I'm Giving Away 5 Free Copies of My Book, Un-Crap Your Life. Most Popular Comments Win! {Steemit Exclusive}

The day has arrived to give away 5 free paperback copies of my book, Un-Crap Your Life: Navigating Life's Crappiest Situations to the top 5 most popular comments on this post. And when I say free, I mean free, and free shipping, everything. I'll ship anywhere internationally, wherever. I'll sign it and write a small note as well.

Basically, it comes down to this: whoever wants the book bad enough will probably get it. The more oomph you put into your comment below, the more people will probably vote for it. (notice my use of the word, 'probably.' I make no guarantees.)
So, comment below telling me why you want my book and the top 5 comments with the most upvotes wins. I'll then contact each winner directly, securing their mailing address. This is a physical book. In the case of a tie(s), that can be accommodated as well.
Here's a video that explains a little more about my book and the process:
Here's a fun photo of me when I did my very first book marketing campaign on the streets that failed miserably.
I ended up sort of hiding behind my book replica, giving up on marketing altogether, and reading on my smartphone while I was hiding behind it. I also ended up drawing on the backside of the replica as strangers passed by me on the street. It was a total waste of time and it made me realize that it's much better to utilize energy on the internet and pursue my efforts in a digital space. It's way less humiliating:

And in case you need to visualize what it will be like when you start reading my book, here you go:

Here's the back cover:

Oh, and here's the most embarrassing part of the entire book. I dedicated it to James Altucher and this drawing appears in the very front of it, in the dedication part:

The reason I say, "most embarrassing" is that James Altucher never mentioned this fact or alluded to it. We are acquaintances, and so, this is personally embarrassing because him not mentioning it perhaps means that my book is not exactly up to par. James has publicly stated that he likes my work, but I still feel embarrassed about dedicating my book to him.
In case you're not convinced yet if you want my book or not, consider reading the Amazon reviews. I believe there are about 14 of them so far. Here is one by Todd S.:
"This is not your average self-help book. It's actually an eclectic mix of self-help, biography, and funny anecdotes, The path through this book is winding and many of the stories are tender and heartfelt. One moment you're laughing and the next moment your jaw has dropped and you're wondering 'How could this have happened?'
I think what I loved most about this book is that it's not pretentious at all. The author makes no presumptions about being a person with all of the answers or being some kind of fully reformed guru; rather; the author is actively working through her demons by writing this book and invites you to JOIN her on this journey (with your own problems, of course) as opposed to telling you what you need to do to have a better life. It's a gradual--sometimes jerky--process of change that the author is fully realizing herself and it's through this gradual transformation that you can begin to see the visions for your own change.
I highly recommend this book." -Todd S.
If you want to read any of the other Amazon reviews, go here.
It's about 90 pages long so most people can get through it.
Let me know in the comments below if you want it. May the most popular comments win! Let the games begin!
Thanks for reading,
Stellabelle
ps- If you don't want the book, but instead just want to become a better writer, I wrote a Survival Guide For Super Newbie Writers post that has a lot of helpful writing tips in it. Check it out. It is widely tweeted, and I get a notification on Twitter about 5 times per day, letting me know someone shared it. It's the only viral thing I've ever really created on the internet.
I would love to get this book Stella! It sounds funny, real and sad. Some of the titles are very dramatic and intriguing, especially I dated a serial killer... I am a loser, ect. I definitely need to know how to navigate life crappiest situations. Sometimes it feels like I am always in crappy situations, so it would be great to read your manual and relate to some of them. I want it BAAAAADDD!!Feel free to vote if you feel like I deserve this book ;) Alla x
The fact that you spelled BAD like "BAAAADDD!!" is pointing you in the direction of something...........
yeah I needed to express somehow via text :)) Im excited....
You have won my book. Please send an email to thesecretwriter@protonmail.com with your mailing address.
I really enjoyed reading your book. I would love to have the physical version of it to share with some of my friends.
Also I can't wait to read Survival Guide For Super Newbie Writers post.
Thank you and good luck to everyone!
As an author myself, I think your comment stands out because you're willing to share her work with other people.
You have won my book. Please send an email to thesecretwriter@protonmail.com with your mailing address.
I would really want to be able to own a book like yours, expecially the fact I never had a real english book in all my life(if you exclude the minibooks of 2 pages for kids to learn from it). I really want a full real life immersion in an english book that may even help me making my life a little better, I surely can't expect to win a copy, but at least I'm trying ;)
You have won my book. Please send an email to thesecretwriter@protonmail.com with your mailing address.
Just sent the mail, my telegram bot stopped working for a couple of days and received just now :*
I just sent out your book.........it could take between 1-2 weeks
Identifying a want and then trying, well, that's a start, surely.
My ex, who was eventually diagnosed with a paranoid personality disorder along with narcissism, would tell me I was very naive and "too trusting." He warned me that others would always take advantage of my kind nature and would often criticize my custom of taking people at their word. Not surprisingly, he was the one who ended up taking advantage of me. I was manipulated into leaving my career, my country, my family and friends. The romantic honeymoon period turned into a living hell. Lectures, interrogations, threats, screaming fits in which the man I loved became some other beast I didn't recognize. I ran out of the house with just the clothes on my back when I realized he could kill me while in one of his jealous paranoid rages. I lost all of my savings and a modest inheritance (I still don't know how he spent all of that money), my dignity (I can't even talk about what I did and said in order to stay in that relationship), and I lost my sense of self. I went from being an ambitious, socially active leader to a nervous shell of a person who lives with depression and shame. In less than five years he destroyed me financially, emotionally, psychologically and even mentally. Narcissistic abuse can cause mild brain damage and memory issues so even though I've healed somewhat through therapy and yoga, I am not the bright and quick-thinking person I used to be.
This experience of being in an emotionally abusive relationship with a personality-disordered man taught me people are not what they appear to be. I had never heard of personality disorders, had not known that there are people who are capable of hiding their broken souls behind a human mask and that they exist to hurt others. I have continued to self-isolate since leaving him. I go from home to work to home day in day out. I spend most of my free time reading books or working out to yoga videos and practicing meditation. I'm also on the computer, possibly too often, when I should be going out, making friends, enjoying life. I read James Ultucher and Ryan Holiday for inspiration on how to "uncrap my life" but perhaps the words of a fellow woman warrior would go further.
You have won my book. Please send an email to thesecretwriter@protonmail.com with your mailing address.
Thank you, Leah!
"This experience of being in an emotionally abusive relationship with a personality-disordered man taught me people are not what they appear to be." I believe you need my book because what you describe happened to me too. I had a very similar experience and I think we could benefit from discussing this further. Sociopaths tend to zero in on people who have empathy because they tend to lack it. I have talked with many people, both men and women who have accidentally got mixed up with a sociopath. Our stories are eerily similar, with the end result that we tend to isolate after such an experience. I can say, that after six years, I have recovered my identity, self and energy, but I still isolate, and I do not trust in the same way. I see that also I have a new level of fear, that I have to deal with on a daily basis. It definitely changed my brain chemistry, I believe. It's a long process, but I can say that you can recover. It takes a lot of time, and I think a lot of going through what happened. How long ago did this happen to you?
I left him two years ago this summer. @stellabelle, I don't believe we "accidentally" connected with these men. According to people like narcopath Sam Vaknin and psychologist Richard Gannon--himself a survivor of narcissistic abuse--our vulnerability to these monsters is a result of childhood conditioning, most often due to a narcissistic or borderline parent. In going through my recovery process I've had to face so many childhood incidents where I was devalued and humiliated. I learned to hide my true self and use a people-pleasing facade to avoid punishment and confrontation. I learned how to accommodate and normalize verbal and emotional abuse. I learned to associate abuse with love.
It's true what you say about sociopaths and other disordered individuals being drawn to those with empathy. And the fear? Yes, there's that. It permeates every aspect of my life, keeps me tethered to the safe confines of my home and workplace. There was so much I was doing before him, so many things on my bucket list, so many ambitions I had...and I've dropped everything. I would love to read your book as I know, from your words, that we've experienced the same soul-raping experience.
i just sent out your book, 1-2 weeks to ship...
Thank you! I'll post a review once I've read it.
So. Writing Your book is great idea. I think many people can find there many-many useful things.
I really sure, cause i know your sincere big heart and your writer's talent, this book ought to be amazing.😆 I would like to get it.
Because for me its a part of your inner world. And yes, off course i can buy it but...I would prefer to get it as a gift.
I don't know how to find true price for this. So for me it is priceless. I mean how we can find the price for truth or for inspiring, or for sincerity. Nor way!😱
So i would be very-very thankful to you if you would give me one of your books as a gift. Because i cant find something for the exchange.😟
Well, the price for it if you bought if from Amazon would be $6.99 plus shipping. But I suspect that they don't ship to all countries. The ebook is $2.99.
You have won my book. Please send an email to thesecretwriter@protonmail.com with your mailing address.
Uncanny! You are obviously the identical twin sister I was separated at birth from. Either that, or you have stolen my personal diaries.
Why do I want a copy of your book? To see what you have written about me :)
Seriously, as you were reading out the Chapter headings, I was going "Check, Check, Check..."
P.S. I needed to edit this post as I forgot to add more "Oomph" as advised. So... OOOOOOOOOMMMMPPPHhh!!
Funny! Perhaps you should write an "Un-crap Your Life" book of your own. Perhaps we should all contribute a chapter...
I go with movie 'Highlander'... there can only be One! :)
Perhaps a spin-off? Un-Constipate... or Un-pee Stain?
Yes! A group book would be an excellent idea!
You have won my book. Please send an email to thesecretwriter@protonmail.com with your mailing address.
Hurray! A first!! I never win anything, lol :) Sending mail now.
Did you have a child with a sociopath also????????
I am not prepared to share publicly about that sorry :)
Oh, I am sorry for asking. It is one the chapter titles........
I wonder if we are twins as you mentioned....
Please don't be sorry. Just with info being on the blockchain in the public domain and for ever, I realise I need to be careful with what I share, for the protection of other people. Yes, this chapter heading is very relevant for me also :)
Re: Twins - Stranger things have happened! I was adopted at birth :)
"Deeply personal". That is what you actually are, Leah. And this is something that is very rare in our robotized and standardized world. That's what makes us human. What is often missing to feel free.
Personality. That's what is valuable indeed. It so happened that I met you here. And it made a strong impression on me. Because I met the person who is breaking through the thick grey of everyday life. And it's that fire I think I've kindled in myself and are now trying to support in every way. And looks like you're helping me to support it.
Yeah, I see the essence of personality like fire. I feel it so. It warms the soul. I think I would like to get this book in order to better maintain the fire that is glowing in me. Don't know whether you leave a mark in the history of mankind, but in my personal life history, you've already left it. For this I thank you, Leah, and for this I would like to get your book.
This is a pretty strong and solid reason! Wow! That means a lot to me. I have a mix of feelings when I read what you wrote! I made a pact with myself several years ago that I would do what I fear doing and not die with regrets. I live this way now, and definitely that is the advice I can give others. Your life will change when you decide to run into fear, and make it to the other side!
I think I need a book like "Un-Crap Your Life" because I keep stepping in it wherever I turn. My life has literally been a stroll through an overflowed septic system. Don't get me wrong, I love to try, I am just exceptionally good at failing. If there were an award for falling down, I would be the most decorated person alive. I would love to read this and maybe get some perspective. Thanks.
Your reply is very creative and is heading in the right direction. I especially liked the "overflowed septic system". I think that your comment that you are "exceptionally good at failing" is rather interesting. I would like to hear some specifics on this topic. The only way I could write this book, is I had to take a very long and uncomfortable look at the person I was and had become. It sucked actually, looking at the "real" me....
The book idea is great, and the post is very creative.
Yes, crap happens and we must face it.
I prefer this approach to life, the iper-optimistic way is too much boring and unrealistic.
BTW the post is full of crazyness and creativity, congrats.
So ship the book to Italy for me!
Cheers
most self-help gurus just pretty much make me want to vomit.
you want me want to vomit too, and you are not even a self help guru
That's been my experience too ;)
I would like a free copy of your book because of this phrase on the back: "she escapes 9 to 5". Being trapped in the rat race is one of he most aggravating aspects of my life. I'm actively seeking a way out of this black pit, and I find reading stories of how others did it to be highly inspirational fuel to keep me going.
Escaping the 9-5 was the pinnacle of my life. I should go and get a bottle of champagne right now. 9-5 is an abnormal way to live...........a prison.
It really is a grind, the 9-5, which is usually more like 8:15-6:30... I'd love to break free of it, working my arse off for peanuts...
If you really do want to break free, let's talk. I am looking for people who want to be free. The first thing I need you to answer is: what do you want to be doing?
Personally, my goal is to have financial freedom so I can spend more time with my family, and write a novel which is something I've always wanted to try. I'm trying to break the corporate shackles through cryptocurrency investing (and Steemit blogging if that ever takes off).
@stellabelle that's actually a scary question. I mean, if I really think about it, I really don't know. Very confronting. Like @cryptomancer said here, having more time with my family definitely... Having a family is expensive though, especially as the kids get older.. Hence my shackles to the 9-5 grind...
@cryptomancer and @azurejasper: The way to move forward from ideas like "I want this" and "I don't want the 9-5" is start to get specific about your strengths, and what you are actually good at. Finding your value and sharing that value with others is the way to do this. I spent around 6 years saying this to myself, "I hate working for people. I want to be my own boss. I don't want to be bossed around" but I never got anywhere because I didn't answer these fundamental questions: 1. What do I like doing that could both benefit myself as well as others? 2. How do I build confidence in order to make my dreams come into reality?
Those are the harder questions that most people never get around to answering.
Getting real is hard. Complaining is really easy. Living in a way that brings happiness starts with you doing a radical self-inventory that is painful. There's no other way, I think.
Thanks for the thoughtful advice! I think that first point is one of the things I aim to explore through Steemit. The platform is a good way to try out some ideas and get feedback on what is valuable to others and what isn't.