"Healing Through Broken Relationships" the collaboration book with Randa Dutcher-Stratton

Well, I am so excited that I get to be a part of this call today. I'm going to let Randa jump in and lead this call because this is her collaboration book and we're going to jump in and hear all of her beautiful ideas. Randa, why don't you start us off today? Oh, hold on. You're muted. Randa.

Sorry, my dad was calling.

I love it. Perfect timing.

Hi. Monday, all right. Okay. So I am Randa. Did you ask me to tell about myself? Yeah.

Lee, why don't you lead this beautiful call because this is the book that's in your soul. So I'd love you to share who you are and what this book is about, and then I'll come in and share, you know, what my part is and bringing this to life.

Okay. So first of all, just acknowledging everyone that's here. Thank you for making space and time and your angels. Making space and time for you to be here. This subject is so near and dear to my heart. I live in Arizona. I'm a mom of five kids. I'm remarried to my ex husband. And we have just such a beautiful life that came at the price of our marriage and breakdown and heartache. And so I just was feeling the other day and let me back up. I am writing a book about our story of divorce and remarriage. I'm also a child of divorced parents. And as I've been writing this book, I just kept feeling there's more than just my story. There's more than just my story of a broken relationship and the beauty that came out of that, not just in my relationship, but of myself. The confidence and the assistance that God gave me in the midst of all of that and the things that I learned and the things that I used to be so afraid of. But then because all of a sudden I was thrown into this painful experience, I wasn't scared anymore. And so as I've been thinking about all these broken relationships that I am not alone in, I thought this needs to be a collaboration book where other people can share their story. Because that is how I learn. I learn by reading other people's stories. I am not a dummies book reader where I need all the steps and do this xyz. I need a story where I can be in the midst of it and see myself in it and see myself in their experience. And I just feel that's a beautiful way to learn. And I really would love this book to be not just about marriage or divorce, but any type of broken relationships because we've all experienced that if you are alive or have ever lived or are going to live, relationships are going to be the basis of your life. Your parental relationships, your children, your siblings, your co workers, even your ancestors and angels, and even a relationship with God and yourself and your body. These are all relational. And I just feel it's such a beautiful way to bring to the world hope that we can each move past and move forward and rise above the trenches we've all been in and that we haven't done them alone, that we can become what we were supposed to be because of great pain and hardship.

I love that. Randa and I'll do a quick intro of that. You and I have worked together for a long time in coaching and now publishing and writing your books and publishing your books. And you came to me as we started to do more collaboration books over at Freedom House, and you're like, I got this idea. And when you shared this idea with me, like, I just knew that this book needed to come through because relationships have always been hard. That's not like new. But I would say in the last two years, as the world has gone through this pandemic and people are working at homes and then kids are homeschooling, and it was just like so much shifted and kind of brought through the parts of relationships that weren't working. The parts that we kind of got to, like, numb out and go to work all day and send our kids to school for 10 hours a day. And all of a sudden, all of our kids are home and our husbands are home and we're all home together. And it's like, oh, there is parts of many relationships that are broken and we didn't see it. And this conversation, it's so needed right now because so many people are in that broken place. And I think that when you came to me and you were like, this needs to be a collaboration book, I was like, this has to come through right now. Because people need hope. They need hope in relationships.

Yeah. And people come to my husband and I still, how did you get through it? And I think that a lot of people don't know how or aren't ready to take the steps to be able to heal those things. But what I think most people don't realize is you have to heal this first. Can't heal what's broken over here or between you and another person if this isn't worked on first. And I. I feel like even if a relationship doesn't get mended, this being mended is a number one Priority and the power that assists in this eventually getting mended.

Yeah, yeah. And having the stories that this is possible, I'm sure, for you. People come and ask you and your husband for advice or help because you guys are proof. They're like, hey, we broke, we divorced, and we have now remarried and are living in more like, alive, healthy relationship. People want that hope that you brought. And I think if we can bring in these kind of conversations into the book around parents with children, teenagers with parents, parents with grandparents. You're like, like all the relationships. How do we bring in those stories so that a reader can go through this new book and find hope in every relationship of their life because somebody shared their story. And that's. That's what I think is going to be so powerful about this book.

Yeah. I feel like maybe we can ask Aaron just to share a little bit. Yes.

Aaron, are you.

What do you want me to share?

Will you just share, I guess, your thoughts of what you might put in this book and what you see, too, because as much as I am leading this book, he's right behind me.

I see twofold. One, of course, something that speaks to my heart is a husband and wife relationship or a partner relationship. So whether it be boyfriend, girlfriend, lover, girlfriend, girlfriend, whatever it is, if you've got a meaningful relationship that is important to you, how does that show up for you? And how have you healed it? How have you worked through it? How do you build that? And because of my business, part of that. When I think of partnerships, I think, okay, where are other relationships that we have that require healing? Like, I've had some bad business partners. Like, it's just. And it's painful. Like, almost as painful as a divorce. And when you're splitting up assets and. And responsibilities and income and all that stuff, it is like a divorce. And so going through that and healing those relationships, too. So I see it as something that can not only be husband and wife.

Or.

I don't know what the word I'm looking for, but like, deep, meaningful relationship, healthy, wise, and helpful, but also for all relationships. Kind of like what Kira was saying, whether it's children, whether it's spouses, whether it's, you know, cousins, business partners, whatever it is. I think that all those aspects have a good part to it. So I've been thinking on what I would add to the book and how I would help with it. And part of me wants to do our story, obviously, because it's dear to my heart, and I think it's powerful and it's Inspiring. But I think something that I can add in there that maybe others can't. Is that that business side or that more temporal relationship of how do those heal? You know, I have an old business partner that eight years ago, 10 years ago, if I would have walked into a room, my stomach would turn, my rage would come up, and I didn't know whether to fight or flight. Now I can see them, give them high fives, talk about the good old days and move on. So I think there's power in all of that.

Thank you. Thank you for sharing. I think that is such a beautiful example that this book is more than just about familial relationships.

Wow, that's so powerful. Thank you, Erin. And for those who don't know, that's my husband. Sorry, that's grandma's husband. And I just. I feel like there's so much power in this book. So let's just share. I want you to share the vision so that everyone who's watching this, whether it's live or recorded, they get to understand. Do they have a story for this book? So if you could maybe play like paint it out. Who is it that you want? You want people to share their stories who've been through broken relationships, no matter what they are and how they mended themselves and then what was the result? Is that what you're looking for?

Yeah. Yeah. That's a great way to put it. So I. I learned through stories. So I'm going to share a small story.

Yeah.

In. In the midst of my divorce, I was pregnant, six months pregnant, four other kids. And I didn't have a job. I hadn't worked in 20 years. And I didn't know what I was going to do. I had great alimony support, but I needed more. And I was blessed to have an opportunity to sell cattle. And I would say for the majority of my life, I have struggled with insecurity, with self doubt, and with putting myself out there. I grew up singing, but I had just kind of stopped singing. I stopped doing anything really with my gifts. And I was just like, I'm focusing on being a mom and a wife. And so selling cattle was like, it wasn't totally foreign, but it was foreign. And I had a baby and I took her to the sale barn and I'm buying cattle at the auction and I'm selling it on Craigslist. I'm talking to all of these people to sell this cattle. And what I realized was this was one of the greatest gifts. Through all of this pain that built my confidence that I was able to talk business with people, that I was able to sell things and accept money, that I was able to back up a trailer at a cell barn with all these cowboys, that I was able to ro calf, that I. All these things built my confidence. And I feel like in the midst of every broken relationship, we all go through these experiences that build our confidence, that bring. That bring this experience, that push the fears to the side and be like, in the words of Dana, I, nothing that. That is like, nothing compared to what I'm going through anymore. Like, it just doesn't matter. And. And it helps you to focus on what really does matter.

I love that. So everyone who's listening. Oh, sorry. What were you going to say?

I was just going to say that those are the stories I want. How did you build your confidence back up? How were you able to say, forget the fear, forget the distraction. Let's focus on what's really important? And I believe in God. He is. He is my partner in all things. And I feel like he met me in that hell and walked me through the dark. And I had to say yes, yes to that. So anyone that has experienced something like that that has had to say yes in the dark and then been led through something like that. Those are the stories we want. And in all iterations, like Aaron said, business is going to be probably his focus. And I love that.

Yeah, I agree. I just. I get so excited about what this book is going to do. I want to share what part I play in this and, like, why I'm on this call and why I was helping you with putting out the emails is because this is what we do over at Freedom House. So I. My name is Kira Paulson, if we haven't said that yet. And I own Freedom House Publishing Co, which is a publishing house that publishes powerful books of light. I call them sacred books, books that are going to transform humanity. And so I get to be the house that births this book into the world. So I'm a partner in. In helping bring this book to life. And because I'm also a sacred writing coach, I'm going to teach all the authors in this book how to write their chapters with ease, using spiritual tools so that the chapters don't come from your mind, but instead you receive the chapters. And what I've seen in all the collaboration books we've done is that that experience heals the author. Writing your story this way is one of the greatest healing catalysts we could use. And so really, this is like this beautiful experience that we are Creating here where we are not just asking people to go home, write a story, and email it back. There are four coaching calls that they get to come to and learn how to spiritually write and then also have community, because writing the story sometimes brings back some pain. And having a community like this to hold you while you write your story is super powerful and helpful. And you were able to be a part of a collaboration book. So do you want to maybe share a little bit what you experienced?

Yeah. I was so lucky to be a part of the divine collaboration book. And I said yes because I really wanted to dabble in this author conversation since I've been writing my marriage divorce story for a long, like eight years. And I thought if I could just get my feet wet, this will assist me in bringing it. Bringing it sooner. And I will say that Freedom House publishing is like the easiest publishing house from anyone I've spoken to about publishing books. It's very simple. It's very, very drawn out for you. And the way Kira teaches you how to receive your book is so powerful because you realize you're not in it alone. I wasn't in it alone. And I wrote this chapter on the very last day it needed to be submitted and. And submitted it. And it was so healing for this part of me that. That wrote that story. And it was just another testament that God really is my partner, that I didn't have to do it alone, that he assisted me in remembering things I wouldn't have otherwise, rem saying things I wouldn't normally say in just a on the street conversation. And the power in that is that it may be a story that's muddy or painful or traumatic, but because you're partnering with such light, because you're receiving it with that light, that is the message that pulls through in the end. Here's what happened. But here's what so. And I think that's the. That's the. The beauty of the way that you teach how to receive a book.

Thank you. That's a beautiful way to say that. I feel that. And I want to see if. Carol Ann. I don't want to put you on the spot, Carol Ann, but you just wrote in our latest. The. The latest collaboration book we put out. Let me see if I've got a copy right here. So this book just went live on Sunday and Carol Ann wrote a chapter in here. Can you share what that was like for you to be in that collaboration book?

Yeah, Pretty powerful because it just dropped in my lap, you know, like this stuff like we're just talking like, we're talking about things that drop in your lap.

Right.

The way that it happened was that way I didn't have any plans of that. I've been writing my singlehood divorce story for the last five years a little bit at a time like as I, you know, after my divorce. And so it was kind of that same kind of deal.

Right.

It's like we're writing and then we're like, what do we do now? You know, but so of course it is a lot about my full circle journey. And I didn't have any clue that that's what it was going to be. My motherhood journey of, you know, and it wasn't just about being, you know, it was being a mother and losing my motherhood and then being a single mom and then being a stepmom and then, you know, being a grandma, you know, the full circle of life. And it was just, it flowed pretty well for me and it ended up being really a lot longer than, you know, I thought. But, you know, things like that. So just, yeah, it was, it was really enjoyable to do it. And it, and it does give you quite a bit of confidence and, and healing of, of wow, you know, pretty damn good writer. I can do this. This is, this is, you know. Yeah, it's okay.

Yeah.

And it, you know, yeah, we, you wait till the last minute and you do it, you know.

Yeah.

But yeah, it's not the last minute because that's the point. Like you taught, like you just. The brain likes clarity in a deadline. And you, and you have a deadline and you do it.

Yeah. And I'm so glad you wrote, you put such a beautiful chapter into that book. So thank you for sharing that. And I think that's the beauty of these collaboration books is that we think, we think what we need to write. And I love what Carol Ann just said is she wrote what she didn't know she was going to write. And that's actually how it works. We think we know what story we're going to write. But the truth is, is when you learn sacred writing, when you learn how to receive your chapter, you write the story that you're supposed to be writing, the one that's, that has to come through at that time. So thank you for sharing Fairland. And I think that is such a great tie in to anybody who watches this video, whether you hear live or recorded. If you have this like, feeling in your heart like, oh my gosh, I gotta tell my story. And you don't know what you don't know what to write about just saying yes and then coming to the coaching calls, you'll actually hear exactly what needs to come through. So I'm such a believer of, like, answer the yes in your heart and God will write through you. So I saw something in the chat.

What did it.

What did Jessica say? I love this. Okay, Jessica, you want to unmute and just share that? I think that is such a powerful. Yeah.

I thought I was going to be maybe writing a chapter around a past relationship, but when Erin was speaking or talking about the business space, probably the most transformative and painful relationship experience was with my past boss and going from where I thought we were friends to a, like, almost like a traumatic breakup, actually, even though it was in, like, the business space. But it's like, it's very painful. And I actually felt validated recently. I read in a book that statistically, I don't mean this to be competitive, but, like, the. In this author wrote that leaving a job can actually be more traumatic than a divorce because of all the relationships and, like, other ancillary pieces of what you leave behind when you leave a job. And, like, you leave the people, you leave your identity, you leave your income, you leave, like, these. Anyway, that felt really validating to me because I went through a whole journey after that. So it was. I hear that very strongly right now that that would be. The broken relationship story is like a relationship with. With your boss or with my boss.

That's so beautiful. And Jessica is one of our authors at Freedom House. She is now. Remind me how many books you have.

Coming through right now?

Well, I have one published, two in editing for publishing, and then two more that were one with Dana and then one that I'm writing this summer.

So.

Two more this summer.

Yeah, so. So I thought I would just add.

A chapter to Randa's book, too, because.

And she wrote basically, for some, it's. Once you get into this, the books.

Just start to flow through, like, you know, like, it's.

It's like food, you know, straight up manna from heaven. Oh, I love that. Well, thank you guys for sharing. And there is something I wanted to share. You know, I'll tell you guys why I. I am so passionate about publishing, collaboration books. And it is because there is something about one person writing a book that can change a reader's life. But when you have multiple people telling stories inside one book, that there becomes so many witnesses of truth and hope that the reader will have their life changed. And that's the power of a collaboration book. Is that we all get to come in and tell our stories, however they may look, however different they are, and know that every reader who reads it will find themselves in at least one story. And that is actually what creates transformation. Transformation is when we realize that we are not alone. And when we see that somebody else has been through it and that they share an insight or hope of what's possible, our lives change. And so this book is going to change thousands of lives, but it actually starts first by changing the author's lives. Every book I support in these collaboration books, I watch every author's life change for the better. And then we put it into the world and we get messages back of people saying, I now have hope, I now have new ideas. It's magic to be part of these collaboration books. So, Randa, I would love for you to share if there's anything else that you want to share that you feel in your heart. And then we'll just talk about how everyone can apply to be an author in the book.

I think that we were on the same page because those were almost my exact thoughts that you just spoke. I, I heard that when you share your story, whether it's on paper, in a book, with someone you trust, with a counselor, whether you journal and burn it, like whatever it is, when you share that, it pulls it up and out of you. And healing is like the guarantee. And, and so I hate to say that the guarantee in this book is that you'll find healing, but because of my experience, I'm gonna say you're gonna find healing. And that is the, that's the self serving part of this, is that one, you get to be an author. That's amazing in and of itself. Two, you get to work with Kira, you get to work with me, and we get to be this new community and that you get to find healing in the story that. That isn't out yet. Yeah.

Oh, so beautiful. So let me share what it looks like to be a part of a collaboration book. One, you're going to apply. And the only reason is, is that way you can actually take a second and get a feel of like, what would you want to write about? Now I fully believe that once you start doing sacred writing, you might write something totally different. That's fine, we're not holding you to it, but it just helps you get an idea of like, okay, this is what I would want to write. And number two, there is an investment to be a collaboration author only because of this experience that you are going to have. And you get to Be a published author. And we like to take books to number one new release and hopefully to bestseller. That's my goal, is that we get this book everywhere. So to be a published author, normally just on your own, it is $7500. To be in the collaboration book, it's only 1200. So that pays for all of your editing. We have a professional editor who will edit your chapter, that pays for the whole publishing process, which we go and get professionally cover formatted, everything done up on Amazon. It also covers four coaching sessions with me where I will be teaching you how to learn how to sacred. Right. And we're going to have a Facebook group where you can get in and you can literally ask questions at any time. Hey, I'm stuck here. Tag me or Randa. And we're there to support you in between these coaching calls. So this whole experience is extraordinary. Randa has been super awesome. She's actually opened up two payments. You can pay $600 the first month, 600 the second month, or you can just pay 99, 97 upfront and you save a little bit of money. This is the cheapest way to become a published author and to get coaching like this is the best way for you to actually be a part of a book and learn how to sacred. Right? But really you're investing in bringing this book into the world and sharing your story. That's going to change thousands of lives. And I believe that down to my core. I believe relationships right now, they need help, all relationships. And this book is going to be like a handbook. It's going to be a piece of insight, of hope, of peace coming into people's lives. And it would be an honor to support each one of you in writing this book. So those are my, my last pieces. Does anyone have questions for us? Anyone who's on the call? Do you want to ask any questions for me or for Randa?

I had one, one thing that I will be holding two separate calls in that. In that four to six weeks that we're writing together, Kira will have four calls. And then I will also have two separate calls without Kira with everybody.

I love that. Thank you, Randa, for adding that. I find that there's so much value in this community. Every chat, every collaboration book we do, it's almost like it creates, creates this community of women. And this one's going to have women and men, which I think is really powerful. We're going to have so many different voices in this book. It's going to be this really powerful community. And I Love that you're going to offer that, Randa. So anyone else have any questions that you may have around the writing process, the publishing process, or any other questions?

I do.

Yeah.

I have one, which is a little bit strange, but so I'm wondering if I want to, like, include or, like, write a story that then includes a piece of another writing that I've done or something else that I've done. Is that okay to do? Like, if I want to include a chapter from another book or an excerpt from another, you know, another writing in here and then tell a little bit more of the story around, you know, that. That piece of writing.

Yeah, I'm sure we can figure that out. I think once you sit down to write, Jessica, you will. I mean, I just watch you as you write. Like, it'll be super clean and clear. I'm gonna put. Let me grab the application link. I'm just gonna put it in the chat. If you guys want to take it, then you guys can just send the application. Over today. Hold on.

Thank you, Carol Ann, for being here. I will message you the details that you asked the question on. Does anyone else have questions? While Kira is looking for that link, I just want to say.

Sorry I was late.

Can you hear me? Oh, that's all right, Kendra. This is recorded and will be on the landing page, and so you can. You can go back and watch it.

Yeah.

Thank you. Yeah. It's good to see your face. Well, I saw it earlier. I don't see it now, but I saw it earlier. I have lost Kira. We lost Kira. And now. Hold on just a moment.

Okay. Sorry. My phone had a little bit of a freak out there, so thank you, phone. So I put this in the chat. If you guys want to just click it. We will be sending this out with the recording of this video, but you're welcome to click it and just apply today. It's just really for your soul to say yes. I'm such a believer that when our souls say yes, if we take even a tiny bit of action, miracles happen. So I'm holding the space for massive miracles. Also, we have to acknowledge that I have baby kittens in my sacred tent. Do we even talk about my sacred tent? I'm not camping. This is my sacred tent. This is what I work out of. And my cat decided to have all of her cute little babies in here. So if you're hearing kittens, that is why this is the sacred tent with baby kittens. So I want to just acknowledge every one of you for taking your time to Be here with us today. I know you all have very busy schedules, but I'm so grateful to you, Randa, that you followed this call in your heart to bring this book to life. I'm so excited to watch this book birth. I'm so excited to watch all of the beautiful authors who say yes and be a part of this beautiful experience with you. So thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Kara. Thank you for assisting me in this process and anyone else that is going to join in this process. It's going to be, it's going to be fun. I'm actually really, really excited. And Caroline asked about time frame and we have not set a date. We will, we will email that out. Yeah.

As soon as we've got the authors. I like to hold six weeks for writing, so there'll be four coaching calls with me, two coaching calls with you. We're going to hold that space for them to write their chapters and then as soon as that marker is up, we put them straight through editing. And then the process of publishing is about six weeks. So from start to finish, this is going to be done in three months, which is exciting, miraculous, wonderful, and just so everyone who's listening, when you become a published author with this book, you will have access to get these books for your author cost, which is just the print. And then you get to sell these books anywhere you want and make full royalty on these books. So these books are going to be a part of your work. However that works for you. You can sell them off your Instagram, you can sell them for your website and you get to actually sell these books as a published author, which is just such an exciting thing. Such an exciting thing to do. So with that being said, is there anything that you want to end on, Randa, or does that feel pretty complete for you?

That feels really good. Feels really good. Thank you everyone for being here.

Thank you. Thank you for everyone being here. I'm so excited to, to meet everyone who's a yes for being in this book and let's go support people in creating hope in their relationships. Have a beautiful day. Bye, guys. Bye.