The journey to self-discovery is laden with lapses and relapses – many times, we have to step back and step out of ourselves. University of Manitoba alumna and host of the podcast show Soul Unexpected Adeline Bird believes that, to discover ourselves, we must first step back and learn to love ourselves.
Bird, who is a foster parent from the West End of Winnipeg, shares her beliefs, experiences, and musings on how to love and be yourself in her new book, Unapologetically You: A Self Love Guide for Women of Color.
Unapologetically You, which features a foreword from Deila Joseph, founder of Improveology Lifestyle Coaching, was launched on Sept. 10 and instantly became McNally Robinson’s number one bestselling book in Winnipeg.
“Being unapologetically you is a process. It is really embodying your true essence, values, morals, and gifts the creator has given us,” Bird told the Manitoban.
“One thing I do suggest is learning to be by yourself in quiet spaces,” Bird said. “A lot of us run away from our thoughts – we feel the need to be around people and that is because we are afraid of ourselves.”
After graduating from the university, Bird worked as a social worker and in that time, she met people from several walks of life and was able to study and learn from her experiences with them. Those lessons begat some of what she knows today about self-love.
“Self-love and self-awareness aren’t taught in school and as we grow older, we begin to feel lost. That lost feeling is a connection to ourselves,” Bird said. “As a social worker, I have experiences working in the home, work, and heath industries and one thing I observed is that the lack of self-love.”
As a woman of color herself, Bird has noticed that several personal development and self-help books do not consider social and racial differences that are associated with women of color. Therefore, her book – subtitled A Self-Love Guide for Women of Colour – highlights women of colour as a case study.
“I feel like a lot of personal development leaders sort of give a message that we all kind of start off at the same point, but that’s not true. We live in a society that is based on race and class. People always say that we are a human race and that’s true, but we all have our differences and I feel like those differences need to be celebrated.”
Bird believes self-love translates to success regardless of who you are. She says self-love helps students to “develop a better understanding of what exactly they want to do in school and with their lives.”
As a female entrepreneur, she has experienced a few challenges but by loving herself, she’s been able to rise above the flames and pull through. Self-love has helped her to remain rooted and grounded.
Included in the book are exercises after each section. The exercises are designed to facilitate better understanding of the book’s concepts, actively engage the reader, and promote continuous practice.
Number one bestselling book Unapologetically You: A Self-Love Guide for Women of Color by Adeline Bird is available on amazon.com and at the McNally Robinson bookstore at Grant Park Mall. To learn more about Adeline Bird, visit adelinebird.com
