Category: Adult Non-Fiction (18+) , 150 pages
Genre: Inspirational/ Self-Help
Publisher: Make A Way Media
About the Book:
Everything you’ve been told about dreams is wrong. Our dreams have been hijacked. Dreams aren’t just fanciful thoughts; dreams are the very reason we’re here. Yet, we’re constantly told they’re impractical, a waste of time. How to Dream, by best-selling author, therapist, and entrepreneur Deedee Cummings, is your guide to reclaiming the power of your dreams.
In this inspiring and practical book, Deedee uses her expertise and the art of storytelling to help you turn your dreams into reality. Whether you're just getting started or are well on your way, How to Dream offers doable steps and momentous mindset shifts that will make you unstoppable.
Drawing from her own journey and years of experience helping others achieve their goals, you will learn:
- Practical strategies to overcome self-doubt in a world filled with rampant negativity
- Powerful affirmations to fuel your success
- Actionable steps to put your dreams in motion
- Techniques to develop a growth mindset and become unstoppable
Packed with affirmations, strategies, and practical advice, How to Dream
is the essential toolkit for anyone ready to take their life to the
next level. If you're struggling to find direction, seeking to reignite
your ambition, or need encouragement to stay the course, this book will
inspire you to dream bigger, push harder, find freedom, and create the
life you've always imagined.
Don't let another day pass without pursuing your true potential. It's time to make your dreams a reality—starting now.
INTERVIEW
How did you do research for your book?
My entire career as a therapist and working with families helped me write this book. Every day I sit in the chair in my office and I help one person at a time. I felt an urge to help more people, and I knew I needed to get the message out. This Summer I sat still and finally put everything I talk about as a therapist in a book! I am so hopeful that it will help more than one person in my office at a time.
What made you write a book about dreams?
Working with people every day, you have a front row seat to how easy it is to give up on yourself. On how easy it is to give up on life. My goal in writing this book was to inspire people to believe in themselves and in their dreams. Without a dream you have no purpose, and with out a purpose you might become filled with despair. Your dream is the reason why you are here.
There are many books on the topic of self-help. What makes your book different?
Several things. First, the book is my life’s work. This is actually what I do every day. I pour this information in to people so they will have hope and clarity in their lives. Secondly, the conversational tone of the book is much like being in an actual therapy session with me. The book is so easy to read because you can hear a clear voice and instantly you can feel that this voice has a message that needs to be shared with the world. I also made sure that the steps given in the book were practical. Real things that any reader can do. Dreams don’t happen overnight, but this book demonstrates the power of taking action, even in small steps.
Michelle @ Divas with a Purpose
What advice would you give to budding writers?
Write. Write now. Just start writing. You wouldn’t believe how many people want to write a book and just never do it. Stop thinking about it and get words on paper. If you are still struggling with that join a group that pours confidence into you like my Make A Way Mindset group. You need encouragement and accountability to make it happen if you are unable to get moving on your own. Stop thinking. Start writing. Get words on paper!
How long have you been writing?
I have been writing for ten years solidly. I wanted to write for years, which is why I gave the advice I did to just get a story down on paper. I did not publish my first book until I was 44 years old.
Where do you write?
This might seem like a silly or frivolous question, but it is not. IT is very important to have a space where your mind can be free. You can’t write at a desk crowded with bills. You can’t write where people will continually interrupt you. You need an area where your mind can be free. I write on my back deck. I am the most productive as a writer in the Summer.
Gina @ Gina Rae Mitchell
What is your next project?
The feedback from How to Dream has been great! I have a workbook coming out in November and a course around the beginning of the year to help dreamers plan their next steps. I am excited about my new Make A Way Mindset group. I have helped therapy clients one on one for years and now I can help thousands.
What is the most courageous thing you’ve ever done?
Writing a book by far. Writing a book and putting it out into the world for others to scrutinize and pick apart. By far. That is the most courageous thing I have ever done.
If there is one thing you want readers to remember about you, what would it be?
That I am not the overachiever that people think I am. That I got a slow start in life and feel like I wasted the first 20 years of my life. I spent the rest of my life making up for that and tried to take advantage of as many things in life as I could. My mom died in her 50’s. At the time she passed, I was young, and I thought she was old. Now I am that age and now I know that she was in her prime. I live my life like I will die in my 50’s. Life is like a big amusement park. I want to ride every ride.
About the Author:
Cummings founded Make A Way Media in 2014 after struggling to find books with characters who looked like her own children and an extreme lack of stories that reflected their life experiences. Books published by Make A Way focus on hope, diversity, social justice, and therapeutic skills for children and adults. Her work has been featured in HuffPost, Forbes, NPR, USA Today, Essence Magazine, Psych Central, Well+Good, and The EveryGirl, among other media outlets.
In 2021, she was appointed to the Kentucky Early Childhood Advisory Council by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear acknowledging her decades long service to the children and families of Kentucky.
Deedee is also the founder of The Louisville Book Festival which celebrates its fifth year in 2024 and hosts over 150 authors and presenters from all over the country. She was inspired to work to highlight and celebrate a culture of reading in her community after working as an in-home therapist and visiting homes of children who had no books.
Cummings believes literacy is a fundamental human right. Her work highlights inspiring messages that remind us all it is never too late to begin again. She is currently working to adapt her latest children’s series inspired by the life of her daughter, Kayla Pecchioni (a Broadway actress) to a Broadway musical. Deedee recently founded the Make A Way Mindset program to teach the unshakable mindset she has developed as an entrepreneur of thirty years.
connect with the author: website ~ make a way media ~ facebook ~ facebook ~ pinterest ~ instagram ~ instagram ~ goodreads
Contest:
HOW TO DREAM Book Tour Giveaway
