Originally intended to simply focus on book reviews, over time, KaliDesautelsReads has morphed into its own entity.
I write about issues that are near to my heart, be they political, feminist, motherhood, mental health, or, as the title holds, books.
A thirty-something Canadian woman in my mid-thirties, I have been “super married” to my high school sweetheart since 2006, and together we have two crazy, clever, kind, hilarious, wonderful kids.
My first book – How Not To Blog: Finding Myself, One Post at a Time is available on Amazon (in eBook formats for you clever tech readers, and paperback for those of us who love that new book smell!)
I have tried a podcast – it’s still on Apple and Google Podcasts – but writing is where my heart is.
My life changed dramatically when my husband was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer in 2018, and I am now a writer for a leading Canadian Cancer Non-Profit.
I am lucky enough to have a family that loves me and pushes me to be my best, even if it is outside of my cushiony comfort zone. I have a village of friends that nourish me, mentally, and spiritually.
Welcome to my thoughts. Sit down. Stay a while. Enjoy a cup of coffee!
This is my entry for consideration as an @owlcratejr representative. As an avid reader, mother of 2 kids under 12, and the auntie of an owlcrate JR subscriber, I feel that my account would be an ideal place for other bookish mamas to learn about the exciting offerings of OwlCrate Jr. With spring and summer upon us, it becomes more necessary for parents to find books to keep our kiddos busy and entertained! In addition to this Instagram, I also curate a blog (link in my profile) which reviews books and profiles the momlife. Thank you for the opportunity to present my application to represent OwlCrate Jr!
Posted @withrepost • @su2c Colorectal cancer rates continue to rise in people under the age of 50. A reminder that it’s never too early to talk to your doctor about your risk, family health history and recommended screening.
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My husband was diagnosed at 34. It is NOT rare for this cancer. It makes up 10% of Colorectal Cancer diagnoses. March is Colorectal Cancer Month. Talk to your doctor about the simple screening process. It could save your life!
So, in the interest of reestablishing my proper schedule, I am bringing back my weekly Woman Crush Wednesday to highlight women who mean things to me. The first WCW for 2019 is Heather Robb-Orr. 6 years ago, I met a kind, smart, funny woman a gajillion years younger than me (the woman was born in the ‘90s!!!), who loved the geekery that makes me so happy, she read the same books, and actually got my non-stop movie references in place of actual sentences. What I didn’t know then, but am grateful for now, is that this woman would go on to mean so much to me and to my family. This woman who helped decorate for my daughter’s fifth birthday. This woman has helped me get through some of the worst times in my life. This woman has been with me during both my tattoos, my health crises, my mental health struggles, my family’s hardest times. She thinks about others, taking on their problems as her own, in order to sit with them. She is strong, and smart, and funny, and holy frack is she determined. She loves hard, she works hard, and she plays hard. The thing with Heather is that she will just 👏keep 👏showing👏up, and she does not always get the appreciation that she deserves, because it is so easy to forget that someone who shows up so hard for others needs people to show up for her, too. Heather, I am so proud of you. I am proud to be your friend. I am proud of how much effort you put into living your best life. I am proud that you are my kids’ auntie. I am grateful and seriously, your CrossFit Instagram @hrobborr needs to be seen by all! Love you so much, Lady. You are the Beauty AND the Beast. And dammit, but a woman’s place is legit in the resistance. ❤️❤️💪
I first discovered Rachel Hollis through her book Girl, Wash Your Face. I had an Audible credit and when it came out, I thought that the cover was cute – her in her converse sneakers getting sprayed in the face by an exploding fire hydrant. I downloaded the book and there it sat whilst I read other books and listened to other things. About 2 weeks later, as I scrolled through before a drive to work, I decided to give it a try. I had barely listened past her initial “hey, girl, hey”, when I realized she was talking about peeing her pants. I was in love. It felt like the voice in my head had suddenly found its way I to my car’s Bluetooth for all the world to hear. I loved her voice, I loved her earnestness and I loved her thinking. She was funny and smart and living my imaginary life!! She was a book nerd who self-published her first book. She was a mama who loved her job. She had a husband named DAVE!! I mean seriously!!! I told literally every single person I spoke to, including my kids, about what an amazing book this was and that they HAD to read it… well, not my kids… they just happened to hear Chapter 5 when I picked them up from daycare one day. And if you have read the book, yes, Chapter 5 is that chapter.
I bought copies of the book for friends, for my mom, I reviewed it on my Instagram live-streams, I met a group of freaking awesome woman through her online community and I saw her documentary in theatres twice. I was seriously enamoured.
As I followed her success, I began to wonder if I too could move past my “lies that I tell myself” to move ahead in life. When her new book, Girl, Stop Apologizing was sent to me, courtesy of Harper Collins Canada, as an Advance Reader Copy, it showed up on my birthday. One month after my husband’s cancer diagnosis. I felt like the universe was reminding me not to give up on my novel or my memoir, not to give up on wanting more for my kids and my husband, and so I tried to do everything all at once – I tried to work my full time job at night, around his appointments, while taking him to the hospital during the day, taking care of my kids and trying to work through my own fears about what was going to happen to my partner of 20 years and therefore to our family.
As I read Girl, Stop Apologizing, I was struck by 1) how much of the book was happening in real time over the last year, and how frank she was about everything as it happened; and 2) the idea of embracing what you want from life without shame. For example, I have been writing a novel for 2 years and a memoir for over a year, and have been nervous about putting it in the world, because it had been done before. But my blog has been done before, my Instagram has been done before, having kids had been done before… and none of that means that I do not have something to contribute.
Rachel Hollis speaks to me. She speaks for me. She is what my head sounds like. She is the tough love that I do not remember to give myself. She sounds like my family, my friends, she sounds like my sisters (in blood and in law). She says the things that fire me up. She makes me feel like my voice matters, and that keeping things to myself because they have been done before is nonsense. When she wrote about failing spectacularly in front of the world, I understood, because I was there when it happened. Rachel Hollis is a mentor to me, and she doesn’t know me. She has taught me that engaging with my audience online, like actually answering them, and engaging with their things is the best way to gain traction. She showed me that warts and all (i.e. a story about doing our best in Gril, Stop Apologizing, in which she was putting sunscreen on her daughter and she fell over and clunked her head), the only way to be is myself. There cannot be one version of us that exist in one sphere and another in another sphere. We need to live fully as ourselves.
Girl, Stop Apologizing was the book that I needed in this season of my life, just as Girl, Wash Your Face was the book I needed in the last season. I sincerely hope that she continues to write books in this way that speak to me, and to many women in our mid-thirties who are still discovering ourselves.
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So… today, recording KaliDesautelsReads(WritesAndRants) looks like me sitting in the backseat of my husband’s car, while he does his radiation, with my notes on the laptop on the seat next to me. (And hoping desperately that the Anchor App that I use actually functions today!!)
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What is today’s podcast about, you ask? Well, I am thrilled to tell you that I am reviewing and recommending the new @msrachelhollis book Girl, Stop Apologizing; discussing living in gratitude for the helpers during our hardest seasons; and the amazing @michelleobama Becoming book tour! Do me a favour and give it a listen! If you like it, please, please, PUH-LEEEEZE subscribe to it, because that is how Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Google, or whatever you use to listen to podcasts determines whether or not they should begin recommending it and to whom! I can’t wait for your feedback!
In this community, we are comforted & empowered by other women’s success and support – not their flaws. 🙌🌸💞 👇🌈🌱
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Check out the original caption from Florence, as she’s preaching truths once again! — “Judging other women is just a quick way to get out of dealing with the things we dislike about OURSELVES.”
What does a healthy breakfast look like for you? This is Greek yoghurt, Holy Crap cereal, and frozen berries. (Don’t you love when your food behaves and looks all pretty in the bowl???) my breakfast ALWAYS involves a cup of coffee, but the hardest thing for me is to remember that it cannot JUST be a cup of coffee.
So, I got a super cute pic of my boy. I guess I should call him my little old man, but he will always be my boy. For the last 10 years, this guy has driven me bananas, provided me comfort, taught my kids to be gentle, and been the sweetest cat that ever did live. We really lucked out when we adopted him, regardless of how often he wakes me up in the middle of the night for no reason other than to watch him eat. My Timon is no “mere cat” – he is my fluffy, loving snugglebug.
Kali J Desautels 