AUTHOR INTERVIEWS (ASP Book 2)

ROADMAP GIRL’S BOOK BUZZ FEATURES INTERVIEW WITH LIFE COACH LUKE BENOIT RE NEW BOOK LAUNCH N“ALL STORMS PASS” SERIES

Q – How were the anti-meditations born?

A - I started writing these meditations as teaching tools and springboards for discussion in some groups that I was running. Initially, they were short and more like 12-Step slogans. They eventually took on a life of their own, and expanded until they assembled themselves into ALL STORMS PASS: THE ANTI-MEDITATIONS, the first book in the series.

Q - How would you classify the Anti-Meditations books?

A - They are about recovery from trauma with many 12-Step and Codependency references. Truthfully, they are intended for anyone they might help. They are their own animal in that way and hard to classify. But there is probably something in the books for almost anyone.

Q - What was the best experience you had launching the first book?

A – Hearing people from all walks of life say how much the book has impacted them. That has always been amazing and incredibly gratifying. It’s very humbling, yet it also makes me very proud to be the channel.

Q - How would you suggest a reader in need of recovery approach these books?

A - I would say have no expectations. “The Statement of High Self-Esteem” that opens the book is extremely powerful and resonates throughout. With the other entries, I think it’s a sort of “take what you like and leave the rest” kind of experience. Let what hits you hit you. What moves you move you.

Q – There’s humor in the books. What is your relationship to humor professionally and personally?

A - The idea that sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying is a very powerful concept. I come from very sarcastic people and the energy of that definitely informs me as a person, a writer, and even a coach. There is something always very appealing to me about a Gestalt-ish confrontation that involves humor. It can be really eye-opening for us all.

Q – You are both a professional life coach and hypnotist. Does the latter influence your writing?

A - These anti-meditations are very purposely written in hypnotic and NLP language. Writing for me is always a trance process. I need to be ready and drop into it to be able to generate the work. Self-hypnosis is incredibly powerful and can do so much to unlock our potentials. We engage in it all the time, often unknowingly.

Q - Which is your favorite anti-meditation in RAIN AND FIRE?

A - The one that I always think of first and really stands out for me is the one about the trapeze because I think it’s really insightful about relationships and at the same time it’s a really well-crafted poem. I like the way it lays itself out on the page.

TRAPEZE FLYING [Excerpt]:

so he asked her:

SO WHAT WOULD MAKE

YOU THINK THAT THIS

TIME WOULD BE DIFFERENT?

and she said:

"I just always

get distracted

by the

DARING YOUNG MAN

TRAPEZE FLYING

when all I wanted

was something to

grab onto

so I could

LET GO

and someone to

catch me

BEFORE I FALL."

and he said:

“THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU

GRAB MY HANDS?”

Q - How did you come up with the second book’s subtitle RAIN AND FIRE?

A - Turbulence. The years during the writing of RAIN AND FIRE were rough for me and full of all kinds of storms. Storms may come in many forms, but surviving them is the trick or key.