A Port Alberni author has been named a finalist for the Canadian Book Club Awards.
Port Alberni's Jennie Potter, author of Self Sabotage No More, is one of three finalists in the Business/Self-Help category of the 2024 Canadian Book Club Awards, which are Canada's largest reader's choice awards.
Potter has a background as a counsellor and life coach. She explains that throughout her life she has overcome a lot of her own fears, like her fear of strangers, answering the phone and public speaking.
"I struggled a lot, all the way up until I turned 30, but I turned things around with personal growth," she said.
After acquiring a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Potter started a private practice in Comox, then eventually moved to Port Alberni where she started working from home as what she calls a "future self coach." Potter says she thrives in one-on-one conversations, particularly in helping people discover their limiting beliefs.
"What I found is people would often say they knew what they needed to do, but they wouldn't do what they needed to do," said Potter. "I started to dive into why we sabotage ourselves."
Potter's first love has always been reading and writing, which is what led her to author Self Sabotage No More, published by Success in 100 Pages in 2022. The book is a collection of some of the mindsets and methods that she has been sharing and using with clients over the years. A large part of the book focuses on "unprocessed emotions" and how to release them.
"Those things we didn't deal with when we were younger, they tend to get loud," Potter said. "Our emotions go off like a smoke alarm — sometimes it's an emergency, but most of the time it's just burnt toast. The system in my book helps people identify those emotions, but also process them."
The book has been selling well, especially in the United States, which led Potter to enter a few contests — including the Canadian Book Club Awards.
"[Self-help] is a really tough category —there are thousands of entries," she said. "I almost didn't enter. When I found out I was one of the finalists, I literally cried. Because I love writing so much, it was like a pat on the back for me."
Kristain Oliveira-Barnes, Program Director for the Canadian Book Club Awards, says that this year's awards had a record-breaking number of submissions, as well as a diverse mix of traditional and self-published authors.
"This year’s finalists reflect exactly why the Canadian Book Club Awards were created," Oliveira-Barnes said in a media release. "We’re here to celebrate diversity and great storytelling, no matter how a book is published. Readers want captivating stories, and that’s exactly what we received this year—an incredible range of voices and narratives that truly stand out."
Potter has released a second book, Stuck No More, which focuses on helping people manifest the life they dream of. She is already working on a third book.
"Writing is my favourite thing," she said.
Over the next three months, readers will read each finalist's work in their respective categories in the Canadian Book Club Awards and submit their votes for this year's winners. The winners will be announced in January 2025.
To learn more about Potter, or to order her book online, visit www.jenniepotter.com.
