What surprised me writing this book?

Writing my second book Moral Injury: Healing the Healers was comparable to creating a painting, or to doing a home renovation.

I started the book with research and it was highly logical. I read books, I watched videos, I searched the popular press, I reviewed the scientific literature. I came up with my own theories and point of view on this research. This is similar to an artist - when they want to start a new painting, they choose their medium, prep their canvas or their materials, think about how they are going to get started. A home renovation typically involves meetings with architects or contractors or research on YouTube for a do-it-yourself project.

None of this was particularly surprising, and it is what most people assume happens when you write a book. But the interesting part came next.

After I did my research, I started doing interviews. I wanted to get a variety of perspectives from different clinicians about what it was like to be a healer in the healthcare system today. I interviewed all different ages, different licensures, different career stages, different levels of seniority, and different medical specialties. I also started posting on LinkedIn and getting feedback, both through posts and articles. The engagement on social media led me to rapidly connect with experts on this topic - I also interviewed experts on the topic of burnout and moral injury.

What I love the most about interviews is the fact that I never know where they will lead. Some interviews were more formal, others were highly personal. Some became emotional and we shared tears. I learned many new things and I gained new empathy. I had moments of human synchrony during the interview that moved me. In some cases, we were so in sync that we immediately knew that we wanted to stay in touch over time.

Surprise #1: The level of humanistic and emotional connection during interviews surprised me. After all, most of these people were strangers, yet they shared their most vulnerable and painful stories.

In parallel with the interviews, I formed a new Author Community for the book. I found supporters who would purchase a “ticket” to my new book; I started an email-based group and planned for a VIP webinar series after publication. This group of supporters made a huge impact on the writing of the book. Not only did they give me valuable feedback on things like cover design and title, but some people actually helped me as a beta reader for the draft chapters of the book. The community cheered me on. Sometimes when I was feeling low or tired of writing, a friendly email would pop up from someone in the community to cheer me on. That made a big difference.

Surprise #2: Having a supportive Author Community makes all the difference - both in the writing of the book and in the ups and downs of being an author.

In contrast to my first book Work Smart: Use Your Brain and Behavior to Master the Future of Work, this second book touched me personally at a deeper level. Some of my interviewees reached out after the interview to tell me that they felt the interview was healing. Telling their painful stories to a peer helped them heal. This feedback inspired me to do something outside my comfort zone - I wrote one of my most painful personal experiences of moral injury. At first I thought it was too vulnerable to share that I had a medical board complaint. But the writing of this story felt healing and I knew I had to take the leap of faith and include it in the book. I have already received feedback on how this painful story of mine immediately resonated with others, and they too, have had painful experiences like this that make them feel ashamed or guilty.

Surprise #3: I shared one of my most private and painful stories, and it helped me heal. It also created a space for others to share their most painful stories, and for them to heal as well.