Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stephanie Murray. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Stephanie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

One of the things my parents got right is they never lied to me or my brothers. Not even a white lie. For example, we were never told fictional characters like the Easter bunny were real. One may feel like a parent would take their child’s imagination, or the wonder of their childhood because they never told them such characters existed; however, nothing could be further from the truth in my experience. My brothers, cousins and I would make forts and tents. We pretended to be every profession and character we read about in the books we read. Our imagination was exceptional and overall, we enjoyed our childhood.

My mom introduced all her children to books and reading from a young age. Almost every night she would read to us. Thankfully, we all enjoy reading to this day. One of the things I love most about reading is imagining the characters, scenarios and places the author describes in their book. The feelings, emotions, excitement and the discovery experienced in reading has truly been life-changing for me.

Now, in adolescence, the importance of my parents never lying to me kept me for making some mistakes I could’ve made in my maturation. Adolescence was difficult for me, and there were a lot of messages feelings and experiences that truly overwhelmed me. Yet, one thing I knew for sure is that if I asked my parents a question, they would tell me the truth and help me get back on a path that would guarantee my growth. Unfortunately, I didn’t ask many questions then.

Then, as an adult at about 24 years old I began to choose not to lie. Me choosing to tell myself and others the truth actually saved my kids and I’s life. Being honest, transparent, vulnerable, and curator courageous is definitely something I feel my Dad began to cultivate in me in my adulthood. My parents, choosing to always tell me the truth shaped my experiences from childhood to adulthood and helped me to be transformed when my life was in jeopardy.

Stephanie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am loved by God, my family and friends. I am passionate, creative, empathetic, compassionate, studious, reflective and joyous most of the time. I enjoy reading, writing, concerts, crafts, being with family and friends, traveling and being outdoors. I am a daughter, sister to all brothers, mother to a son and daughter, and a loyal friend. I’m a teacher and a founder of a nonprofit called Journey to Your Haven. It is a boarding school for abused women and their children. I’m also a coach for The Colorado Community Elite Drill-team which I love. I’m so pleased and blessed to share that this year I also became an author. I wrote The Coronation of Love a Memoir of Losing, Seeking and Finding the Greatest Gift of All.

The Coronation of Love is the story of how I encountered unconditional love and how my life was transformed. Many people believe unconditional love is a myth or they’ve never experienced it and my story shares the ups and downs, traumas, triumphs and challenges that lead me into discovering unconditional love exists. My story is powerful because it shares my personal story intertwined with the stories of my family and our community and has connected with others through the various lived experiences whether it be marriage, raising a family, mental health challenges, teenage pregnancy, grief, abuse, single parenthood, careers, college and various other experiences we as people share. Some of my readers have told me that my book was an emotional roller coaster, however, in the end they were inspired, they laughed, they cried, they got angry, some were even given a different perspective of God, yet in the end, they were encouraged to have hope, to reflect and most of all to be loved and to become loving.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

It took me seven years to write my book The Coronation of Love. Writing this book was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done in my life so far. At first, I was writing a self-help book. And then I felt compelled by God to write a memoir and he asked me to, “tell our story.” I had so much fear because I knew in order to tell my story I needed the liberty to tell parts of my families story as well. A lot of people could feel shame, or embarrassment, hurt and pain by me telling the truth. I spent a lot of time in prayer and I had intimate, vulnerable, and difficult conversations with my parents, my family and my friends. After I overcame those obstacles, it was an internal battle to go back to some of the most painful parts of my life, and to tell the my story. I had to face shame, fear, guilt, embarrassment, and grief to tell the truth. I quickly realized how interconnected every person’s story is to those who come across their paths in their life’s journey. I became more kind to myself, and began to treat each person and their part of my story in honor, truth, accuracy and grace. In the midst of my writing process, I was raising my children as a single mother, I began a nonprofit, I was teaching, coaching and working full-time. Then within a three year span, I experienced the most soul crushing grief, losing seven family members, including one of my brothers, my uncle, cousins, an aunt and my grandmother. I experienced the worst depression I ever have in my life. Grief affected my being, my heart, mind, spirit, relationships, beliefs, and my hope for the future felt like it would never return.
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When my brother died unexpectedly, it was difficult and affected every area of my families lives including our finances. Writing and publishing a book is a financial investment and I was not sure how that would be possible. Yet, in the darkness, my family and I found out my brother had closed out a retirement account before he passed away. My brothers and I were the beneficiaries. Our plan was to have the check transferred to parents so they could cover more of the cost of my brother’s funeral.
Instead, my parents asked me to take the money and to publish this book with it and all my brothers agreed. They wanted it to be a tribute to Matthew and a part of his legacy. That’s how much they believed in the message shared in The Coronation of Love and I’m forever grateful to God and to them for loving me in word and deed.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

A few resources I wish I knew earlier in my creative journey was the importance of writing workshops and how important it was for me to have book coaches. I went to a writing workshop and I learned about the process of writing and the business of becoming an author which was invaluable information to have. Then through my publisher, Illumify Media, I was connected to a book coach who helped me refine, and edit my book after I finished writing. She taught me so much about the structure of books and gave me feedback on how readers would interact with my book. As a new writer, this information and our relationship helped me complete my beautiful work and I’m truly proud of it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://StephanielMurray.com
• Instagram: Stephanie.l.murray
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/qBhjA7GhNFMHwPt1/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits

Corey Myers
Cecile Perrin