdom, what would that be?

I was reminded of my time walking the Camino de Santiago. (That walk was a gift that just keeps on giving.) One evening, another pilgrim told me about the Hopi Tribe, a Native American people from Arizona whose philosophy centres on living in harmony with nature, community and the rhythms of the earth.

She shared a beautiful Hopi teaching about Creation hiding the ultimate secret of existence from humans until they are ready to find it.

I have never forgotten that story. It resonated with me so much and became the seed for It Was Inside You All Along.

And I believe it holds a message that will always be relevant.

This message matters now more than ever...

We're raising children in a world where answers are everywhere. AI can answer almost any question. Search engines tell us almost anything we wanna know. Social media slowly brainwashes us into weird versions of ourselves, and it's all happening at the speed of light.

I love tech. I use AI. But it will never take away my voice, my soul or dilute my intuition.

Humans need to fight back. Humanity needs to find the cracks where the light is coming through.

Teach 'em young! I believe helping kids build trust in their inner voice is one of the most important things we can do. I'm not saying to reject AI and what's inevitably happening; that's pretty impossible - but because they should never lose themselves within it all.

It Was Inside You All Along is dedicated to Lila.

This beautiful Indigenous wisdom deserves to be carried into our modern world, so I sat down to bring it to life for my granddaughter. I wanted to retell the story in a way she could understand and, hopefully, carry with her for the rest of her life.

I want her to know that everything she truly needs already lives within her. That she doesn't need the world's approval to know her worth, her intuition matters muchly and her heart is wiser than she'll probably ever be told.

My hope for the next generation is that they grow up believing they can think for themselves. That they question everything, stay curious and open and listen deeply.

And when life becomes too much, I hope they will remember to come home to themselves.

Because that is always where they will find what they need.

Perhaps that's the greatest gift any of us can leave our grandkids?

It Was Inside You All Along

£15.99

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A running thread...

There is a thread running through everything I write and create, and put out into the world. If you've experienced any of my work, you'll probably see it.

Whether it's Daily Reminders for Keeping It Real, my self-reflection worksheets, events or this particular book, I'm always exploring the same idea :)

How do we remember who we really are?

How do we strengthen our connection to ourselves?

How do we build the inner confidence to trust our own wisdom instead of constantly looking outside ourselves for permission?

To me, real self-worth is sovereignty.

It's remembering that while we can learn from parents, teachers, books, media, AI and each other, our deepest wisdom still comes from inside us.