The main character, Sheila, is finally confronting her eating disorder—and questioning whether she’s even qualified to keep teaching aerobics, and serve as a role model because of it.

While at a recovery center, she hears someone throwing up in the bathroom. Out walks her counselor.

At first, Sheila judges her—thinking she’s a fraud. But then she confronts her.

The counselor doesn’t deny it. She admits she backslid.

“That it wasn’t the first time, and it probably won’t be the last” she says. “Recovery is a long road. I still get pulled under sometimes.”

Later, Sheila says to her friend, “How can I be the expert when I’ve still got so much to figure out myself?”

And her friend shows her a pile of fan mail…messages from people thanking her for changing their lives… for giving them their confidence, their health, their spark back.

That moment reminded me of something so powerful: Sometimes the best teachers are still in the trenches.

They’re not experts because they’ve mastered the struggle. They’re experts because they know the struggle, and have the courage to reach back and help someone else through it.

So if you’ve been wanting to write a book, coach others, start a podcast, or share your story, but you’re suffering from imposter syndrome, or waiting until you’ve “got it all together”…you don’t have to wait.

Someone out there needs your voice now.

Not the polished version. The real one. The one that’s still walking the road and willing to lead anyway.