Joanna Gaines Said She Was in an ‘Unhealthier Place’ When She Started Writing Her Recent Book
Joanna Gaines released her book, The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters, last November. The Fixer Upper star recently spoke about her inspiration for the book and how she was in an “unhealthier place” when she began the writing process.
Why Joanna Gaines wrote her new book
Gaines began writing her book so she could take time to reflect on her life so far. During her interview with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on the Today Show, Gaines spoke about what it was like to grow up as a biracial person. She says she realized she was “different” from the other children when she was 6 years old. Gaines didn’t know how to respond to the teasing she faced at school, so she tried to “brush it off.”
“As a 6-year-old little girl, I’m believing what they’re saying,” Gaines tells Kotb and Bush Hager. “I’m thinking being different isn’t a good thing. So how do I fit in? How do I talk like them? How do I eat like them? How do I sound like them? And it’s this conscious shift that I remember moving into as a 6-year-old.”
Gaines says despite some of her childhood experiences, her “spirit was light and free.” She says she felt confident about who she was as a 6-year-old. She says part of her writing journey involved trying to get back to the person she was back then. Gaines admits she had moments of insecurity when she was older. This caused her to become guarded around people.
Joanna Gaines says she was in an ‘unhealthier place’ when she started writing her book
During an event with the Today show, Gaines discussed what she was thinking and feeling while writing her book. She admits she was in an “unhealthier place” at the beginning of her book project. She says she initially didn’t want to share so much about her personal life, and she wanted to “tuck away and hide.”
“As I started writing, I told (my husband) Chip, I just want to take a moment to re-catch my breath and really evaluate the story that we’re telling,” says Gaines during the event. “And I just want to be a little more private. When you’re open to share your story, hopefully that inspires other people to feel open, to be vulnerable. I think that’s where healing is, that’s where connection is, that’s where community is. When you want to hide, that’s where isolation is, that’s where loneliness is.”
Joanna Gaines learned to leave behind the negative things that weren’t helping her
While writing the book and reflecting on her life, Gaines tells Kotb and Bush Hager she became aware of issues in her life she needed to work through. She says she learned to leave negative things behind and keep the things that have served her well over the years.
“[I left behind] the fear of failure, the idea that I have to control; that everything has to be perfect,” says Gaines during her Today show interview. “That’s not even possible. I know that now and it makes me sick to think that’s how I operated for so long. I had to get the intention right; why am I doing what I’m doing?”
Gaines says she’s having more fun at this point in her life. “I feel like once you get past all the stuff, the junk, and you realize I have this one beautiful life to live, and I can choose how I live it,” says Gaines. “I can choose how I carry and hold my story. It’s just so much worth the work so that I step in as whole as I can so I can see things and I can enjoy moments in a really rich and intentional way.”
Follow Sheiresa Ngo on Twitter.
