Diving into the past to change the future... THE GIRL In 1996 Melanie Britz is 20 years old, attending university, overweight, perplexed and wanting, above all, to be liked. What she doesn't realise is that her life won't be getting easier any time soon: a friend's murder, the demise of her parents' marriage and her mother's near suicide attempt rocks the very core of her belief in God (and life itself). THE WOMAN After years in joyless maze she realises that her problems cannot be solved from the shallows or the shoreline. She needs to Dive in - into the depths of her mind, the unresolved emotional trauma, her subconscious programming and the hidden parts of the universe she lives in. What she discovers is life-changing. THE CONVERSATION Through the mists of time and space, filled with laughter and tears, it is a heartfelt conversation between the Girl and the Woman she becomes. Sharing the keys to healing, self-love and trust means handing over a treasure map to unlock the happiness and miracles of life... The official online bookclub review of the book says: "Dive In, by Melanie Britz, is a kind and compassionate book about unlocking the best and truest self in all of us. Written as a letter to her 20-year-old self, each chapter explores a different tool for spiritual health and healing, often in the context of the author's experiences. Dive In is honestly and thoughtfully written, introducing the reader to a broad range of spiritual practices and psychological techniques. Dealing with topics ranging from mental health to body image to overcoming tragedy, Dive In is an accessible introduction to a variety of coping mechanisms that any reader will be able to find value in."
About the Author: First time author Melanie Britz has managed to do what some of us only wish we could do - go back in time to our 20-year old self and offer her the wisdom gained from years spent in the trenches of life. In her memoir and self-help book Dive In - Unlocking happiness and miracles, Britz has literally jumped into the deep end of her young adult life, picking away at the painful memories of a family torn apart by a divorce no one saw coming and the trauma of a mother's near suicide attempt. "It was really a powerful process to see my younger self so clearly and to realise, 20 years later, how far I had come and how much I had learnt and what exactly those lessons were," explains Britz. Her memoir consists of letters penned to her younger self. The letters were not only about writing a book for herself, but about sharing her experiences and how she overcame things that impacted on her while growing up. "As a child, I was never really taught how to handle my emotions. This caused huge problems in my adult life. Over time I learnt how to process difficult emotions and it's one of the things I share in detail in the letters. Another part focuses on programming, the things our subconcious mind learns in our first seven years and which make an impact on us later on. In those seven years we are taught about life by people who are teaching us based on their own programming, which is often not any better." "The book also focuses on self-love and acceptance and how one can move from not being happy at all to learning to forgive yourself and others for mistakes that were made in the past." Other topics related to programming and which she touches on, include her struggle with beliefs around money and her weight. She has a strong writing background and specialised in marketing, communications and public relations in the past. Britz has taken the publication of her book a step further after feedback from friends and family on her unpublished work made her realise just how many women could relate to what she had shared. She created a website, Showing Up Today, and in the conclusion to her memoir, invites others to share their own letters to their younger selves online.