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Vulnerability Is Strength
The Work In Between is a memoir sharing your experiences of losing over 100 pounds, surviving cancer multiple times, and going through a period of self-reinvention. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I kept getting asked where my book was. People assumed I had written one given my experiences. After a lot of self-reflection, therapy, and conversations, I felt I was ready to tackle a book. To be honest, I wasn’t convinced I had that interesting of a story. I wasn’t sure anyone would care. However, some conversations made it clear that it might be helpful to others, if only to show you can go through some pretty tough stuff and still be a compassionate, successful, and joyful person. So, I wrote it. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
It’s the only way I know how to be. I’m not very good at sugar coating things or only telling one side of the story (i.e., where I only look good). The hardest part was writing about when my brother Eric died. I cried when I was writing about losing all of my family, but Eric’s death was particularly difficult. Still is. I laughed a lot, too, though. I ended up remembering things I had forgotten. Good memories. Happy memories.
How has writing your memoir impacted or changed your life?
I’m happy that it’s resonated with so many people. Writing the book has made me realize I have a lot more work to do. I wrote a chapter in The Backyard Peace Project anthology and got a fantastic response to my chapter about loving ourselves harder when we stumble and fall. I think it’s a really important message to get out there, especially with all of the negativity and skewed reality from social media.
I’ve learned through my book that vulnerability is strength. Most people are tired of branded packages of unrealistic life. I think they are hungry for real, honest conversations about hard things. That’s how we grow. I was once told that I talk about things people usually keep in the shadows. That’s true. I do that because if I try to carry it all alone, it makes me sick: physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally unhealthy. We aren’t supposed to walk around with shame and guilt. Talking about it is healing, and it helps others process their experiences. Everyone has experienced hard things; sharing them helps us heal and grow.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your story?
That they are worthy just as they are and worthy of love and a good life. It doesn’t matter what the scale says, what other people tell you, or where you started in life. If you want to improve your physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual health, great. Do that. However, you are worthy of love and an amazing life no matter what.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Amazon
Witty, frank, and richly thoughtful, The Work In Between is peppered with wisdom from the author’s expertise in the field of Health Communication. Holmes brings an astute eye to the relationship between outward appearances and medical experiences as she draws from her doctoral education and years of service as a hospital executive. And yet, the complex web of stories that characterize The Work In Between extend far beyond Holmes’s own experiences. As this memoir makes clear, we carry family trauma in our bones. Until we do the inside work of facing our demons and declaring our worthiness, we cannot live the full, happy lives we were meant to live.
The Work in Between: A Memoir About Stepping Out of My Shadows
The Work in Between is a memoir that follows Gretchen Holmes through decades of illness, loss, trauma, and self-reinvention. She writes about her three rounds with thyroid cancer, her struggles with obesity and diabetes, a childhood marked by alcoholism and chaos, and the long climb toward emotional healing. The story moves through her early years in Michigan, her leap to New York University, her complicated family relationships, and the slow, steady work of understanding who she is and what she deserves in life. It is a book about survival, but also about learning how to live with intention instead of fear.
This is an emotionally stirring memoir. The writing feels honest. I found myself pausing and thinking about how she described fear and shame and the habit of keeping secrets. The scenes from her childhood hit hard. Her memories of her father’s drinking and the “dreads” that sat in her stomach felt painfully real. At the same time, the warmth of her family, especially her mother, shines through and softens the edges. I appreciated how she tells the truth without turning her story into a pity party. She owns her choices. She admits the messy parts. I liked that the book didn’t pretend healing happens neatly or quickly.
The parts about her medical journey brought out a different kind of emotion in me. The dismissal she faced from doctors, the exhaustion, and the way she pushed through school while barely able to swallow or breathe. I caught myself feeling frustrated for her. I also felt a weird sort of awe at her stubborn determination. When she talked about chaos being her comfort zone, I understood it more than I expected. The writing in these chapters has a steady rhythm that mirrors her resilience. Even when she writes about falling back into old patterns, I felt hopeful because she keeps showing up for herself. The mix of vulnerability and grit makes the book stick with you.
The Work in Between is not just a memoir about cancer or addiction or trauma. It is a memoir about the space between those moments and the quiet, uncomfortable work of changing your life from the inside out. I would recommend this book to anyone who has lived through hard stuff and is still trying to figure out what to do with it. It is also a good fit for readers who like personal stories that feel real and unpolished and full of heart.
Pages: 186 | ASIN : B0CZSHSJCL
