Shopping for one is an experience filled with bittersweet memories. As I wander through the aisles, it feels like I'm tracing the footsteps of someone who once enjoyed this routine. Now it's all mine, and I don't much care for it.

I Just Want My Life Back is my personal audio journal — small, quiet reflections from a life reshaped by loss. It’s separate from my professional work with the International Firebird Book Awards, yet deeply connected in spirit: both are about truth-telling, expression, and finding meaning through words. These are qualities I also value deeply in the books and authors we honor.