Posts by Valerie Cantella

I cut a chapter from my memoir, one of the hardest ones to write, and honestly, it hurt a little. Writing the whole memoir was therapeutic, but this chapter was harder than the rest because it involved a relationship that was very close and deeply important to me. It challenged my core beliefs and exposed…

The parts of the job that nobody puts in writing. When your oldest son proposes to his long-time girlfriend, you think you know what “mother of the groom” means. Find a phenomenal dress that coordinates with the mother of the bride, host the rehearsal dinner, and provide encouragement and support (dollars or otherwise) as the…

Claire came to me with a fully written manuscript for her nonfiction parenting book. We’d been friends for years, talking about the book on our walks. When I told her I was pursuing my book coach certification, she said, “I need you. Can I hire you now?” She didn’t need convincing that her story mattered.…

Notes from the week as the Mother of the Groom This week, my spare bedroom is filled with boxes, and each one is labeled—appetizer table, buffet, dining table, and dessert display—for my son’s wedding rehearsal dinner. It’s organized, with a detailed event plan with pictures and corresponding numbers so the dinner setup is seamless. But…

My son is about to get married, and in the middle of the countdown, I felt something I knew I’d want to remember later. So I opened a new file on my computer, titled it 260817_wedding feelings, and gave myself 15 minutes to write, which generally amounts to about 500 words. I didn’t obsess or…

For the woman asking, “When should I hire a book coach?” I see a lot of women sitting on the sidelines, waiting to get into the game. Most of the time, when they’re being honest, they’re afraid to reach out because they don’t have a draft yet, or they’re still thinking about what the book is…

My daughter’s birthday was the subject of a post on my Reflections from a Recovering Perfectionist Substack, and I realized that it only told a very small part of the story. What started as a blog over 25 years ago left out a lot of context, the parts that are hard to sum up if you…