Blog Archives
Your Key To Financial Freedom
I’ve read my fair share of books promising “financial freedom,” most of which deliver the same surface-level guidance. Mia Doucet’s Your Key to Financial Freedom is a different breed entirely. Rather than focusing on budgets or investment strategies, this book drills deep into the subconscious beliefs that silently sabotage many professionals’ financial lives. Using a 3-part system that blends neuroscience, childhood imprinting, and energy-based modalities, Doucet guides readers through a process of identifying and rewiring the limiting money beliefs rooted in early life. It’s a deeply introspective journey that insists financial growth starts inside the mind—not with spreadsheets.
I enjoyed how candidly Doucet confronts the often-ignored emotional blocks we carry around money. In Chapter 1, she rattles off a list of deeply relatable self-sabotaging thoughts—like undercharging clients out of guilt or thinking your talent alone will attract wealth. She doesn’t let you hide behind excuses, and that’s a good thing. In Chapter 2, she tears apart the empty promises of get-rich-quick schemes and online “millionaire bootcamps,” calling them out for what they are: shallow fixes that never get to the root of the problem. As a financial advisor, I’ve seen clients fall for these traps too many times. Doucet’s honesty is bracing but necessary.
Emotionally, the book had a surprising effect on me. Chapter 4, where Doucet recounts her childhood trauma of losing her home and nearly everything in a hotel fire, left me stunned. Not just because of what she went through—but because of how clearly she connects that trauma to her lifelong pattern of financial instability. Her story, raw and unfiltered, gives the book an authenticity that most financial texts sorely lack. It’s not just theory, it’s lived experience, and that vulnerability makes it powerful.
I’d recommend Your Key to Financial Freedom to any coach, consultant, or self-employed professional who feels like they’re stuck earning less than they’re worth. If you’ve read all the standard finance books and still feel blocked, this one’s for you. It’s not always an easy read, but it’s a necessary one. This book won’t teach you how to pick stocks or set up a Roth IRA. It will, however, help you finally charge what you’re worth, stop playing small, and get out of your own way.
Pages: 185 | ISBN : 978-1-7380603-2-0
We Can Rise Above It
Through over 80 narratives, STRONG explores the harrowing journeys of women from childhood adversity to eventual victory, showcasing their resilience and transformation in the face of trauma. Why was this an important book for you to publish?
I wanted people to know that no matter how difficult our early life may have been, we can rise above it. Our past need not define us. We can rewrite our story.
How did you approach the task of capturing the distinct experiences and emotions of each woman while also highlighting the shared strength and resilience they all possess?
I had no agenda or preset questions for our interviews. My approach was to see through her eyes as a silent observer. To feel what she felt as the smallest person in the room.
My task was to listen for the child’s thought process. I wanted to enter her world and hear her story, unfiltered, from her perspective as a small child, in the present tense, and not in the voice of an adult looking back and making observations on her life.
That part was easy.
The challenge was to compress the narrative into as few words as possible to fit the narrow confines of the book’s design, and then refine and smooth out the text into a quick, easy read. At times, I felt more like a sculptor than a writer, chiseling away anything not essential to the story.
The collaboration with artist Galih Winduadi adds a unique visual dimension to the book. How did you work together to ensure that the illustrations captured the essence of each narrative and enhanced the reader’s understanding?
I would not have embarked on this project without the visual dimension because I felt the drawings were as important as the text in conveying the child’s innocence.
I wanted the reader to experience each story as a piece of art, visually attractive and charming on the page, regardless of the sometimes-sordid subject matter.
The collaboration involved me, the child telling the story, the brilliant and patient artist Galih, Google Images and Google Translate.
Most of the women were surprisingly insistent that every detail be accurate—colors, clothing, patterns, textures, hair styles, facial expressions, room layouts, the view from the window. Because my artist does not speak English, you can imagine how challenging that was at times. In some instances, there were as many as eight or nine iterations before the storyteller and I felt we had captured the essence of her story.
What message or takeaway do you hope readers will gain from reading “STRONG” and the stories shared within it?
As I write in the book’s introduction, adults in general don’t show up well in many of these stories. As much as children suffer, it’s because the parents have suffered as well. They don’t realize they’re inflicting their own pain on the child. Unattended to, early childhood traumas pass on as intergenerational stress.
We can be better parents and teachers if we recognize the signs of adverse childhood events on young lives.
If we want to improve society in general, we need to start with decreasing childhood trauma and stress because that’s what drives our societal problems.
My deepest hope is that “STRONG” helps adults recognize that our children need to feel loved, connected, and safe at all times.
To the person who did not feel treasured as a child, the empowering message is, you survived. You are strong. You can rewrite your story.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | LinkedIn
The memoirs read like intimate bits of conversation between best friends, overheard, at times in sordid detail.
These stories are in stark contradiction to the nostalgic ones we like to tell ourselves about the charms of childhood. They paint the picture of early years that are not all sunshine and rainbows. Some will amuse. Some will tear at your heart.
The author writes in a brief, clear, concise style. Original, full-color drawings capture the essence of each memory as seen through the eyes of the innocent child.
Endnotes reveal that through sheer strength and resilience, the women rose above adverse situations to achieve success in their respective fields: medicine, engineering, business, finance, consulting, construction, the C-Suite—despite the odds and gender bias that most women experience.
STRONG is not available in Kindle format. For one thing, the book is not designed to be read consecutively, cover to cover like a novel.
The intention is to draw the reader into the child’s world through the artwork. It is such an integral part of the reader’s experience that viewing digitally (especially on a tiny screen) does not do justice to the child’s memory.
STRONG | Successful Women Share Stories of Childhood Trauma and Triumph
“STRONG: Successful Women Share Stories Of Childhood Trauma and Triumph” penned by Mia Doucet is a riveting anthology of over 80 narratives that explore the formidable journeys of women from their childhood adversity to their eventual victory. Each narrative encapsulates distinct experiences of trauma and anguish, as perceived by the girls these women were, yet converges on the shared strength and resilience that fueled their transformation and triumph.
The book serves as a testament to the power of the human spirit, painting vivid portraits of these women’s childhood experiences – filled with fear, rejection, and feelings of unworthiness, and their metamorphosis into empowered adults who embraced their value and worthiness in the face of these adversities.
Doucet’s masterful storytelling transports the reader into the heart of each story, enabling us to experience the world through the eyes of a young girl weathering the storms of abuse, loss, and neglect. In a stunning collaborative effort, Doucet joins forces with the exceptional artist, Galih Winduadi, who encapsulates the essence of each narrative through poignant illustrations that augment the reader’s comprehension of the text.
While the tales relayed in this anthology may trigger discomfort or painful memories for those who have experienced similar circumstances, the author encourages readers to view these narratives as inspiring testaments to human resilience, demonstrating that personal growth and change are sparked by introspection and self-care.
One of the remarkable facets of this collection is its vibrant cultural tapestry. It highlights women from diverse corners of the world, from Croatia to South Korea, imparting fascinating cultural insights, such as the belief in Vietnamese culture that having five daughters signifies luck and prosperity.
Besides the riveting narratives, this book also offers an exploration of developmental psychology. It begins with an insightful overview of how childhood experiences shape our adult lives. The stories underscore the critical importance of nurturing and supportive parental figures in facilitating secure attachment and healthy perspectives in later life.
However, these tales also expose the harsh reality that not everyone is born into a safe, loving environment, and unexpected calamities such as war, illness, and other tragedies can dramatically alter one’s world. Despite the diversity in these women’s experiences, it illuminates the universal truth of our shared worthiness of all the good in life, emphasizing that understanding and accepting this truth is a vital step towards healing and growth.
The book pays tribute to the courageous women who found empowerment in sharing their stories, and to the collaborative genius of Mia Doucet and Galih Winduadi in realizing this remarkable project. “STRONG: Successful Women Share Stories Of Childhood Trauma And Triumph” is a must-read for those seeking insights into the resilience of the human spirit, keen to broaden their understanding of global societal challenges, and particularly for those involved in the field of developmental psychology.
Pages: 233 | ISBN: 0995958661
LITERARY TITAN 