Exclusive Author Interview: Jenny Eden Berk

Buy Jenny's Book (The Body Image Blueprint): Amazon

Book Type: Nonfiction - Body Image/Self-Care/Self-Help

I recently enjoyed an exclusive author interview with Jenny Eden Berk, author of The Body Image Blueprint: Your Go-To Guide for Radical Self-Reverence (book review coming later this week!). My interview with Jenny- below. Enjoy!

Tell us a little about yourself…
I am a Certified Eating Psychology Coach, Body image Mentor, Speaker and Author.  I live in Boston, MA with my husband, 3 little girls and adorable little kitty.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I have always loved writing.  I have kept a journal since I was in 4th grade.  My Mom is a very creative person and I always wondered where my creativity lied and then realized in high school that it was with my writing.  It gave me so much joy.

Can you share your journey to becoming a published author?

I was fortunate to be accepted into a beta course called The 90 Day Book, which helped us go through the entire process of researching a book idea, validating the idea through market research, writing the book and publishing it.  It’s been an intense, challenging, fun and meaningful experience for me!

What do you find to be the biggest challenge, as an author?My biggest challenge is staying authentic to my voice and not being swayed by what I fear other people’s opinions will be.  When I find that I am aligned with my voice and my truth, my writing becomes so much more seamless.  I also struggle with grammar!

What do you find most rewarding, as an author?
I love the process.  I love having an idea and seeing it being fleshed out on paper before my very eyes.  This creative process and unfettered idea flowing is very satisfying for me.  I learned in my course to just write with abandon and worry about editing and changing later.  This has been great advice for me.

Share with us a daily habit of yours, that helps you reach your goals.
I meditate daily which helps ground me, keeps me in check with my bodily cues which thereby gives me valuable information about what I should and should not attempt that day.  For instance, I may meditate and realize that I’m feeling very foggy and uninspired and should head to the gym or a yoga class before attempting and writing or work that morning.

What is one piece of advice you would share with an aspiring author?
Write every day.  Even if it’s a few sentences.  I have found that the more I write, the better I become as a writer.  Also, be authentic.  I learned in the book, On writing well by William Zinsser that if you try to write for everyone, you write for no one.  Write for yourself, tell your story as it makes sense to you.  Be authentically you.

I am most grateful for…My family and their loving support in my life’s goals and passions.  I’m also grateful for my health!

If I could give my 18 year-old self one piece of advice it would be…
Stop bullying your body with chronic diets and over-exercising.  Just let yourself be!  You are beautiful and worthy the way you are.

My favorite thing about being a writer is…
Expressing myself in a creative way that is accessible to people and helps people learn about me and can be a lens into my soul.

My least favorite thing about being a writer is…
The pressure to produce something great.  And the frustration I feel when I know there is something important I want to write about but I just can’t seem to find the right words.

My goals for the future are…
To continue writing for sure, and to build my one-on-one eating psychology coaching business.

I love living a creative life because…
Wow, because life is so fun through the spectrum of creativity.  I can get through the doldrums of life when I can express myself creatively.  My world would be very grim and dark without the ability to be creative.  The task for me was finding where my creativity was, so I could unearth it.  I had tried music and cooking and even painting in the past, none of which seemed right to me.   

The last book I read was…
Mindset by Carol Dweck

My favorite book, ever, is…
Ooh, that is a hard one!  There are so many incredible books.  I’ll tell you that one of the books that made a huge impact on me as a young adult was the Great Gatsby.

Outside of writing, my favorite hobby is…
Cooking, baking, entertaining, traveling, exploring, improv, reading (of course).  Too many to list!

The most important thing to do if you want to achieve your goals is…

Be persistent and proactive.  Don’t let small failures derail your long term goals.  Be confident in your strengths and keep learning and growing as a person.

Tell us about your books (genre, where we can find them, etc.)
I have one book!  It’s my debut and it’s called The Body Image Blueprint: Your Go-To Guide for Radical Self-reverence.  The book is non-fiction hybrid of a memoir/self help.  It can be found on Amazon.  I also have a weekly blog which can be found on my website.

Where can readers find you (i.e. website, social media, etc.)?
My website:  www.jennyedencoaching.com

And on facebook page:  @jennyedencoaching

And through my private facebook group: Wellness Warriors: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1738140356456267/

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Stacey Ritz is a bestselling author and award winning writer. An empathetic and compassionate storyteller, Ritz wrote for a plethora of local and national news outlets, magazines, blogs, and websites (copywriter), prior to becoming a novelist. Her book, Covered in Pet Fur  has gained attention from RIVA Media and Animal Planet. She is the Executive Director and co-founder of Advocates 4 Animals, Inc. – a 501(c)3 non-profit animal welfare organization that has saved more than 11,000 lives (and counting). She currently resides in Ohio. Ritz is published through Rockville Publishing. You can interact with Stacey online via Stacey's Book Blog, on Pinterest, andInstagram.

Ritz writes the following genres:
Non-Fiction:
Motivation/Inspiration
Writing/Publishing
Animal Welfare
Fiction:
Love Stories

Click here to view Stacey's fiction books.

Click here to view Stacey's non-fiction books