"Women give too much away... if we dont reserve the lions share of our gifts for ourselves, we end up trying to pour from an empty vessel."
Dr Sharna Wood - one of the authors
This week, 14 female entrepreneurs are celebrating becoming bestselling authors after they bravely shared their inspirational stories within ‘The Messy Bun Diaries’ which went straight in at Number 1 on the Amazon bestseller charts just hours after its release in the Inner Child Self-Help category in America.
‘The Messy Bun Diaries’ has been spearheaded by Kaylie Dollison, a 31 year old mum of four, from a small town in Texas. Her resilience and kind-hearted attitude are somewhat inspiring despite all the awful circumstances she's fallen victim of. Kaylie spent her pre-teen and teen years dealing with drugs, suicidal tendencies, becoming a teen mom, and much more, which she shares within the bestseller. Today, Kaylie is a powerhouse of confidence building and encouraging women to shine their light is her niche.
Kaylie is a master certified spray tan artist and owns a multiple award-winning beauty studios and is an inspirational female business leader and empower-er. She continues; “From a girl who barely graduated high school at seven months pregnant - I had zero life plans after high school except to just disappear, but here I am in the same place I started my life, living a pretty good one. I may have major hip pain, anxiety, and spend enough hours a week in my Chevy Traverse in a parent pick up line to consider it a part-time job; but life is good. I’ve risen higher than anything my younger self could have ever imagined. Wife. Mom of four, multiple award-winning small business owner, best-selling author, woman empower-er and survivor.”
Passionate about helping women turn their lives around and become their most successful badass selves, ‘The Messy Bun Diaries’ exists to inspire others, empower others and help people think in order to see how they can play their part to ultimately help change the world! Kaylie said: “I’m witnessing such a shift in women in society. We are stuck on this tipping scale of competition vs collaboration. Some people have this mind-set that if other people succeed it will take away from them and what they are doing. While another group has the mind-set that when we all succeed life just works better and more importantly you FEEL BETTER! I’m in that second group. That’s exactly what I want to do, with this book - help as many women share their stories of courage, overcoming, growth and thriving with the world. If you wanna be really happy in life you have to live for the moment you are in currently. The past is done; it’s over. LEARN from it and leave it behind you. Use what you learned along the way to help those you can. Do the things you wanna do. See the things you wanna see. Say the things you want to say. Wear the clothes you want to wear. Live the life you wanna live, because now is your only opportunity. And while you can HELP EVERYONE ALONG THE WAY!”
The Messy Bun Diaries’ features heart-breaking and inspiring stories covering a breadth of topics including: becoming a teen mom, living as a paraplegic, overcoming suicidal thoughts, abuse, living with anxiety and depression and other mental health illnesses, eating disorders, self-harm, facing trauma, bereavement, blended families, adoption, identity and labels, having faith, surviving and thriving… dream setting, goal getting…
Stories include;
- Abby Simpson, a mum of two from East Texas who has been a paraplegic since the age of 17. Her son is a taekwondo loving, archery shooting, ball of handsomeness that happens to have Asperger's Syndrome. Abby has struggled with depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, eating disorders and self-harm off and on since she was 15. It's so important to her to get the word out there of what all of these looks like from the inside, so that others like Abby don't feel alone. She is thrilled to get her story out there and hopefully help others who have struggled or are struggling.
- Ashley Stanley an introverted, recovering people pleaser who struggles with social anxiety, who has turned her yearly corporate salary into her monthly income, earning multiple seven figures in extra income for her family while working in the online space.
- Jessica Maynard, a mother, as well as a Nuclear Medicine Tech, the "Rubber Band Ball Queen" - Jessica has a rubber band ball that is made from the rubber bands of each nuclear medicine patient dose she has administered over the last two years at her current job. She grew up as a "mean girl" and quickly realised that was not the life she wanted to live nor the life she wanted to be known for. Jessica worked hard to turn her reputation and life around.
One of the final chapters in this life changing inspirational book is written by Dr Sharna Wood, Sharna has worked in hospital, clinic, and private practice settings since 2001. She is the first woman appointed to the executive board of National Alliance for Professional Psychology Providers, she opens her chapter by saying; “Women give too much away. We forget about ourselves in the beautiful, nurturing process of giving, later to end up stripped of our natural feminine power because we have followed paths proscribed by others who didn’t have their best interests in mind, or that we didn’t necessarily want to follow. Whether this happens because we simply want to go along to get along, or because we are adhering to cultural expectations, shaming, gaslighting, manipulation, or whatever is irrelevant. My point is that if we don’t reserve the lion’s share of our gifts for ourselves, we end up trying to pour from an empty vessel, with nothing left to give to anyone, least of all ourselves. I can’t say this loud enough or often enough: Don’t let other people be in charge of your self-esteem!”
‘The Messy Bun Diaries’ is available to buy on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Messy-Bun-Diaries-collection-generations-ebook/dp/B084RQQ78J/ref=sr_1_3?crid=7V85HRVU7O2N&keywords=the+messy+bun+diaries&qid=1582654798&sprefix=The+messy+bun%2Caps%2C187&sr=8-3&fbclid=IwAR02hCd3Zjighh63P-T4frEkw4qQHdasXZVcrQeGHFC4z08MwVJY1zC2pKw
When questioned about the name of the bestseller, Kaylie said; “Because let’s admit that life is messy and a permanent messy bun is sometimes required just to make it through the day. Messy bun get stuff done is my motto most days!”
Kaylie is compassionate, caring, and always willing to help someone in need. With followers on her social media touching, which she saw rocket following her appearance on CMTs ‘The Singing Bee’, Kaylie has a huge global reach she said; “I am so grateful to have a life I couldn’t have imagined. So, with my platform, I am passionate about inspiring other young women profoundly but with a humbleness and understanding. I am delighted with the success of ‘The Messy Bun Diaries’ and hope this book will inspire others to be kind, helpful, and leave a mark of compassion.”
On Saturday 29th February, some of the authors are gathering with Kaylie at The Tempest Golf Club, Longview, Texas to celebrate the launch and success of this incredible book ‘The Messy Bun Diaries.’
The book has been published by the award winning team at Authors & Co, who work to showcase and celebrate empowering stories of women. Founder Abigail Horne said: “At Authors & Co we work with entrepreneurs who want to make an impact through leaving their legacy and the audience we serve are those with inquiring minds, keen to drink in information, and learn from others’ experiences. Our authors always lead their readers to reflect on their own lives and if aligned, make use of the teachings to move forward themselves”. Authors&Co has already changed the lives of many women and female entrepreneurs from around the world, having helped almost 200 women globally to become best-selling authors, whilst reaching millions of readers worldwide.
