Meet Leah Lindeman

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Leah Lindeman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Leah, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

I had failed. In what? It didn’t matter. What mattered was that I hadn’t met my own expectation of perfection. If I wasn’t perfect, the ravenous animal within me needing to be fed, my pride (which I falsely viewed as one with my self-esteem), would thrash and suffer. Then I would suffer. And suffer I did.

Between the ages of eight and ten, I suffered from acute depression and suicidal thoughts, all triggered when I failed to be perfect.

One night, my failure to be perfect vaulted my brittle mind into a dark pit with walls so slick that there was no way I could pull myself out. I stumbled in the muck of my suicidal thoughts which were quickly sucking me down to a point where I wouldn’t come out alive.

Before the worst could happen, a bright light straight above me diverted and arrested my attention. The light fanned out from behind a cross. Through the cross, the truth was revealed to me. If God had created me to call me His own, loved me despite my flaws, and had given me gifts that were unique to me, then how could I believe that I was garbage, that I wasn’t good enough to live?

I took one last look at my prison and reached out my hand to the truth.

Truth is what breaks the chains of lies. The truth that the Perfect One loves me despite my imperfections, that I have gifts with which to bless the world around me is my constant guiding light.

When my confidence and self-esteem waver in the midst of new challenges and even at times triumphs, I remind myself of these truths.

Not only do I have truth as the beacon of my vision of whom I strive to be, a confident woman who knows her worth, but also I’m always looking to expand my comfort bubble.

My comfort bubble grows with each new challenge I take on. When I grow and stretch the confines of my bubble, it’s uncomfortable and can be anxiety-inducing. No matter, I break through until the stretch has been completed. My comfort in achieving new goals grows, cementing the knowledge that I can do whatever I set my mind to and that I have been given the tools to achieve what’s in front of me.

When I look back at how much my bubble has grown, it contains the evidence for the truth I follow.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Because I’m passionate about history, my country Canada, and literature, more than a decade ago I decided to pen the historical fiction Canadian Reminiscence Series. Each book in the series highlights a certain Canadian province/territory and historical event that pertains to that particular location.

The sprawling Canadian Reminiscence Series started with Redeemed From the Ashes which features the tragic Halifax Explosion on Canada’s east coast and moved on to Wisps of Gold, the breathtaking ride of danger during the Cariboo gold rush on its west coast. The latest installment is Unborn Melody, a woman’s fight for independence in the frigid north whilst working within the “secret” military project during WWII.

His Girl, the sequel to Unborn Melody, will be released in the second half of 2025.

There are ten more stories that remain untold which will be uncovered in the years to come.

Readers can expect romance, intrigue, and lots of heart in my books. The stories entertain those who wish they could time travel.

The last few years a growing delight in teaching others the craft of writing has led me to found my high performance writing coaching company WriteNow. Currently I offer one-on-one coaching. Spring 2025, I’ll be launching the WriteNow writing course How to Write Your Book in 3 Months or Less.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The three most important qualities I’ve had to grow and continue to nourish are discipline, confidence, and community.

Without the discipline of writing a little bit every day (even if I could only manage ten minutes), I may have never finished writing my book much less the five I’ve produced and all the other opportunities I’ve said yes to along the way. Ten minutes to work on your goal may not work for everyone. Perhaps, it’s seventeen minutes, or thirty-eight, or two hours. Take some time to figure it out and commit to it. Keep the vision of why you’re working on your goal close, whether you state it out loud every day or put it on a sticky note on your computer. If other things on your to-do list call to you, schedule another time slot in your day for them. If your phone and computer are distractions, keep them on silent or use the productivity apps or tools you need to actually move forward on your goal. Only then will you achieve your goal. One step at a time.

As I’ve already shared in my personal story, remembering who I really am and my purpose in using my gifts keeps me confident. Stretching the comfort bubble is what I do to develop my confidence and make it stronger.

Community is such an understated quality that we all need to return to. We weren’t made to be islands. We were made to strive together and build an environment in which we can bless and be blessed in return. For years, I was a lone wolf writer. Even though I knew of other writers, I resisted reaching out because I was concerned that they wouldn’t take me seriously since I was new to the craft. My pride stopped me from learning and growing. One of the best things you can do in your field is to surround yourself with people who are better and smarter than you are. It’ll keep you humble, and you’ll grow in ways you can’t on your own. FInd a local group who gathers to learn from one another. Ask someone to mentor you. If you’re still shaking your head and saying you don’t know how, you’re not doing the work. Go out there and make the community you’re looking for if you have to. What’s the worst that can happen? Someone says no? Someone thinks you’re weird? It doesn’t matter what they think. What matters is that you find like-minded people who want to grow and achieve their goals. Once you find them, you’ll wonder how you were ever without your community.

Discipline, confidence, and community are all essential for personal and professional growth.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

When overwhelm takes a hold, it’s important to take a beat, preferably in a quiet place away from the phone, people, and the scene where you were gripped by overwhelm. My preferred place is outside on my property, away from the seven kids clamouring for my attention, away from the piles of dishes and floors needing to be vacuumed, away from my computer demanding I write. I walk outside, close my eyes, and feel the fresh air on my face.

When the seed of calm is planted by a change of scenery, I feed it with the remembrance of why and who I’m striving for in the first place. Why am I doing what am I doing? Who needs me to be my best? When I remember the why’s, I water the seed by making a plan for how I’ll manage what needs to be done, in priority. Then the seed sprouts with a final note of gratitude, gratitude for having the opportunity to work on achieving a goal or the opportunity to bless someone with my gifts.

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Jason Setnyk

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