Embracing My Writing Unapologetically by Jessica Garrison

Ever since I was young, I loved to read.

I devoured the Magic Treehouse series, obsessed over Twilight and contemporary dramas, and eventually tore through every crime thriller I could find. When it came time to “grow up” and go to college, I gravitated towards English. I had first pick at the classes I wanted, and if I could read a good book for a grade, I was there.

While discussing my future with the chairman of Kutztown University’s English department, he said it sounded like I had a real passion for writing, which made me say, “I want to be able to write something so powerful it makes the reader truly feel while they’re reading as so many books have done for me.” I could be the one who changes the world with a book. I could be someone’s favorite author. I could be the one who makes someone fall in love with reading. 

Another thing to know about me is that I am feminist through and through. It gets treated like a dirty word, but I am proud to be a young woman standing up for what I believe in. I share the language of intersectional feminism, which recognizes the many aspects of a person's identity—their layers, if you will. People are complex and can’t be grouped into one singular box; we are many things at one time. Combine my love for writing with intersectional feminism, and the Embracing Layers Network was the perfect home for me to learn, grow, and create. 

Founder and host of the F.E.E.L (Finding Empowerment Embracing Layers) Podcast, Melissa Crook, came to me with the idea of writing a book after a seminar. Not everyone listens to podcasts, so what’s another way we could reach women with our message? A book. And I won’t lie, I was excited to begin this process, but I was also terrified. This would be the biggest project I ever worked on, and it was going to make my dream come true of publishing a book. But what did I know about writing a book? 

With help from our team, editor, designer, and supporters, our first book was published in September 2024 entitled Embracing Layers Unapologetically: Lessons From the F.E.E.L Podcast’s Collection of Lived Experiences. Our book invites women to discover their power & prioritize self-care through the seasons & complexities of their stories. The book features stories from the first 4 seasons of the F.E.E.L Podcast, stories from real women on their journey towards living life authentically. 

Through this process, I went back and read notes from the first four seasons of the podcast, listened to episodes, read books based on podcasts, and still, it took me a while to actually produce something to send to Melissa. I wrote the book chapter by chapter and had to tell myself to just send the chapters over to Melissa as I finished them. If I didn’t do this, then she’d never receive a word of it. I was still fairly new at my professional writing career, and I just wanted it to be something worth reading, something good. I mean, it was our first book, as a team and as individuals. Our goal was to put quality work out into the world for women who needed it most, and we did just that.  

Melissa and I worked for about two years to develop our book, spending countless hours researching, meeting, and of course, writing. We came to our title of Embracing Layers Unapologetically because that is the main goal of our network. We want women to accept all of their layers and live life as their most authentic selves without being sorry for it. It isn’t an easy journey to take, but I can say that it is the most rewarding and fulfilling step forward. While writing this, I am only 26 years old, but working with the F.E.E.L framework and content so often, it has changed my life positively. 

I am a healthier version of myself because of this network and book, authentically and confidently embracing my layers. I’m ready to share with the world the writer I have become and share the F.E.E.L message with anyone willing to listen. My hope is for our book to reach whoever needs it and make them feel worth it, because we all are. 

Meet Jessica:

Jessica Garrison has been the feature blog writer of the F.E.E.L Podcast since early 2022 after graduating from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania with a major in English/Professional Writing and a minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She discovered the podcast through connections with HerCampus and has since written blogs pertaining to episodes and special events, as well as creates monthly newsletters for the Embracing Layers Substack. In her free time, Jessica enjoys reading, seeing new movies, and spending time with family and friends.

Connect:

Instagram: @jessgarrison22

Book info: Embracing Layers Unapologetically is available to purchase in print or digital on Amazon or by visiting the Our Book tab on our website