Writer Francesca Miracola is chatting with me about her memoir, I Got It from Here: A Memoir of Awakening to the Power Within.
Bio:
Francesca is an Italian American from Queens, NY, currently living on Long Island, but in her mind she’s a free-spirited wanderer. She wants to travel the world, but she’s afraid to fly, although a glass of wine gets her through most flights. Francesca’s mostly an introvert who greatly prefers deep, meaningful conversations to surface small talk. She keeps her circle small, and she’s still debating if that’s a good or bad thing. She’s a breast cancer survivor, but she rarely defines herself as one – probably because she feels like she’s been surviving something most of her life. She’s funny; at least, she makes herself laugh. Francesca graduated cum laude from New York University and worked in financial services for twenty-five years, even though she wanted to be a therapist. That’s probably because she needed a therapist. Francesca finally wound up on her true path as a student and teacher of A Course in Miracles, author, life coach, and founder of Protagonist Within LLC. Francesca is a wife, a best friend, and above all, a mother.
Please tell us about your current release.
Growing up in an Italian American family in Queens, New York, in the ’70s, Francesca Miracola was trained from an early age to keep up appearances at all costs–but behind closed doors, her parents’ toxic marriage served as a blueprint for dysfunction. So when she met Jason Axcel at a bar as a twentysomething, she ignored all the red flags–and there were plenty of them–and dove right in, normalizing his emotional and physical abuse just like she’d learned to do. She even married and had two children with him. But something in her clicked one night when Jason strolled out the door after a vicious fight that left her degraded on the floor, and she decided she was done.
Except Jason wouldn’t let her go.
Even after they finally divorced and Francesca fell in love with someone else, her ex-husband was keen enough to recognize that she was the same broken girl he’d met a decade earlier, and he exploited that fact at every turn. He called the cops to her home with bogus claims; he bombarded her with provoking emails and texts; he stalked her every move; and, worst of all, he used their little boys as pawns in his campaign. Then he went for the jugular and sued her for custody. But Francesca was stronger than he’d given her credit for.
Raw and illuminating, I Got It from Here is one woman’s story of saving herself and her children from the grips of a sociopath posing as a family man–and from the inherited trauma passed down by her own family of birth–while learning to trust in the inner voice that’s been trying to guide her all along.
What inspired you to write this book?
My children – I wanted them to understand my fears and therefore only know my love.
Also, my desire to help others heal. My writing material and my coaching practice center around helping women who have lost their way release the past and begin again.
This book gnawed at me for many years until my breast cancer diagnosis finally motivated me to write it. When I was diagnosed, my first thought was my children, I feared I would leave them too young. My second thought was the book, I feared I would die without having written it. Soon after my treatment I began writing.
Excerpt from I Got It from Here:
Random moments of connection and love can sustain us in our darkest times. The last of the guests left, and I sat slumped on a wooden bench outside the catering hall, waiting for Jason and two of his groomsmen to finish their cigars. The party was over. My dress was rumpled, the train filthy from the dance floor. I held my shoes in my hand. I worried about what came next, but it wasn’t the old-fashioned worry of a virgin bride about to consummate her marriage. We’d already been physically intimate over the years. I tolerated the obligation and had grown used to the vague sense of violation and cheapness I felt afterward. What scared me was the magnitude of being Jason’s wife.
I wanted to hide my despair but was growing more desperate by the moment. Tracy and Fiona, the girlfriends of the groomsmen Jason was smoking with, came over. I made room for them to sit with me. The warm July night air smelled like childhood summers, but carefree days were a distant memory now. Young Francesca was gone. Tracy and Fiona sat with me the way you would sit with someone in mourning. We had gotten to know each other well over the past few years. They didn’t have to say much; I felt their presence. They knew I would suffer, but they also knew I would survive. Or maybe that’s what I knew, and their kind eyes reflected it. I believe they would have sat with me forever if they could have. They were good people with loving souls. They looked at me, not through me. The warmth in their eyes said they liked what they saw. My chest swelled, and my eyes teared up. It felt so good to be seen. That moment offered me a strength that I would soon desperately need.
What exciting project are you working on next?
I’m developing a podcast and outlining a follow-up memoir.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
“It’s no coincidence that I embarked on my spiritual journey at the same time I embarked on my creative journey. Something I learned from my practice is the Universe responds to the energy we put out in the world. Along the way I stopped saying, “I’m not really a writer,” or “I hope to publish my book one day,” or “I’m an accountant but I’m trying to write,” and instead declared, “I’m a writer.” When my publisher gave my manuscript the green light I smiled and thought, “Yes, I’m a writer”.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I write part-time because I have a full-time job in financial services. Thankfully, my firm continued the work from home model so instead of commuting I’m able to write early in the morning before my hectic day begins, and sometimes I can go longer into the day when my accounting job is slow. I also carve out time for private coaching sessions so needless to say, I’m busy. My goal is to pivot from my day job and fully devote myself to Protagonist Within, LLC, where I write, coach, and podcast. I put it out to the Universe and it’s happening!
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
My writing voice makes me laugh. Her material doesn’t always make it on the page, but we have some funny exchanges with each other.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was very young, I’d hold an invisible microphone giving interviews, as I got a little older I wanted to be a teacher, and by college I wanted to be a therapist. Well, how ironic, I’m scheduled for podcast interviews, I’m a teacher of A Course in Miracles, and I’m a life coach.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
My social media skills are non-existent so please excuse my Facebook and Instagram accounts for now. I hoping to improve my interaction on these sites but you can always find ways to connect with me on my website.
Links:
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