This is rubbish, and I'm going to give up

Most authors will tell you about the moment they just knew they had a book in them.

Usually, they’ll share something polished like their:

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- “I always knew I had something to say” origin story  

- tidy timeline from idea to manuscript to launch  

- highlight reel of late nights that felt romantic and purposeful  

- confident, finished-product version of themselves standing on a stage  

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But author of The Perfect Parent Trap Lisa Taylor shared something totally different at her recent book launch in Geelong.

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She didn’t just share her stories of courage.

She showed us what those stories cost her.

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Right there in front of the room, Lisa told us about the moments she’d have with Michelle Scheibner (her EAC Coach) where she’d say:

"I think this is rubbish. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m going to give up."

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And Michelle would reply:

"No, you’re not. You’re going to do this."

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This wasn’t a rehearsed anecdote.

It was the real, unpolished truth of what months of writing a book actually looks like…

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The late nights.  

The sticky notes on the kitchen bench.  

Her husband Larry thinking the notes were love letters… then realising they were actually ideas she’d had during the day.

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Here’s the thing about writing a book that Lisa taught everyone in the room that afternoon:

It’s not about feeling ready or confident - it’s about having someone beside you who won’t let you quit when the doubt gets loud.

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Lisa didn’t finish her book because she suddenly believed in herself.

She finished because she had the right people around her who believed in the work - even on the days Lisa couldn’t.

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"I learnt that I’m braver than I ever gave myself credit for."

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Then something happened at the launch that we keep thinking about.

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Lisa told us the process of writing changed her - as a person.

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She had conversations she’d been avoiding. She did her own inner work. She sat with herself honestly.

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And somewhere in the middle of all that mess, she discovered something she never expected:

"I actually love writing. I can’t believe I’m saying that."

She laughed when she said it.

But it landed.

Because she didn’t love writing at the start. She developed it through the process.

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Lisa proved something our community sees again and again: the book you write can transform you before it ever reaches a reader.

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Watching Lisa surrounded by friends, family, and fellow EAC members that afternoon reminded us:

Writing a book will ask more of you than you expect… but you don’t have to carry it alone.

Having people alongside you who’ve been through it - who won’t let you stop - makes all the difference.

And the book you keep telling yourself isn’t “good enough” might be the one that matters most.

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The moments where you want to quit are often the moments right before something shifts.

So what’s the thing you keep telling yourself you can’t do?

What would happen if you started anyway… and let the process change you?

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Kelly and The EAC Team

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P.S. Lisa’s book The Perfect Parent Trap has been described as “a leadership and relationships book dressed in parenting clothing”. It’s out now.