VBT + #Giveaway: The Last Ten Pounds by Lina Sage @GoddessFish

The Last Ten Pounds: 
One Woman's Journey to Love (by shedding Fear, Anger, Hatred...and Everything In-Between)

by Lina Sage

GENRE: Memoir

BLURB:

Shortly after I was born, my family left Vietnam’s strict Communist regime by escaping on a tiny fishing boat in the middle of the night.

Luckily, Canada accepted us as refugees and we were excited for a new beginning. However, any hopes of a brighter future vanished before an abusive alcoholic father who’s repeated physical violence against my mom left me screaming for any stability. Sexual, physical and emotional abuse clouded my childhood years leaving me so damaged that it changed who I was meant to grow up to be.

In my early twenties, I bought a house and converted it into a full blown marijuana grow op.

Soon after, I entered into the world of elite call girls and became one of the most sought after girls in my agency. By my late twenties, I was on top of the world and the proud owner of a multi-million-dollar luxury day spa.

Just when I thought I had it all, I made the ultimate mistake that ended in me losing everything and hitting rock bottom.

I was spiritually broken and in desperate need of healing. I had no choice but to reconcile with my past. This decision brought me down a miraculous journey that opened me up to consciousness and enabled me to exist in the space I do today; that of uninhibited peace.

The Last 10 Pounds: One Woman’s Journey to Love (by shedding Fear, Anger, Hatred…and Everything In-Between) is my personal journey and a testament that it is possible to heal and transform. To be the person you were born to be.

Excerpt:

“Uncle Quinn… please stop. Please stop Uncle Quinn! Stop it you’re hurting me!” I wailed loudly.

“Shhh… I’m just playing with you,” he replied with a sly look on his face, as he continued to grope me with both hands.

This had happened many times before, the constant touching and fondling of my private parts every time Uncle Quinn saw me. See the thing is, I didn’t make it easy for him because of my feisty nature. Usually I would be able to run away before he could really get a hold of me and on the times that I couldn’t get away, his inappropriateness would only last a few minutes until I would squirm so hard that he would finally release me from his grasp.

But today was different and I felt it immediately. His huge hand pinned down both my tiny wrists and with his other hand he proceeded to maliciously rip off my summer jumpsuit. His weight crushed my petite frame to the floor so much so that I couldn’t move. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t create enough wiggle space to escape his 6’2 lanky stature. With his free hand he pushed his fingers inside me with such ferocity that a loud scream escaped my mouth before I could even discern what was happening. 

Author Interview:

What inspired you to write The Last Ten Pounds?

My memoir, The Last Ten Pounds, started off as a personal project to help me process, deal with and heal from the emotional traumas from my past. It originally started off as nothing more than scribbled notes in my journal. Before long, it had filled an entire book. That’s when I realized that my personal project was so much more than journal entries. It was meant to be shared with the world and maybe along the way help to inspire people in their own personal struggles.

When or at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?

To be honest, I never wanted to be a writer. My first childhood memory when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up was that I wanted to be an artist. Soon after that I wanted to be an actress. I held on to that dream for many years. In junior high and high school, I was involved in the drama club. I even spent one summer enrolled in acting classes. But life happened and I soon let go of that dream. I’ve always been a creative person and I guess writing is an outlet for me to express my creativity just as acting did. I don’t believe in coincidences, so I can’t say I accidentally became a writer. I think it was in me along along to become a writer.

What is the earliest age you remember reading your first book?

The earliest age I remember reading my first book was when I was ten years old. I was in grade five and one of my classmates introduced me to a book series called The Babysitter’s Club. I was hooked from the first book that I read. The series is based on four young girls who are navigating through the ups and downs of their pre-pubescent years. There was boy, family and friendship drama. I could relate to these characters in so many ways especially with one of the girls named Claudia. Her character was Japanese-American and myself being Vietnamese-Canadian, it felt so nice to be able to immerse myself in a series that had an Asian girl as one of the main characters. In addition, these girls were young business entrepreneurs running their own babysitting club. Myself being an over achiever, I aspired to be like those girls and dreamed of owning my own business one day. When I think of The Babysitter’s Club, I’m hit with nostalgia because as turbulent as my childhood was, reading those books was my way of escapism.

What genre of books do you enjoy reading?

I enjoy reading memoirs because there is so much truth and vulnerability when one chooses to share their story with the world. I’m always curios to learn about some else’s’ experience. As they say, everyone has a story. The unfortunate part is not enough people write and share theirs. I also enjoy reading spiritual/self-help books. I’m a big fan of Krishnamurti, Lao Tzu, Wayne Dyer and Eckhart Tolle. I do enjoy a good fiction now and again. The last fiction I read was a book by a Swedish author named Jonas Jonasson called The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. It was very well written and absolutely hilarious. I would highly recommend this book. It has been made into a movie but I always find that the book is always better than the movie.

What is your favorite book?

My favorite book is Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. The book is a novel but the topic it covers is purely spiritual. It’s about a man who answers an ad only to stumble across an ape. The man is taken aback when he discovers that the ape can talk. Over the course of the book, they engage in many philosophical conversations about man and his relationship to the Earth. The message it conveys is so powerful that every chapter makes you stop to reflect on your own existence.

You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?

It depends on what genre we’re talking about. For non-fiction, I would have to say, Krishnamurti. His teachings are very complex and at times hard to grasp. But he is the real deal when it comes to spiritual gurus. For fiction, I go through phases where I’ll read only one author and then when I’m finish reading their books I move onto another author. For example, I went through a Dan Brown phase where I couldn’t get enough of his books because I loved how every chapter he writes ends in a cliffhanger and keeps the reader so engaged. I also like the topic of his books based around secret societies and symbolism. Then I went through a Wally Lamb phase where I read all his books and fell in love with the way he developed his characters so vividly. There’s so many great authors out there that it’s hard to have one favorite.

If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why?

I would travel back to the conception of our planet to see how it all began. I think it would be interesting to see the very moment when our planet was created and what the first life form on Earth was. At the same time, I would love to see how it all ends.

When writing a book do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?

Personally for myself, I find that creativity comes in waves. When I’m riding the wave, I try to stay on as long as possible and I find that the words come to page seamlessly. When the wave is gone or some might see this as writer’s block, I disengage from the writing process and focus on other aspects of my life and catch the next wave when it comes.

Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?

Yes! I have a two-year-old Shih-Tzu named Bobo. He’s the love of my life. I’m the biggest dog lover ever. This never use to be the case because growing up I used to be terrified of dogs.  I touch upon this in my book when I say, “when you get over your fears, there is nothing but unconditional love waiting on the other side.”

What is your "to die for", favorite food/foods to eat?

This is an easy question. Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate! But I only like dark chocolate. I like the 85-90% range. Does that make me weird?

Do you have any advice for anyone that would like to be an author?

Yes. I would like to share with you and the reader’s one of my blog posts I wrote called Conquering Fear with Creativity:

Structure is nothing but stunted growth of fear hiding itself and inhibiting your fullest potential to flourish and create. We are all creative beings. Listen to the flow of the river and you shall see that it doesn’t lay stagnant, instead it moves as a current. Let your inner compass guide you and don’t stay stagnant, even for a second. For the minute you stay stagnant you inhibit your personal growth, and if you do this then the light of your creativity will perish into the darkness.

We are all creative beings. Let’s not forget our purpose and why we are here. Do not let one single person stunt your creativity because they are too consumed in their own darkness to achieve and create. Step into the light. Love, dance, sing, draw, laugh and create. That is our only purpose here. To stunt your creativity is to kill your soul. We are not concrete and abstract. We are artistic and bend whichever way our heart desires. Bend with your heart. Cry with your heart. Do not shut down your heart, for your heart will bleed and beg for mercy. Do not shut down the very reason why you are here. You are here but only momentarily … for a smidgeon of a second. Then your star will be replicated by another. How do you want to exist? Ask yourself that. Do you want to fill up your day consumed in nonsense or open up your heart to feel, create and fulfill the very essence of why you were put here? We all exist for a reason. Go inside and find your existence, bring it to light and let it flourish. You can only do this through creativity.

AUTHOR BIO:

Lina Sage is a writer, speaker, producer and entrepreneur. She is the creator and founder of Chic Spirituality; a movement whose philosophy is to live your life with heightened awareness by surrounding yourself with things you deem beautiful. Lina believes balance of mind, body and soul, is the key to unlocking all things beautiful. Therefore, she enjoys physical activity to maintain a strong body and meditation to calm the mind. But she especially cherishes time spent with her beloved husband and dog because they are what brings her soul the greatest joy. Lina also likes to surround herself with great food and exotic travels around the world.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

Giveaway:

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