Interview With Author Natasha Trujillo, Ph.D.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have several publications in academia, and have recently written my first nonfiction book.
Dr. Trujillo is a counseling and sport psychologist, a consultant, an educator, an author, a former athlete, a woman, a daughter, a sister, a grand-daughter, a niece, a cousin, and a friend. But most of all, she is a human. None of the former labels make her any better or worse-equipped to deal with the inevitable experiences of grief throughout life. She is passionate about the power of storytelling and wanted to bring light to the incredibly nuanced and individualized ways we process and cope with grief. Like everyone else, she’s had her fair share of losses and decided that taking the risk to be vulnerable may encourage others to redefine their relationships with grief to live more holistic and intentional lives. She hopes this limited collection of stories can build the realization that there is no “right” way to grieve, and that it should not be pathologized or medicated.
She encourages each reader to see the vantage point from each of the characters who have played a role in her life. To empathize, to perspective-take, to look within and outside the self and find shared positive connection in the discomfort of the painful and unknown. To be willing to ask life’s questions that don’t have answers. To sit with the necessary acceptance that to love also means to lose, and to experience beauty also means to feel immense pain. She wants others to be open to changing the mind and the heart. To take what may be helpful and leave what doesn’t. You don’t need permission to feel and face what scares you the most.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
And She Was Never the Same Again: A Multigenerational Memoir
When working with clients, I often encourage them to find their “why” for any given pursuit. My “why” for writing this book is because of how it ends. The epilogue. Her. I needed a way to keep myself busy from debilitating pain, but to somehow balance distraction with simply being with my feelings; the only true way to move through grief. I wanted to better understand why I am the way I am, and why those I love the most are the way they are. I wanted to spotlight the shadowlosses most of us don’t see or try to hide from. I wanted to tackle issues of grief and loss in a more comprehensive way so that people can call grief out when they see it and not be afraid to name it. To say the hard things they think and be with the hard feelings they feel. I wanted others to find self and other-compassion in the messy process. I wanted to honor those that mean the most to me. Most importantly, I wanted others to see themselves in these stories and become more accepting of the fact that grief never truly goes away, but we can learn to handle hard better by accepting the suffering inherent in life and the growth that is never too far behind it.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Sometimes lines will come to me at the strangest times and I will have to have a pen or my phone near me to get it written down before I lose it. They come in the middle of the night a lot.
I also can’t read a book without having a pencil in my hand and almost always underline, circle, and make a lot of notes in the margins of books.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Brene Brown
Susan Cain
Joanne Caccatoire
Edith Eva Eger
Mitch Albom
Nora McInerny
Adam Grant
Malcolm Gladwell
Authors who are real, raw, take vulnerable risks, and make me think well beyond once the final page is turned.
What are you working on now?
I am in private practice full-time and am thinking through my brand strategy and how to keep growing professionally to provide the best care I can for my clients.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
www.andshewasneverthesameagain.com
www.npttherapy.com
@npttherapy
https://amzn.to/44jGfZW
Do you have any advice for new authors?
You have to be afraid and do it anyway. At some point, you truly do need to let it go and accept that it won’t be perfect and you’ll continue to grow and become better at the flaws you leave in the work you produce.
Writing is a both/and pursuit, not an either/or. Embrace the duality of it, as it isn’t for the faint of heart.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t lose your voice or let other people change it in a way that dilutes your own authenticity.
Be open to changing your own mind.
What are you reading now?
Mind Game by Julie Kliegman (full disclosure – I am interviewed and featured it a couple of sections and just got my copy!).
All You Can Ever Know – Nicole Chung
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am trying to soak in the post-launch few months and see what I need to keep learning and how I need to keep growing. I am thinking a bit about another book focused on grief, but more about normalizing the varying sides of how it looks in just one person over time.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Think Again by Adam Grant
The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner
And She Was Never the Same Again by me…. need the ongoing self-exploration/awareness to keep growing!
Author Websites and Profiles
Natasha Trujillo, Ph.D. Website
Natasha Trujillo, Ph.D. Amazon Profile
Natasha Trujillo, Ph.D.’s Social Media Links
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