By D.A. Reed, WKTV Contributing Writer
Sheila VanZile, Grand Rapids resident and businesswoman, recently released her debut book, My Waterfall of Awakening: How Loss Can Bring You Home to the Life You Want — A Guided Journal, offering hope and guidance to other women through her own journey of self-discovery.
“My true calling is to share my story with women who could recite a similar journey in the hopes that by revealing the truth below the surface of a seemingly successful and satisfying life there is a very different picture,” VanZile explains on her website. “My hope is to deliver the message that you are never alone and it is never too late to live a life faithful to your true self.”
Enduring a complex relationship with her distant, love-withholding mother, VanZile realized the impact of that relationship ran so deeply that it changed the course of her entire life.
“I always did what I should do,” VanZile said to WKTV. “I was always the good girl who did what she should.”
The author revealed that her life of “shoulds” began at age four. Having a gift for piano playing, VanZile embarked upon a path of music, majoring in piano performance in college. “I didn’t think about whether I liked it. Whether I liked it or not wasn’t the point. I was good at it, so I should do it.”
Partway through her college experience, VanZile switched her major to economics, becoming a product of the first generation of career women that resulted from the 1960’s original feminist movement.
“I got a job in insurance because they were accepting women in the professional capacity,” said VanZile.
VanZile has been successful in her career, eventually founding her own insurance agency in 2005. Even so, the businesswoman found herself dissatisfied, disillusioned with the workforce, and unfulfilled.
At age 60, the death of VanZile’s mother helped her realize she had been given the gift of time. VanZile “reclaimed her journey,” she states, and she and shares her powerful transformation in My Waterfall of Awakening in the hopes of helping other women realize that it is never too late to live life on your own terms.
When asked why she chose the written word to share her journey rather than public speaking, VanZile said, “My message is very personal; it’s not a big crowd thing. People are touched by being able to hear a story personally, and they can then use the journal to forge their own journey.”
One journey leads to others
VanZile’s journey of healing began with slowing down.
“I decided to let the universe open up in front of me and let it decide the path for me,” said VanZile. The result was more than she could have hoped for. “Life has filled in with all these things I wanted to do.”
A 12-day pilgrimage to Oregon led to hours of self-reflection about what VanZile wanted for her life. When she returned, opportunities began to present themselves.
“I had the opportunity to sell my agency — so I did,” VanZile said. “A sudden chance to buy a house in France came up — so I did. Then I was introduced to a book-writing coach.”
VanZile that writing My Waterfall of Awakening was “very satisfying” and she is “grateful for this opportunity.”
And what’s next …
The businesswoman and author plans to retire at the end of 2021 and continue to live life to the fullest — on her own terms. When asked what that might mean for her and what the future holds, VanZile said, “I don’t know.”
And she is okay with not knowing. “Friends have asked if I will move to France now. I tell them, ‘I don’t know.’”
When asked if she plans to continue writing, VanZile delivered the same response: “I don’t know. It feels like there’s a book on France somewhere. The wonderful fabric of the community there, that could be a book.”
Blogging, however, will remain in VanZile’s immediate future. Her blog (and book) can be found on her website and features lessons with a similar approach as those contained in her book, along with other subjects “as the muse strikes.”
VanZile is willing to allow her future to unfold at its own rate, remembering that she is not alone in her journey, and urges others to do the same on her website: “You know you are not alone. And we celebrate our stepping into the light. Together.”
