Send us a textYou’ll be quickly drawn into Paula’s story of researching, writing, and publishing her book that shares the heart-wrenching details of child soldiers in Colombia alongside her own coming-of-age reflection as someone who was born, but not raised, in Colombia. Paula Delgado-King is the author of Leonor. It’s her first book that started as a policy paper when she was a grad student at Columbia University in International Affairs back in 2001. At the time, Paula was interested in what the United Nations was doing to help children exercise their rights and she focused her attention on Bogotá, Colombia. It was a natural point of focus for Paula who is originally from Bogotá, having been born there, but her family was forced to leave when she was 9 due to threats against her family. When she traveled to Bogotá, to start researching and reporting about the experiences of children, it was her connection with Leonor, a young girl from a halfway home in Bogotá, that had her eager to return every couple of months to learn the latest in her story. Paula’s passion and dedication to sharing this story is evident. It took her a long time, but she knew it needed to be out in the world. As writers, it’s interesting to think about how long it can take to get our stories into the world. You may be able to relate to what Paula has to share in this episode and find you’re ready to write your story. Paula’s book is a unique blend of nonfiction and memoir. An exploration of a culture that’s familiar, yet at the same time not familiar, and writing with an awareness of needing to effectively explore her experience in connection with Leonor’s. Paula was pulled into Leonor’s story because of her experience as a woman who was under attack simply for being a woman. She kept in touch with Leonor for about 19 years to ensure she correctly captured the truth and the details of Leonor’s experience. Paula made the decision to eventually add her own story to help make Leonor’s story more accessible to a reader. It’s an exploration of connecting with her heritage and exploring her own coming of age story when she wasn’t able to grow up in Colombia. There were certainly many challenges in the writing pr Welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. If you've ever felt the pull to write your truth, to shape the chaos of real life into something meaningful and to share your journey with the world, you're in the right place. We're your hosts, Elizabeth and Stephanie, writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who believe in you and know how important it is to find a writing community to guide you on your path to self-publishing. You’re invited to connect with us by joining our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. Whether you’re working on a memoir, a novel, or journaling for yourself, this is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.   Join our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. This is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention. Get on the waitlist for the Memoir Master Plan cohort here. If you prefer to watch our conversations, you can find all of them on our YouTube channel. You can find us on Instagram and Threads

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