⭐Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off⭐The Relative Unimportance of It All by Tony Setley #ContemporaryPhilosophy

What if almost everything you have been told about living an important life begins with the wrong question?

The Relative Unimportance of It All: and Why Everything Matters Anyway begins with an unsettling observation: given enough time, nearly everything human beings consider important will disappear. Fame fades, accomplishments are forgotten, institutions collapse, and even the most influential people eventually become little more than names—or vanish from memory altogether. Rather than resisting that reality with promises of legacy or permanence, the book takes it seriously. It argues that the mistake of nihilism is not recognizing that everything is temporary, but assuming that something must last forever in order to have mattered while it existed.

From there, the book shifts the question of meaning away from historical importance and toward lived experience. Every human being encounters life from within a present moment, whether emperor or laborer, celebrity or stranger. That equality of experience becomes the foundation for an ethic of “attentive goodness”: taking seriously the reality of the people and circumstances directly before us. The argument is applied to ordinary life, family, work, pleasure, suffering, loss, ambition, and attention. It does not claim that every action has equal consequences or that every moral choice is equivalent; rather, it distinguishes between the equal reality of persons and the very real differences in need, responsibility, harm, and consequence.

Ultimately, the book embraces the paradox contained in its title: from the perspective of vast stretches of time, very little about our lives may be important, and yet that does not make the lives being lived now meaningless. We do not need to become historically significant before the present deserves our attention. We can love, work, create, strive, enjoy, grieve, and act with goodness precisely because these experiences are real while they occur.

The Relative Unimportance of It All: And Why Everything Matters Anyway is available at Amazon.

╰┈➤Book Details 

✦ Title: The Relative Unimportance of It All: And Why Everything Matters Anyway
✦ Author: Tony Setley
✦ Genre: Philosophy
✦ Sub-genre: Contemporary Philosophy
✦ Language: English
✦ Pages: Paperback 250, Digital 151
✦ Paperback ISBN: 979-8192127988
✦ Publisher: Independent
✦ Publication Date: August 11, 2026
✦ Price: Hardcover $19.86, Paperback $12.42, Kindle $4.99, Audiobook FREE with Membership Trial, Kindle FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Excerpt:

“You are unlikely to change the course of history. You will almost certainly not become famous. Your name will not be remembered centuries from now, nor will your accomplishments occupy more than a passing line in the long account of humanity, if they appear at all. Whatever you build, someone else will inherit. Whatever you earn will eventually belong to another. Whatever reputation you cultivate will fade with those who knew you. There will come a day when, for the last time, someone speaks your name aloud. After that, silence.

This is not pessimism. It is arithmetic. This realization has led many thoughtful people to a bleak conclusion. If time eventually erases every distinction—between the celebrated and the anonymous, the wealthy and the poor, the conqueror and the laborer—then perhaps the distinctions were never meaningful in the first place. If oblivion is the final destination, why should anything matter before it arrives?” (From Prologue)

– Excerpted from The Relative Unimportance of It All: And Why Everything Matters Anyway by Tony Setley, Independent, 2026. Reprinted with permission.

About the Author

The Rev. Tony Setley is a Lutheran pastor, author, chaplain, football coach, and public philosopher. His professional ministry has included congregational, military, campus, and federal law-enforcement chaplaincy. He holds degrees from Lebanon Valley College and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree with a focus on preparing chaplains to help those dealing with moral injury. His writing explores the intersection of philosophy, theology, and ordinary human experience. He lives in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, with his wife and son.

Tony’s latest book is The Relative Unimportance of It All: And Why Everything Matters Anyway.

Connect with him on social media at:

╰┈➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TonySetley

╰┈➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonysetley/

Sponsored By:

 

⭐Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off⭐The Life-Changing Power of One Question by Holly Hurd #selfhelp

 

One Powerful Question Can Change Your Life

One Powerful Question Can Change Your Life.

In this empowering guide for women, Holly Hurd explores the transformative power of asking the right question at the right moment to unlock self-worth, confidence, and clarity.

Whether you’re navigating personal crossroads or professional change, this book will guide you to the breakthrough you’ve been seeking. With stories, prompts, and real-life examples from women who have radically changed their lives, this book reveals how a single, thoughtful question—posed to yourself or others—can help you find purpose, deepen relationships, and create connection. A former hedge fund founder turned women’s empowerment advocate, Holly Hurd combines business acumen with emotional insight to offer listeners a framework for self-reflection, personal growth, and bold action.

This book isn’t just about finding the right words—it’s about discovering your voice. Through guided inquiry and inspiring anecdotes, listeners will learn how to identify the question that could open the door to healing, opportunity, or reinvention. Whether it’s a whisper of curiosity or a cry for change, asking that one question may be the first step to a more courageous, connected, and fulfilled life.

Inside, you’ll find:

• Empowering questions to ask in moments of doubt, change, or opportunity
• Real stories from women who found clarity and purpose by asking just one question
• Simple yet powerful tools for reconnecting to your intuition and taking the next step

If you liked How Successful People Think, Supercommunicators, or How to Become a People Magnet, then you’ll love The Life-Changing Power of One Question.

The Life-Changing Power of One Question is available at Amazon.

╰┈➤Book Details 

🔥Title: The Life-Changing Power of One Question: Unlock Purpose, Direction & Connection with One Powerful Ask

🔥Author: Holly Hurd

🔥Genre: Personal Growth

🔥Sub-genre: Women’s Empowerment

🔥Language:English

🔥Pages: 236

🔥Paperback ISBN: 978-1969508141

🔥Publisher: Maison Vero

🔥Publication Date: November 25, 2025

Excerpt:

PROLOGUE

What is the question that changed your life? It’s there. At first, many people struggle to pinpoint their question. But if you reflect deeply, you’ll likely uncover one—or even several—questions that have altered the course of your life in meaningful ways.

Each of us has experienced moments where a single question has led to a new path, a significant decision, or a profound shift in perspective. Maybe it was a question you asked yourself in a moment of self-doubt or clarity. Perhaps you turned to someone else for advice, and their answer illuminated a path you hadn’t considered. Or maybe you reached out to the universe, asking for a sign to guide you in an uncertain time. Whether the impact was fleeting or long-lasting, the power of that question remains undeniable.

My theory is that a question can help you take the next step. By asking thought provoking questions, we can find a way to the other side and a happier life. As women, we have spent our entire lives taking care of others, now it’s time to ask: What makes me happy? What do I want out of my life? Is there something I really want to do? How do I want to spend my life?

I’ve spent the last fifteen years interviewing women at inflection points in their lives. Maybe they were recently widowed or divorced. Maybe they were new empty nesters. Perhaps their parent has passed, or they lost a job or retired. There are so many transitions that can be difficult to walk through. These women found a way to move forward by asking a question that led to a business, venture or pursuit. You may not be looking to start a business but rather begin a different lifestyle after an inflection point.  Regardless of where you are, I believe questions can lead you to what’s next.

Why write this book? In my life recently I’ve noticed what makes me happy, what makes me smile, what gives me fulfilment, and what gives me peace. Connecting with other people is my answer.  And recent studies have shown it’s important to everyone and everyone’s health. Three recent studies and countless research articles have shown that connecting to the people in your world brings happiness. In fact, studies have shown that connecting with other people leads to a longer healthier life. Given that, connecting with others should definitely be on your health to-do list.  This book will show you how questions help you connect and find your happiness.

Let me be clear: I don’t claim to have all the answers to the questions you may ask yourself or others. I am not a therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist. If you are facing challenges such as anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns, I encourage you to seek the guidance of a licensed professional. This book is not intended to diagnose or treat mental health conditions. Instead, it is an exploration of how the right questions—asked with intention and clarity—can serve as powerful tools for growth, connection, and transformation.

Through extensive research and reflection, I’ve gathered insights from experts in communication, relationships, and personal development. My goal is to share their wisdom and offer a framework for uncovering the questions that can lead to greater happiness and fulfillment in your life.

I’m not a scholar or teacher but I believe happiness is the ultimate currency.  Our world just went through a period of extreme disconnectedness, and we are at a major point of dividedness in our world. How do we get back to connectiveness and ultimately, more happiness? A question can give you that connectiveness and change your life and the lives of those around you, maybe only for a moment, maybe for a little while and maybe for a lifetime.

In your daily life, people want to connect and to be seen. How easy is it to connect? Something as simple as saying “It’s busy today, right?” “Quiet in here today?” “So cold outside, right?” It can be anything that gets the person to see you and lets them know you see them. Rather than just go through the motions of checking out, picking up your order, or walking to your desk, you can turn your workday or errand into an exchange that improves your health.

And in your personal life, whether in your relationship with others or your relationship with yourself, questions are amazing at getting you to examine where you are, where you want to go, and how you want to live your life. You will see examples of multiple stories throughout the book where questions led others to happiness You can use these questions to guide you to a clearer picture of what makes you happy and ultimately begin a journey to a happier life.

Your relationship with your boss, your employee, your partner, your mate, your parents, your friends, your child can all be improved with a single question. In this book you’ll learn what question to ask, and you’ll learn how to ask that question to work towards a better relationship with everyone you encounter and everyone you know - leading to your happiness. 

Here’s my promise to you, my reader: by the end of this book, you’ll discover the value of asking the right questions—not just of others, but of yourself. You’ll learn how to start a meaningful conversation with a question that could spark change. You’ll identify the life-changing question you need to ask yourself right now. Whether you’re seeking a new career, a deeper purpose, stronger relationships, or greater overall joy, one well-chosen question could be the key that unlocks it all.

So, let’s begin this journey together. Let’s uncover the life-changing question that’s waiting to guide you toward your next chapter.

– Excerpted from The Life-Changing Power of One Question by Holly Hurd, Maison Vero, 2025. Reprinted with permission.

About the Author

For the last 15 years, Holly Hurd has interviewed and profiled hundreds of women entrepreneurs through her platform VentureMom.com. This gives her unique insights into how women create successful ventures from scratch. Her website serves as a source of inspiration and guidance, showcasing stories of women who turned ideas into thriving pursites and businesses.

Holly’s first book, VentureMom: From Idea to Income in Just 12 Weeks, became a bestseller, offering readers a step-by-step blueprint to start a business in a short period of time. Now, her highly anticipated new book, The Life-Changing Power of One Question, will draw on her experience with women who are at inflection points This book explores how asking the right question at the right time can transform lives. Aimed at women at pivotal moments, it serves as a powerful guide for those seeking to redefine their happiness and create a fulfilling new chapter.

Holly began her career managing her own hedge fund at just 23 years old, specializing in futures and commodities trading. This experience sharpened her strategic mindset and entrepreneurial spirit, ultimately leading her to her true mission: empowering women to lead happier, more fulfilled lives.

Visit her website at VentureMom.com.

Connect with her on social media at:

╰┈➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VentureMom/

╰┈➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/venture_mom

╰┈➤ LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollyhurd/

Sponsored By:

 

⭐Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off⭐Jesse's Girl by Gary Morgenstein #thriller

 

How far would you go to protect your child?

Teddy Mentor finally thought his troubled teenage son was safe. No more drugs. No more police. No more fear. Only guilt. Then came the midnight call from the wilderness program.  Jesse had run away.

But what can Teddy do? Risk his shaky job and head to Montana to search for Jesse?  Let the authorities handle this. They know what they’re doing. That’s why Teddy sent Jesse away. Because he already failed. No. Teddy can’t jeopardize what little he has left for the adopted son who said Teddy wasn’t his real father. But Teddy is a parent. A single parent. And Jesse is all he has left.

The novel asks the question how much should a parent sacrifice for their child? In Jesse’s Girl, the answer is: Everything.

╰┈➤Book Details 

● Title: Jesse’s Girl
● Author: Gary Morgenstein
● Genre: Thriller
● Sub-genre: Crime Action/Adventure
● Language:English
● Pages: 318
● Paperback ISBN: 978-1441492241
● Publisher: Amazon
● Price: Paperback $17, Kindle $3.99, FREE on Kindle Unlimited
● Amazon: https://a.co/d/03JVVL7e
● Barnes&Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jesses-girl-gary-morgenstein/1018257163

Excerpt:

Ever since he’d received the call in the middle of the night that Molly had died, Teddy Mentor had moved the phone away from the end table by the bed. Here in this bedroom, once theirs, then hers, now his, it sat on a pea- green marble table just beneath the window. Even across the room, six feet away, the phone still jolted him. On the second ring, he stiffened like some zombie coming to life.

It was about Jesse. It was one of his dealers calling about money. It was a desk sergeant. It was the morgue. On the third ring, he remembered: Jesse was safe. Let it ring. He had no one else to lose.

He stumbled toward the phone and stubbed his toe on the end table. Down he went to one knee. At fifty-four, stubbing your toe was like being shot. He scowled at the digital clock that he’d also moved so he wouldn’t count the sleep lost, the hours ticking off into the ozone, never to be retrieved.   

Slamming down the clock because, of course, that was to blame, Teddy grimaced and answered the phone on the fifth ring. One-eighteen and he had to pee for the second time that night. 

“Yeah,” he said hoarsely.

A faint crackle like a connection from space hummed, followed by a cheerful voice with a Western tinge.

“Hello Mr. Mentor, this is Paul Jennings at the Mountain Wilderness Center.”

Teddy flinched. Oh no.

“I’m so sorry to bother you so late.”

“What happened?”

“Well sir - ” Paul hesitated. “We had a little 

incident with Jesse last night.”

He closed his eyes, as if that’d help. “Is he okay?” 

“Nothing like that. He wasn’t hurt or anything.” Pause. “He left the premises during the night.”

Teddy rubbed his eyes hard, trying to wake up because this wasn’t supposed to happen. This was supposed to be when the nightmare started ending. But from the window came the smell of bagged garbage drifting up the courtyard two floors below, carried on a warm late July breeze, so he knew it wasn’t a dream;  it was real and it sucked. “Great. Why?”

“We don’t know for sure.”

“Did you try asking him?” Teddy couldn’t remember if Paul was the fat one with glasses or the thin one with a red beard. He had only seen their pictures from the staff page on the website.

“Well that’s the rub, sir.” Paul cleared his throat. 

“Jesse hasn’t returned yet.”

Teddy sat cross-legged on the floor and wished he hadn’t quit smoking. “How long has he been gone?”

“We’re not really sure, sir.”

“What the hell do you mean? I just paid you ten grand and you lose my son after two weeks?”

“I understand you’re upset.”

“That’s one word for it.” How late was the mini-mart on Seventh Street open? He could get cigarettes there. “He disappears in the middle of the night, and you just discovered that now?”

“Oh no, sir,” Paul chuckled, eager to deliver reassuring news. “We saw he was no longer in the cabin around seven this morning when the residents gathered for breakfast. He’d tucked a pillow under his blanket, darn old-fashioned trick but seemed to work…”

“He’s a clever boy,” Teddy said.  Here we go again. Here we go again. 

“That’s one word for it,” Paul answered slowly. Right. Paul was the fat one -- Teddy remembered now. “One of his roommates contacted the tech on duty and 

we then set out looking for him. The group just returned a few minutes ago, and that’s when I called you.”

“So where do you guess he is?” His armpits 

were drenched.  

“That’s the good news. Nearest town is Morton, that’s more than twenty-two miles away. Twenty-two point three, actually, sir. So it’s unlikely he would’ve made it that far.”

“He could’ve hitched a ride.”

“Folks around here know better than to pick up one of our kids. We’ve got the sheriff on this; he’s sent out an alert. Not many places for Jesse to hide, doubt he had any food. He’ll come back hungry and thirsty. They usually do.”

“Or he won’t because he’s hurt.”

Paul chuckled again. “I don’t think so, sir. Like I said, this happens sometimes. Kids get anxious, frightened, and think running away is an option.”

“But you don’t know for sure he’s okay. You don’t know for sure where he is.” Teddy’s lower back ached. He wanted to lie down and close his eyes and make it all go away.

Paul’s voice hardened slightly. “We know these kids, sir. Just wanted to give you a shout and let you know not to worry.”

“You don’t think I’m going to worry that my sixteen-year-old son is missing somewhere in the middle of Montana?” Teddy shouted. 

“Sir, it sounds far worse than it is.”

“Silly me for over-reacting.” Teddy’s chest 

tightened. 

“When will you call me back?”

“When we find him, sir.” 

“When do you think that will be?”

“Hard to say.”

“Few hours, few days, few weeks, what’s the 

standard time frame when you misplace an adolescent?”

“Is none. Don’t worry. We’ll find him. Just hang tight 

And stay in touch.”

             Teddy sat there for a moment, his head throbbing. Damn you, Jesse, he muttered. Damn you for doing this. For saying screw you, Dad, once again. 

– Excerpted from Jesse’s Girl by Gary Morgenstein. Reprinted with permission.

About the Author

The novels and plays of the award-winning writer Gary Morgenstein have been featured in national media from the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, New York Post and Sports Illustrated to NPR and Fox News. 

Including Jesse’s Girl, Morgenstein’s seven novels include the critically acclaimed trilogy The Dark Depths comprised of A Mound Over Hell, A Fastball for Freedom and A Dugout to Peace, which begins in 2098 after America and the West have lost World War Three to the Islamic Empire and baseball begins its final season at Amazon Stadium.

Morgenstein’s stage dramas, which have been performed all over the country, include A Black and White Cookie, A Tomato Can’t Grow in the Bronx, Dancing on Glass, Walking Charlie, The Silence of Our Friends and the bi-partisan political satire AOC and the Untold Story of the 2028 Election.

Connect with him on social media at:

╰┈➤ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/gary.morgenstein/

╰┈➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garymorgenstein

Sponsored By:

 

⭐Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off⭐Lost Valley Lost Innocence by Ken Tipton #memoir

 

The True Story of Best Friends Trapped in an International Boy Scout Sex Ring

Two best friends. One hidden network. A childhood stolen under the cover of Scouting.

From 1964 to 1967, Kenny Tipton and Greg Connor were barely teenagers when men they had been taught to trust groomed and sexually exploited them through Boy Scout camps, trips, and activities.

What began at Lost Valley Boy Scout Camp outside St. Louis grew into an organized network that carried the boys through more than twenty states and into the hands of businessmen, law-enforcement officers, politicians, priests, educators, and other powerful men.

To survive, Kenny and Greg depended on each other. They made rules, kept secret records, negotiated with predators, and used intelligence, loyalty, and dark humor to hold on to some measure of control. As the danger escalated, they became caught in blackmail, betrayal, violence, and crimes that would haunt Kenny for decades.

Lost Valley – Lost Innocence is Ken Tipton’s firsthand account of stolen childhoods, institutional failure, buried secrets, and the lifelong consequences of survival.

But at its heart is something the men who exploited them could not take away: the friendship between two boys who protected one another when the adults around them would not.

Decades later, Ken finally breaks the silence.

Told with brutal honesty and unexpected humor, this is a survivor memoir about friendship, resilience, guilt, and the courage required to confront the past.

Some stories are difficult to believe because they are too horrifying to imagine.

This one happened.

Lost Valley – Lost Innocence is available at Amazon.

╰┈➤Book Details 

🏕 Title: Lost Valley –  Lost Innocence
🏕 Author: Ken Tipton
🏕 Genre: Memoir
🏕 Sub-genre: Sexual Assault/True Crime
🏕 Language:English
🏕 Pages: 365
🏕 Paperback ISBN: 979-8234067685
🏕 Publisher: TBRIS Media, Inc.
🏕 Publication Date: June 22, 2026
🏕 Price: Hardcover $27.99, Paperback $18.99, Kindle $7.99, FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Excerpt:

 

In 2020, more than fifty years after I left the Lost Valley Boy Scout camp, I returned to the woods west of St. Louis, near St. Charles, Missouri, in search of a small yellow suitcase called the "Banana," which I hoped would prove my story. 

That sentence may seem straightforward: an old man returns to a childhood camp to search for something his best friend buried when they were boys. It sounds almost sweet and nostalgic—like the kind of harmless story people share at reunions, once the pain has faded with time and memories have mellowed.

But memory doesn’t behave the same way for me. It lurks, it hides, and it resurfaces when I least expect it.

Lost Valley was never merely a camp to me; it was both my prison and my sanctuary.

– Excerpted from Lost Valley - Lost Innocence by Ken Tipton, TBRIS Media Inc., 2026. Reprinted with permission.

About the Author

Ken Tipton is a serial entrepreneur, author, composer, screenwriter, award-winning filmmaker, and Air Force veteran whose life has taken him from building unconventional businesses and producing films to confronting a childhood history he kept largely buried for decades.

His memoir, Lost Valley – Lost Innocence, tells the true story of Tipton and his best friend, Greg Connor, who were groomed and sexually exploited as boys through a network connected to their experiences in Scouting during the 1960s. Told with candor, emotional honesty, and unexpected humor, the book examines childhood abuse, institutional betrayal, friendship, survival, and the consequences that can follow victims long after the abuse itself has ended.

Tipton has spent much of his life creating—building businesses, developing film and television projects, writing screenplays, and telling stories drawn from extraordinary experiences. In his seventies, he turned that storytelling toward the most difficult subject of all: his own past.

Through Lost Valley – Lost Innocence, Tipton hopes not only to document what happened, but also to give voice to survivors who spent years or decades believing that silence was their only option.

He lives in California with his wife, Darlene, and continues to write and develop new creative projects.

Ken’s latest book is Lost Valley - Lost Innocence: The True Story of Best Friends Trapped in an International Boy Scounts Sex Ring.  

Visit his website at https://lostvalleybook.com/.

Connect with him on social media at:

╰┈➤ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LostValleyFilm

╰┈➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lostvalleybook

╰┈➤ BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/ken-tipton

╰┈➤ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lostvalleybook

╰┈➤Substack: https://lostvalleybook.substack.com/

Sponsored By:

 

⭐Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off⭐She Forgot She Was Free by Giselle Mascarenhas #selfhelp

She Forgot She Was Free is a powerful invitation to remember who you were before fear, expectations, and survival convinced you to forget.

She Forgot She Was Free is an invitation to remember the woman you were before fear, expectations, achievement, disappointment, and survival convinced you to forget.

In this deeply personal and transformational book, two-time best-selling author and founder of The BECOME Method™, Giselle Mascarenhas, shares the lessons, questions, and revelations that led her back to her truest self. Rather than offering quick fixes or another self-help checklist, she invites readers into a journey of honest reflection, identity, healing, and intentional growth. Through compelling stories and practical insights, readers are challenged to release limiting beliefs, reconnect with their authentic voice, and rediscover the freedom that has been within them all along.

Rooted in the principles of The BECOME Method™, She Forgot She Was Free equips readers with a powerful way to move beyond simply surviving and begin living with clarity, courage, and purpose. Whether you’re navigating a season of transition, rebuilding after loss, or simply sensing there is more waiting for you, this book will remind you that the life you long for doesn’t begin by becoming someone new, it begins by remembering who you have always been.

Because the person you are searching for has never been lost.

She has simply been waiting for you to remember her.

╰┈➤Book Details

● Title: She Forgot She Was Free
● Author: Giselle Mascarenhas
● Genre: Self Help
● Sub-genre: Inner Child Self Help/Transformational Self Help/Motivational Self Help
● Language:English
● Pages: 132
● Paperback ISBN: ‎ 979-8234125965
● ASIN: B0H6M1PSHT
● Publisher: Mija Media House
● Publication Date: June 23, 2026
● Price: Hardcover $37.99, Paperback $25.81, Kindle $9.99
● Amazon: https://a.co/d/04aiKYWO
● Purchase Signed Copy: https://signedcopy.netlify.app/

Excerpt:

“Beat It”

If you grew up in the 80s, you understand what Michael Jackson meant.

Not as a celebrity. Not as a pop star. As a feeling.

My bedroom walls were covered in him. Floor to ceiling. Every page I could tear from every magazine that had his face on it, I put it up. I would climb on my dresser drawers and stand on chairs just to reach higher, just to fit one more. My brother John knew this. And because brothers are built to find the exact thing that will undo you, ripping one of those pictures was his most effective weapon. That was the deal, unspoken but understood, touch my Michael Jackson pictures and I stop raiding your Little Debbies and cereal. We had a whole economy built around it.

But Michael Jackson wasn’t just decoration on my walls.

He was proof that you could be fully, completely, unapologetically yourself, and the whole world would not just accept it, they would lose their minds over it.

Third grade. The school talent show.

I signed up to dance to Beat It. I borrowed a dress. Black tights that were slightly too small. I was not nervous. Not even a little. I was a great dancer and I loved Michael Jackson and the combination of those two facts felt like more than enough reason to get on a stage in front of the entire school.

When the music started, I stopped thinking.

I just danced.

I hit every move. I got lost in it, the way you only get lost in something when you are doing exactly what you were made to do. No performance. No awareness of being watched. Just a little girl and the music and the complete and total freedom of a body that knew what it was doing.

When it was over, the cafeteria stood up.

The whole cafeteria.

Elementary kids on their feet, cheering, for me, for little Gi who had just danced her whole heart out in slightly-too-small tights without a single moment of self-consciousness.

I remember that feeling. I want you to feel it with me for just a second before I tell you what happened next.

That feeling, of being fully yourself, fully alive, and being met with that kind of love, that is vitality. That is exactly what this book is about. Not the applause. The aliveness that came before it.

I signed up again the following year.

I was going to dance again. At this point I was certain, certain, that I was either going to be a ballroom dancer or a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. It was not even a question in my mind. It was just a matter of which one.

Then I got called to the principal’s office.

Mrs. Champion sat across from me and told me that before I could perform in the talent show, I would need to audition privately for her. Because last year, she said, and I still remember her tone more clearly than her words, my dance moves had been vulgar. And I would not be allowed to perform if I did anything like that again.

I was in third grade.

I did not fully understand the word she used. But I understood her face. I understood the disgust in it. The way she looked at me like my aliveness, my joy, my freedom, the very thing that had made every child in that cafeteria rise to their feet, was something to be ashamed of. Something that needed to be contained. Auditioned. Approved before it was allowed to exist.

I went back to my homeroom teacher and told her I had decided not to perform.

She asked why.

“I just don’t want to anymore,” I said.

And I sat down.

I did not have the language for what had just happened to me. I did not know that a grown woman had just looked at a little girl on fire and made her feel like her flame was a problem. I did not know that the thing I did most naturally, the thing that made people come alive, had just been handed back to me with a note that said too much.

What I knew was the feeling in my body.

The same body that had been lost in the music, free and uncalculating, was now sending a different signal.

A warning.

A familiar click.

When the light shines too bright on you, move it.

Point it somewhere else before someone decides your brightness is the problem. Before they call it vulgar. Before your heart gets shattered by someone else’s discomfort with your aliveness.

I had already learned the light switch.

Mrs. Champion just gave me the first real reason to use it.

– Excerpted from She Forgot She Was Free by Giselle Mascarenhas, Mija Media House, 2026. Reprinted with permission.

About the Author

Giselle Mascarenhas is the founder of BECOME™, creator of the BECOME Methodology™, and author of She Forgot She Was Free. An entrepreneur, speaker, and transformational guide, she has dedicated her life’s work to helping people reconnect with who they were created to be so they can live with greater purpose, freedom, and intentionality.

After years of building businesses, leading organizations, and walking through seasons of personal growth, Giselle recognized that lasting transformation does not begin with external success, it begins with remembering one’s authentic identity. That realization became the foundation of the BECOME Method™, a proprietary methodology designed to guide individuals through a transformational process of self-awareness, healing, alignment, courageous action, and embodied growth. Unlike a framework that offers guidelines for achieving a specific outcome, The BECOME Method™ is a comprehensive method of personal advancement that can be applied across every area of life, leadership, and purpose.

Her debut book, She Forgot She Was Free, is both a deeply personal memoir and an invitation for readers to embark on their own journey of remembrance. Through honest storytelling, reflection, and faith, the book explores the universal experience of losing ourselves beneath expectations, fear, pain, and performance, and the courageous journey of rediscovering the freedom, identity, and purpose that have always existed within us. Rather than simply telling her story, Giselle invites readers to see themselves in its pages and begin writing the next chapter of their own lives.

The book became the catalyst for the broader BECOME movement, an expanding ecosystem of transformational experiences designed to help people move beyond inspiration into intentional action. Through immersive workshops, retreats, leadership development, educational programs, community experiences, publishing initiatives, and speaking engagements, Giselle equips individuals with practical tools to create meaningful and lasting transformation. Every experience is grounded in the belief that personal growth is not about becoming someone different but remembering and embodying the person God uniquely created each of us to be.

Known for her ability to blend heartfelt storytelling with practical application, Giselle creates spaces where people feel seen, challenged, and empowered to take meaningful action. Her presentations combine vulnerability, strategic thinking, and actionable guidance, allowing audiences to leave not only inspired but equipped with a clear path forward. Her work resonates with entrepreneurs, leaders, professionals, educators, faith-based communities, and individuals seeking deeper purpose and authentic fulfillment.

Beyond her work as an author and speaker, Giselle is passionate about developing leaders who create ripple effects within their families, businesses, organizations, and communities. She believes transformation is contagious, that when one person remembers who they are and chooses to live courageously, they give others permission to do the same. This philosophy continues to shape every initiative within the BECOME movement.

Through future books, collaborative publishing projects, leadership academies, retreats, and global speaking engagements, Giselle’s mission is to help millions of people reconnect with their God-given identity and become the fullest expression of who they were created to be. She envisions BECOME as a worldwide movement that empowers individuals to live intentionally, lead authentically, and create lasting impact for generations to come.

Giselle lives in Texas with her family and continues to write, teach, speak, and expand the global reach of the BECOME movement. Whether on stage, in the pages of a book, or through transformational experiences, her message remains the same: the person you are searching for has never been lost, you have simply forgotten who you are. Remember. Rise. BECOME.

Visit her website at www.thebecomemethod.com.

Connect with her on social media at:

╰┈➤Twitter: https://x.com/giselleempowers

╰┈➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/giselleempowers

╰┈➤Instagram: https://instagram.com/giselleempowers

╰┈➤Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21957760.Giselle_Mascarenhas

Sponsored By: