By Samuel AGYEMAN-PREMPEH
The night was cold and the only sound louder than the wind was the rattle of distant gunfire. He crouched behind a makeshift wall of sandbags, his breath shaky and quick.
He wasn’t a soldier. He carried no gun, only a first-aid kit and the trembling hope that he might save a life before losing his own.
As mortar shells lit up the sky like cursed fireworks, one thought looped through his mind: “Will I live to tell this story?”
He did. And when he returned, changed forever by what he had seen, he did something remarkable. He wrote it all down. Not for fame.
Not for money. But because he believed his experience could help someone else survive. What he didn’t expect was that his book, born from trauma, fear and resilience, would go on to touch thousands of lives.
This is the power of publishing your experience. It is not merely about what happened to you, it is about how your story can become a lifeline for others.
In the world of writing, ideas are important and expertise is respected; but experience – experience is what people remember. It is what readers connect with. It is what turns a simple story into a bestseller.
Your story matters more than you think
One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is: “My story isn’t that special.” But that is not true.
Every person’s life holds lessons, turning points and moments of clarity. What feels ordinary to you could be extraordinary to someone else. You may think surviving that heartbreak was just life, but someone else may need your journey to rebuild their strength.
You may think losing your job and starting from scratch was a failure, but someone else may see it as a blueprint for hope. The truth is, your scars can speak louder than any success story.
Because they show that survival is possible.
From experience to bestseller – The process
Turning your experience into a bestselling book is not about fancy words or flawless grammar. It is about honesty, structure and impact.
- Start with what you have been through. Be truthful, not theatrical. Write as though you are speaking to someone who is exactly where you were.
- Share your struggles. Do not hide the messy parts. Readers are not looking for perfection, they are looking for connection.
- Then, highlight the turning points. When did things begin to shift? What did you learn along the way? Who helped you? What hard truths did you discover?
- Lastly, lead your reader to where you are now or where you are headed. You do not need a “happily ever after”. You just need growth, reflection and hope.
Real people, real stories, real impact
History is full of bestsellers born from experience.
- Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime did not just entertain, it educated and inspired because it was grounded in lived truth. He wrote not as a comedian but as a boy who once had to hide in plain sight in apartheid South Africa.
- Michelle Obama’s Becoming was not a political handbook, it was a journey through identity, self-doubt, motherhood and growth.
- Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love was not a travel diary; it was a healing pilgrimage of a broken woman finding her way back to herself.
These books did not succeed because they were perfectly written. They succeeded because they were honest, human and heartfelt.
You do not need to be a celebrity
You do not need millions of followers to write a book that matters. You do not need a PhD or a publishing deal to share your experience. You just need the willingness to be real and the courage to start.
Every blog post, every journal entry, every social media caption that tells your truth is a seed. And when you compile those seeds into a book, you create something that can outlive you. Something that can travel to places you have never been. Something that can reach people you have never met.
>>>Need help publishing your book or story? You do not have to walk alone on this journey. Let us turn your experience into a book that blesses, heals and transforms lives. Let me guide you through the process of shaping your truth into a bestseller. The writer can be reached via [email protected] and or 0203433177
