[00:00:00] Speaker A: Do you know a young emerging reader? If so, check out the first book in a brand new series called Ghost Detectives by Jeanette Stampone.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: Book number one is titled Terrified and the Bakery Ghost.
[00:00:12] Speaker A: You guessed it, cakes, spooks and a lot of silliness.
Nine year old Terrified is terrified of anything remotely scary, but when you come from a family of ghost detectives, this.
[00:00:23] Speaker C: Can be a bit of a problem.
[00:00:24] Speaker B: When Terry is left in charge of.
[00:00:26] Speaker A: A bakery haunting, it's up to him.
[00:00:28] Speaker B: To solve the mystery.
[00:00:29] Speaker A: Will it be Cake Tastrophe or a spooktastic triumph?
[00:00:32] Speaker B: This story is adventurous, mysterious and a.
[00:00:35] Speaker C: Little bit spooky, but not too scary.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: Terrified and the Bakery Ghost is the.
[00:00:40] Speaker C: Perfect book for young readers to devour.
[00:00:42] Speaker A: Find more details on Jeanette's website jeanettestampone.com.
[00:00:47] Speaker B: Hello authors, I'm Joanne Morrell, children's and.
[00:00:50] Speaker A: Young adult fiction writer and author of short nonfiction for authors.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: Thanks for joining me for the Hybrid Author Podcast, sharing interviews from industry professionals to help you forge a career as.
[00:01:01] Speaker A: A hybrid author both independently and traditionally publishing your books.
[00:01:05] Speaker B: You can get the show notes for.
[00:01:07] Speaker A: Each episode and sign up for your.
[00:01:09] Speaker B: Free author pass over at the Hybrid Author website to discover your writing process, get tips on how to publish productively and get comfortable promoting your
[email protected].
let's crack on with the episode.
[00:01:30] Speaker A: Hello authors.
[00:01:32] Speaker C: I hope you're all keeping well in whatever part of the world you reside and listen to the podcast in Today's interview is with Sarah Sousak on memoir, Meditation and overcoming adversity and WeChat the inspiration behind writing her book.
Find the guru within you, sharing her extraordinary journey through life threatening illness recovery and personal transformation. Making writing time in between balancing roles as a commercial lawyer, full time working mum, author and meditation teacher, Vedic meditation and how this practice shaped the way Sarah approaches challenges not only in her personal health journey, but in her career and writing life as well. Sarah's advice for listeners who might be facing personal or creative challenges and much.
[00:02:18] Speaker A: More.
[00:02:25] Speaker C: So on my continued author adventure this week, you might be able to hear that I am sick with the flu. My eldest daughter started to feel unwell the other day and so she's not been at school this week, which is a shame because it's the last week of school and did a test. They do these Covid tests now which are actually doubled up with flu A and B and she tested positive for influenza A.
So it's like a normal flu I guess I started feeling a little bit headache yesterday and then no I Started doing my tax return that I was excited about and then I started to go downhill from midday, just taking some Panadol but being resting really. But all last night, you know, chills and so I'm a little bit croaky. I'm not going to talk for too long. We'll just crack on with the interview as I haven't been doing much. I'm pretty much bedridden at the moment and it's mild that I can get up and walk around but I don't have a lot of energy. My throat is a bit sore, I am coughing up some stuff. But hopefully, you know, it's winter here in Perth, Western Australia. What can we expect? And I was just saying the other day, I don't usually get sick and I don't. But it does make you think about that. You do need to prepare for these times in the sense of having work done ahead of time or when it comes to finances and things like that, having a buffer to allow for sickness, you know, all these types of things. And so my tax return is still pending and I couldn't really get it finished anyway because there is some work that I've done for our various companies throughout the year and some of them haven't actually put in yet what those are to, you know, MyGov the ATO, which is kind of annoying and I would have thought had to be done, especially big companies before first of July. I'm looking forward to getting this done and out the way and then knowing where I'm at, where I want to go forward with the 2026 goals. I think they're going to be quite different from what it looked like last year. I'm looking forward to reporting on that next week as I think I should definitely be better by the weekend. At least I can utilize this time to just lie in bed and read. So I can't complain too much. Apart from feeling quite lousy and sorry for myself. I get quite Sookie when I'm sick, so. But everybody's looking after me, so that's lovely.
[00:04:52] Speaker B: Thorn Creative, where beautiful websites for authors are brought to life.
No matter what stage you're at with your writing, your stories deserve a dedicated space to shine. Whether you're just starting out or have a bookshelf full of bestsellers, your website is the hub of your author business. Finding everything you and your books offer together. Thorne Creative can nurture all aspects of redesigning your old site or start afresh from the initial design. They can provide ongoing hosting and maintenance to marketing your books online, saving you time, money and stress trying to wrangle your site yourself. An author website built by Thorn Creative can easily direct readers to your favorite retailers, your publisher, or simply set you up to sell to them direct.
The options are endless. Thorne Creative have worked with many authors across all genres and know what goes into good functional working author websites to sell books. Head on over to thorncreative.com websitesforauthors to read author and publisher testimonials and to see what they offer and some of the sites they've created.
[00:06:20] Speaker A: Sarah Suzak is a full time working mum. A commercial lawyer with over two decades of experience, Sarah has led the legal function of some of the world's most iconic brands, including Coca Cola and Colgate Palmolive across the South Pacific and Europe.
Shortly after becoming a mother, Sarah was diagnosed with a rare and deadly head and neck cancer. Her journey through major facial reconstructive surgeries, intensive radiation treatment, and ongoing medical challenges led her to discover the ancient practice of Vedic meditation, which became a cornerstone of her recovery and inspired her to train as a Vedic meditation teacher. In 2023, she launched Medi Steady Go, a business dedicated to sharing the wisdom and techniques that she credits with saving her life. After being in remission from cancer for almost seven years while completing Yuru in 2024, Sarah was diagnosed with a metastasis to the lung. Though the lesion on her lung was safely removed, she developed a rare autoimmune condition which saw her on life support and hospitalized for almost three months. With the help of holistic health practices and her daily meditation routine, Sarah made a remarkable recovery. Defying medical expectations, she's now living a joyful and purposeful life in Sydney with her husband and daughter. You wrote first Book welcome to the Hybrid Author Podcast, Sarah.
[00:07:45] Speaker D: Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me.
[00:07:47] Speaker A: We are so honored and thrilled to have you. You have such a miraculous story, so we'll just dive right in to hear all about it. You know, in your first book, Find the Guru within you, you're sharing this extraordinary journey through your life threatening illnesses, your recovery, your personal transformation. What inspired you to share your story and why now?
[00:08:11] Speaker D: Tell it all. Like in a short summary, you just sort of go.
But people I found just kept saying to me, I got so many questions obviously as I went through it and as I came out the other side and a lot of people just couldn't believe that I'd had this story.
But yet I seemed okay. Like I seemed full of life, really happy doing all these other things that I've been doing since I got cancer. And I would sometimes be a little bit coy about that. Go.
You know? But I realized that I really did have a strategy. I was really concerned when I went to write the book that no one would want to read. Reader. You know, I'm not that special. Lots of people have really tough stuff happen to them. But the more that I read and the more that I spoke to people, the more that I became super aware of the real commonalities between people's stories. And I just, well, what if it could help others? You know, as soon as somebody said, no, Sarah, it could help somebody else, I was like, okay, now you've got me. And then I just started thinking about Stella, my daughter, thinking what a great thing for her to be able to pick up a book when she's a little bit older and just sort of see, how did mommy get through that really tough time? And it could be instructive for her at some point. But the point that I decided I was actually. After I got sick, I started to study Vedic meditation, and I was doing a course on all of the knowledge that sits behind the practices called the Vedas, which just means knowledge. And I learned the word guru meant remover of darkness. I'd like to have the power to remove darkness right about now. And I was just in that real place in my life of just being completely sick of being a victim of circumstance, and I wanted to take the power back into my own hands. And so. So I just kept writing the word scribing at Uru Yuru Yuru. And I went back and looked at it when I was looking at my notes a couple of years later, and I was like, oh, my goodness, that's a really good name for a book because it's all about, you know, having the power to remove darkness. When you're going through a health challenge that you feel kind of merciless or you feel like there's nothing that you can do about it, I thought, no, there is. There's a lot that I'm doing to change my life and to become healthier. I thought, why not write that down? So, yeah, that's what got me writing it in the first place.
[00:10:23] Speaker A: Wow, that's so inspirational. And even the story for your daughter to draw on your strength and as a source of inspiration for others as well is just incredible.
[00:10:32] Speaker D: When I got diagnosed, I actually was on Instagram searching for answers, looking for books and ideas, and I just came across a Vedic meditator I'd never heard of. It before. And I must have been so panicked and desperate at that time, I wrote to him and said, I've just been diagnosed. You look like you've got your shit together.
Any calm, I need some calm.
He said, listen, I'm in India. I'm with these doctors, these ayurvedic doctors, which is a type of health system that I use to heal with herbs and things like that. He said, send me a picture of your face and I'll show it to them. And he showed them a picture and they said, she, it's pretty advanced. She needs to go and have emergency surgery. But when she's finished, tell her to come back and learn Vedic meditation from us because it will be the portal towards good health for the rest of her life. When I finished my radiation, I went back and learned and that was the beginning of the whole journey.
[00:11:26] Speaker A: Wow, that's incredible. And I'm honestly a believer of, of.
I don't know if the spiritual and things, but the fact that you found them and, and you know, that led to all this and, and that's the path you're on.
[00:11:38] Speaker D: No accident. There's a grand plan for sure. I think Steve Jobs said it the best when he said, you connect the dots later when you're in the thick of it and you just like, why me? Why is this happening to me? But then, you know, with the benefit of those few years behind, I can look back at my life now and honestly say it's 1 million times better since was before. The way I'm living my life, how I'm using to spend my time, what I prioritize. It's so much better after cancer than before. And so, yeah, I get why it all happened the way it happened.
[00:12:09] Speaker A: That's such a powerful and positive message. And how scary though, you know, you being a you mom and then discovering this and then everything that's proceeded afterwards. What was the indication from the, you know, your head in your.
[00:12:22] Speaker D: Was just a pain in my face. And it made a bit of a headline in the UK news recently, but when my husband kissed me. True, true story. I felt an electric shock and I joked on the news and then it went on a headline that I knew he and I had good chemistry that didn't feel quite right, but that's what led me to go to the doctors and it got misdiagnosed as a pain neuralgia. And then it just hung around too long and so we biopsied it and the rest is history. But, yeah, that's how I first found out. But I was, you know, fit and healthy. No, you know, history of cancer in my family.
[00:12:59] Speaker A: But yeah, it is one of these things, isn't it? I know. Well, you certainly are, you know, living your life. You're balancing roles as a commercial lawyer, full time mom, author, meditation teacher. You're doing so much and a lot of our audience, you know, is probably not doing and gone through half as much as yourself, but it's all even trying to juggle everything as well as writing and authorship, you know, how did you fit writing yuru into this busy schedule that you've had and you know, what kept you going through the process of it?
[00:13:31] Speaker D: Yeah, it's a good question as well. I think a lot of people get quite turned off spirituality and meditation because they think that spirituality and meditation is all about slowing right down. You know, like you, you're not going to be as active in your life. But I don't see it that way. My meditation practice helps me get into such a calm, steady, clear state that I can do less and accomplish more, if that makes sense.
That's why I call my business Medi Steady Go. It's not just about becoming calm for 40 minutes. It's about getting yourself into such a good state that you can go back out into the and take action and for the betterment of yourself and for the betterment of the world. And so yeah, writing was super easy for me. Not the editing and the self publishing.
Checked myself into a hotel in a local beach here, Bondi Beach. I checked in for week long periods at a hotel to get completely away from my life and to meditate and get total clarity. The writing of it was made really, really easy by the clarity and the calm that I got from meditation, but also the escaping from my everyday life. I couldn't have written it sit at home. It needed like focused attention. And so yeah, I, that's what I did. But what kept me going, I would say is one very good friend who continuously encouraged me every time I had that imposter syndrome. But then just also like I said, that idea that this could one day get into the hands of somebody who really needs it, you know, like that book that you wish you had when you got diagnosed or when you went through a tough time. And I thought, okay, stay on the track. That's what it's for. It's not just, you know, gratuitous and for you or to self aggrandize, you know, it's for someone else. And that kept me going.
[00:15:08] Speaker A: That's amazing. Yeah. And I definitely concur when you say people think meditation is like slowing down. And that's been my, my thought of it really and I've tried it in the past and my mind just goes woo. But I heard something recently that I really liked and it was a couple of authors on a podcast and they were saying, and I love to walk and I've got a lake that's close by to me and I tend to walk around it. It's about 40 minutes and I just let my mind wander and sometimes I get really good ideas from through it. One of the authors on the podcast had said that she walks through a canal and to her that's her meditation. And I thought, yeah, I can really connect with that. I think that might be mine as well. Do you?
[00:15:46] Speaker D: Do you. There's so many different types of meditation. I've tried them all, guided meditations or concentration meditations, but none of them enable you to transcend the thinking mind quite like Vedic. So yeah, it's a very different practice, but it's very effective.
[00:15:59] Speaker A: You must have loved it so much that you became a teacher. Was that quite quickly or is that quite a long time from practicing?
[00:16:05] Speaker D: It's like I to get really invested in the practice myself. So I did. I probably practiced for about a year. Then I started to study the Hindu scriptures, which are called the Vedas, which is a body of Wisdom that was 8,000 years old. I went deep into study reading books and then it just became really clear I need to. I write in the book. My decision to become a teacher was me not wanting to keep this shit to myself, to everybody else. I need to take this wherever it's not because it's so powerful.
Yeah. What, why I. Why I did it?
[00:16:39] Speaker A: I love that I do. And I think your work being so meaningful and a message to share at the heart of it. It's gonna really do wonders for everybody. That's absolutely great for listeners who might be facing their own personal struggles and challenges. Do you have any messages you wanted your them to read your book and take away, you know, hearing your story?
[00:16:57] Speaker D: Definitely. If you read the book and you discover the meaning of Yuri, Yuru is not a real word. I made it up. But I'm hoping to make it a real world, a real word that ends up in a dictionary. Per.
If you do come to understand the meaning of yuru from reading my book, it means that you will have come under come to understand that even in the darkest moments, there is a light within you that you can draw on to cope. And you know, you don't need to keep living your life, importing happiness and joy from out there. You know, we live our lives. I will be happy when I have more money, or I will be happy when I have good health or when I get married. When you've discovered yuru and you've gone within, you can experience. It's the full spectrum of what it means to be human right now. And the teaching of the Vedas is that you are already fulfilled. There is nothing in the world that you could gain to make you more whole than you already are. And equally, there's nothing you could lose because you are already unbounded, Infinite pure potentiality. And so learning that stress is the impediment to enlightenment and that you're already enlightened, that's part of what the book is about. But it's a book that will hopefully make you realize that you've been giving away all your power to a bunch of people or events or things out there that you can reclaim. Don't live your life dependent on something outside of yourself changing or coming true, because it's a recipe for suffering. In a way, the book will really help you make sure that your happiness is only dependent on your own state of consciousness, which you can elevate at any time. That's essentially what the book's about, but it's definitely more than just about my cancer story. That's just one choice chat.
[00:18:32] Speaker A: Honestly, that's such a good, inspiring message. And, you know, I'm sure listeners are all getting really excited to read it. Have you made it over to India to meet the people? But not yet.
[00:18:42] Speaker D: At the moment, I've just been prioritizing. I'm with her. I've been so in hospital and in surgeries and this and that. I'm just with her now. But definitely next year I'm going to go to India. Cannot wait.
[00:18:53] Speaker A: That would be amazing. It's on my bucket list. But your journey is obviously going to be extremely special as well. So. Well, tell us about the publishing of the book and things. How did you find that?
[00:19:03] Speaker D: Oh my God, you just don't know what you don't know. So I wrote it in blissful unawareness of what was to come because as I said, I found writing the book so easy because it's your story. It just came out so easy. What I found very, very difficult was editing it. I did get a publishing deal with a startup publisher in the UK and we just got on like a house on fire. She totally got the message. She got my style of writing. Which is a little bit.
It's not a very typical self help book. I've got quite a humorous side to me, so there's a lot of humor in there.
But then she went under because she lost her financial backing. But she stayed on as my editor and working with her was a dream. But then finding somebody that can help you as a self publishing consultant, I would highly recommend because it's really hard to navigate. I got there in the end. But I think just whatever help you can get from the experts out there, there are so many good ones. Even with public pub, you know, the publicist work and things like that, whatever you can get, you know, well, take it. Because the writing was easy, but the rest is a lot of work then.
[00:20:10] Speaker A: I've been studying things like this for years and honestly, even the way I've published, there's things that you just forget or miss. And sometimes I think you think you're saving a buck, but it's easier just to pay the professionals. They're worth it for sure.
[00:20:22] Speaker D: And there's so many good ones out there that don't cost an arm and a leg because I think they are so passionate about helping authors recognize that self published authors don't have big budgets behind them. And so there's ways through it for sure.
[00:20:36] Speaker A: You've shared so much already. But do you have any advice for aspiring memoirs or people wanting to share their own journeys in the self publishing space or anything like that that you've learned along the way that you might have another book that you think I'll do this differently next time?
[00:20:51] Speaker D: Yeah, no, it is quite the journey. So strap on in is what I would say. I definitely think not letting the imposter syndrome strangle you or stop. I remember hearing on a podcast, I'll explain it probably hopelessly, but he was saying there's a very quick fix to the imposter syndrome. And it's like, if you don't want to be an imposter, then just don't be an imposter or something like that.
But what he was saying is like, meet your book exactly where you're at. Like, don't try to be something you're not. And then by that very definition, you're not being an imposter because you're just sharing where you're at, exactly where you are. Like, even in my own book, I. I'm like, I'm not you yet. Like, I'm not there, but I'm at least trying. And I'm aspiring to evolve and grow. And so, yeah, Shifting the mindset helped me shift and get me writing was not whether, are you willing? No, not, not can I write the book? Am I capable? But am I willing in service of others or in service of the world or in service of just one person? So, yeah, your story is important. Write it for yourself. Don't worry about what the audience will think. Just write it for yourself. And then if it's meant to be, it will be how I approached it.
[00:21:57] Speaker A: Yeah, I had a massive imposter syndrome after my uni degree and I think just they sort of did writing and then I just went back to applying for office jobs and things that I knew what to do. I didn't feel like I was that person. I could go for these jobs. But I think in those moments, that's when you are transitioning into a different version of yourself or a different identity and it's scary and you don't feel worthy, but you just have to sort of push on through, don't you, until you can get there.
[00:22:23] Speaker D: Definitely the feeling that you get when somebody writes to you and says, I went through that, or, oh my gosh, I'm going to give that to my dad who's going through that. Or then you just, like, that's why I did. Yeah, everything, everything is okay now. So all that worry that I did about who, why, what, where will it be good just fades away when you.
[00:22:42] Speaker A: Find the people it's meant to be for, isn't it? Have you had a lot of feedback from readers?
[00:22:46] Speaker D: Yeah, beautiful feedback, beautiful sharing. Like, I love the way that books share stories and unify people and make people feel less alone in the world. So, yeah, that's been the biggest trait for me out of writing it, for sure.
[00:23:00] Speaker A: That's great. And did you feel like a catharsis after writing it?
[00:23:03] Speaker D: Yeah, I think so. A lot of people say that I am such a share bear there that I told everyone the story already anyway. I don't keep much to myself, you know, my peril sometimes. But yeah, I already felt like I'd processed it and dealt with it even before I wrote the book. But did it feel good to write it down? Does it feel amazing to know that it happened, like it wasn't in vain, that I didn't go through that for nothing and that it's helped others. That feels excellent. So, yeah, just do it. You'll be surprised as to what your story will mean to others.
[00:23:34] Speaker A: Yeah, no, I love that because I could imagine you would get caught up in the, why is this happening to me in the dark thing and everything. And then at the end of it, this is what I'm supposed to be doing and shining the light on it. Yeah.
[00:23:45] Speaker D: Pain into a purpose. Just. It's the only way through in my view. Yeah.
[00:23:50] Speaker A: Thank you so much for coming on, Sarah, and sharing all you have. I know our listeners are dying to know where can they get you Ru and everything else you do on and offline.
[00:23:59] Speaker D: Yeah, no, I'm happy to have been here. Thank you so much. I do have my own website, Sarah Sue Sack. I'm sarahsusa and I'm on Instagram and all that jazz. But my book's available on my website if you wanted to learn Vedic meditation. That's also all on my website. So, yeah, I'd love to meet anyone that's keen to learn more.
[00:24:17] Speaker A: Well, thanks again, Sierra.
[00:24:18] Speaker D: No worries. Thank you so much for having me.
[00:24:27] Speaker C: So there you have it, folks, the truly inspiring Sarah Suzak. Next time on the Hybrid Author Podcast we have Jesse McNeely on rescue ready writing, training and preparing emergency teams. Jesse McNeely is the founder of Rescue Connect and also mentors industrial emergency response departments. Having trained over 20,000 students with his work globally, Jesse is passionate about sharing knowledge so rescue teams can be safer, more capable and better prepared. Jesse holds a medical science master's degree in disaster and emergency response. He has dedicated his professional life to his vocation of emergency response and rescue. Jesse has worked in eight countries in a range of military, private security, disaster response, wants training and leadership roles. Jesse continues to develop his industry networks so rescue workers can learn from and help each other. So that's coming up next week. I wish you well in your author adventure. That's it for me.
[00:25:20] Speaker A: Bye for now.
[00:25:21] Speaker B: That's the end for now.
[00:25:22] Speaker A: Authors. I hope you are further forward in your author adventure after listening and I hope you'll listen next time.
[00:25:27] Speaker B: Remember to head on over to the Hybrid Author website at www.hybridauthor.com au to get your free offer pass.
[00:25:36] Speaker A: It's bye for now.
