Happiness is Being Global Again

You may or may not know that I used to travel the world to distant lands to help people overcome poverty, corruption, human rights abuses, conflict, genocide, illiteracy, gender discrimination, government oppression, health concerns like HIV/AIDS and malaria, and a whole host of other problems. That was the “old” job, and when I left it to launch into writing full-time, I knew I was following my calling, but there was a piece of me who missed being connected to people from other cultures and empowering them as best as I could.

After some major new interest from foreign publishers and readers from across the globe, it’s struck me that I am global—again—but as a writer, one of my highest expressions in the world.

This has brought tears to my eyes more than once, but there’s one story in particular I want to share. I learned through a sales channel called Kobo that I had sold some books in Saudi Arabia. Now I used to work exclusively on the Middle East for almost six years and then continued to do so when my portfolio expanded to include Africa, Asia, and Latin America again. This part of the world, especially Saudi Arabia, isn’t what I would call a friendly market for romance/women’s fiction novels like mine. These countries have censors, and there are many active controls that limit artistic expression and consumption.

When I learned of these sales, all I could wonder was whether these women (I couldn’t imagine a Saudi man reading my books, but if so, awesome) were garbed in solid black, as is the custom. Were they completely veiled with only their eyes showing? Were they buying my books and reading them with their husband’s knowledge? How had they even gotten a device? Where had they learned English? And what in the world did they think when they’d finished reading?

Now, my first book, NORA ROBERTS LAND, is about a divorced woman finding true love again. You have to understand, women in Saudi Arabia can’t get divorced, so even reading about this story is…well, a bit forbidden and a bit foreign. This is not their sphere of influence.

My books are all about empowerment and breaking free of the things that bind you to unhappiness. With this new knowledge of my global reach, I realized I am still touching people overseas—just with my books. Who knows what might have changed in these women as they read about my divorced heroine’s journey?

Happiness is being global again.

Sometimes you think you are giving up something, only to discover it comes back to you even better. I heard a wonderful Buddhist phrase this week on TV of all places that I loved: when a leaf falls, it’s always replaced by another leaf. That’s where I am. I thought I was leaving behind a part of myself that I valued only to reclaim it in the best way possible—from my highest place.

It’s humbling and magnificent and awe-inspiring, all at the same time.

So, if you’re considering giving up something because you know deep down it’s not what you are meant to do, never fear. I bet you’ll find it returned to you a million times better than you ever imagined it, like I have.

 

Image courtesy of Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net