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Butterfly Awakens
A Memoir of Transformation Through Grief
By Meg Nocero
Foreword by Habib Sadeghi and Sherry Sami
Published by She Writes Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
One woman’s dark night leads her on a journey to find her light.
Butterfly Awakens depicts the story of the extraordinary transformation of a forty-something Italian American attorney as she moves through unimaginable grief and sadness watching her beloved mother lose her battle to breast cancer. This tumultuous life experience shifts her world, causing her to question her life choices and opening her up to her soul’s calling. Nocero brings readers along on her journey through a dark night of the soul as she deals with the grieving process, a toxic work environment, and intense stress that results in depression, anxiety, and an acquired somatic nervous disorder called tinnitus. Through it all, she never gives up, instead looking for the help she needs to start to heal and find her light. In the end, like the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly, this story is a beautiful love letter that honors Nocero’s mother’s legacy while detailing the awakening of her own.
There are many stories about breast cancer and grief, but none are quite like this one. Throughout her tale, Nocero pulls the reader deep into her story through the intensity of her emotions; and in the end, after resigning from her career as a federal prosecutor due to a toxic administration, she searches for the lighthouse she saw in a vision when her mother died. Embarking on a spiritual pilgrimage on El Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain to get to the lighthouse at Cap Finisterre, she sets out to wake up and live again; the butterfly connection and stark honesty of her writing offers readers important lessons learned from moving through grief so that each person can shine their light again.
Butterfly Awakens depicts the story of the extraordinary transformation of a forty-something Italian American attorney as she moves through unimaginable grief and sadness watching her beloved mother lose her battle to breast cancer. This tumultuous life experience shifts her world, causing her to question her life choices and opening her up to her soul’s calling. Nocero brings readers along on her journey through a dark night of the soul as she deals with the grieving process, a toxic work environment, and intense stress that results in depression, anxiety, and an acquired somatic nervous disorder called tinnitus. Through it all, she never gives up, instead looking for the help she needs to start to heal and find her light. In the end, like the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly, this story is a beautiful love letter that honors Nocero’s mother’s legacy while detailing the awakening of her own.
There are many stories about breast cancer and grief, but none are quite like this one. Throughout her tale, Nocero pulls the reader deep into her story through the intensity of her emotions; and in the end, after resigning from her career as a federal prosecutor due to a toxic administration, she searches for the lighthouse she saw in a vision when her mother died. Embarking on a spiritual pilgrimage on El Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain to get to the lighthouse at Cap Finisterre, she sets out to wake up and live again; the butterfly connection and stark honesty of her writing offers readers important lessons learned from moving through grief so that each person can shine their light again.
Product Details
- Publisher: She Writes Press (September 7, 2021)
- Length: 312 pages
- ISBN13: 9781647421762
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Raves and Reviews
2023 Readers' Favorite Book Awards Gold Medalist in Non-Fiction - Inspirational
2023 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Motivational
2022 American Writing Awards Finalist in Autobiography/Memoir, Best Cover Design (Non-Fiction), and Narrative Non-Fiction
2022 NYC Big Book Awards Distinguished Favorite in Inspiration
2022 Page Turner Book Adaptation Needed Finalist
2022 Page Turner Screenplay Award Finalist
2022 16th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in Inspiration
2022 International Book Awards Finalist in Nonfiction: Inspirational
2022 BookFest Book Awards First Place Winner in Non-Fiction: Self-Help - Inspiration, Motivation & Transformation
2022 Independent Press Awards Distinguished Favorite in Inspirational/Motivational
2022 Wishing Shelf Book Awards Finalist in Nonfiction
2021 Publisher Weekly/Book Life Prize finalist for Nonfiction Book of the Year
2021 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards Winner in Self-Help/Inspirational
2021 International Impact Book Awards Winner
2021 Literary Titan Gold Award Winner
2021 Firebird Book Award Winner in Grief
2021 PenCraft Awards First Place Winner in Non-Fiction Grief
2021 San Francisco Book Festival Honorable Mention in General Non-Fiction
2021 New York Book Festival Honorable Mention in General Non-Fiction
2021 IAN Book of the Year Awards Finalist in Non-Fiction: Grief/Hardship
2021 Best Book Award Finalist in Nonfiction: Inspiration
2021 Pinnacle Achievement Award Winner in Inspirational
2021 Indies Today Award Runner Up in Inspirational
2021 Chanticleer Book Awards First Place Winner in Hearten
2021 Chanticleer Book Awards Finalist in Mind and Spirit
“Meg’s memoir is a must-read for anyone dealing with loss. Who knew when Meg and my path crossed that she would end up helping me with my own grief? I am grateful for Meg and all the magic she brings.”
—Pam Grout, #1 New York Times best-selling author of E-Squared and The Course in Miracles for Badasses
“In Butterfly Awakens, Meg Nocero takes us on a quest that is physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. We join her as she journeys through fear and despair with courage and hope. Meg’s metamorphosis becomes ours as it inspires us to transform our lives.”
—Tal Ben-Shahar, PhD, New York Times best-selling author of Happier, No Matter What
“Meg takes us bravely through her extraordinary evolution by sharing how she moved through unimaginable grief and sadness with the loss of her mother and how this massive life experience shifted her world and opened her up to her soul’s calling. Her beautiful vulnerability opens the door for all of us to peer into our heart and pay attention to its stirrings, inviting us in to discover our bliss. Meg reminds us that we all have the power to transform our lives and the lives of others by following our dreams and becoming the person we were intended to be.”
—Amy Butler, editor-in-chief of Blossom
“Meg takes us on a deeply personal journey of transformation that ultimately serves as profoundly hopeful encouragement for finding one’s own true path. Her story truly moved me to tears in some places, to giddy joy in others.”
—Jessica Ciosek, author of Sometimes a Soldier Comes Home
“I appreciate Meg’s candor in not holding back and more than anything, I really appreciate her eloquence. I TOTALLY LOVE THIS.”
—Berta Medina-Garcia, keynote speaker, adventure coach, and founder of Dreamers Succeed
“Butterfly Awakens celebrates a woman’s journey to her authentic self as it illuminates the enduring bond between mother and daughter. . . .With this life-affirming memoir, Meg Nocero will become your soul sister, enthusiastically welcoming you into her world, as she lays her heart wide open on her journey to wholeness. She bravely reveals her own dark night of the soul, offering her readers permission to be beautifully and imperfectly human—to stumble, fall apart, grieve, and ultimately awaken to boundless self-love.”
—Tanya Mikaela, author of The Circle: A Woman’s Guide to Joy, Passion, and Authenticity
“Nocero brings you into her story with her amazing way with words, spirituality, and imagery. . .”
—Readers' Favorite
“The author’s limpid prose invests ordinary travails with an intense emotional charge that is often affecting.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“This memoir of searching and healing in the face of grief captures surprising connections as a woman seizes life.”
—Book Life/Publishers Weekly
“Butterfly Awakens is a true story of inner metamorphosis, learning, transitions, grieving, and seeking a truly meaningful life. Highly recommended.”
—Midwest Review
“. . . a positive beacon to help others get through difficult times and recognize their own self-worth . . . Butterfly Awakens is an inspiring revelation of self-discovery and openly serves as a tribute to a beloved mother. . . . A thought-provoking odyssey for those on a similar whirlwind path, this life-affirming, triumphant book proves a well-crafted empowering guide for personal change and growth.”
—Chanticleer Book Reviews, 5 stars
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