Author Michelle Upton reveals why she began a new chapter of life

At this time of year, many of us consider change. Michelle Upton reveals the personal reason why she shook up her own life and how it has worked out since.

I can’t remember the last time I made a New Year’s resolution and stuck to it, but what I love about the idea is that no matter what our goal or target, we are rapidly approaching the one time of the year when we can shout from the rooftops about what changes we want to make.

For some, the first of January is an opportunity to put the last twelve months behind us and symbolise a new chapter in our lives. It’s a clean slate, a new beginning, the chance to re-evaluate our choices and shake things up.

This kind of change is what I explore in my new novel Emergency Exit Only, when my protagonist, thirty-five-year-old Amelia, makes a life-altering choice. When she’s involved in an accident, she realises how short life can be, and after being pushed to her limits at work, she dramatically quits the mundane job she’s been working in for the last decade – and goes on a mission to find a job that ignites a passion within her. And so, she spends the next few months trying out all the fantasy jobs she’s ever dreamed of. Let the fun and games begin! After all, who hasn’t got a secret list of the jobs we’ve always wanted to try?

Time to make a change … author Michelle Upton.

One of the biggest changes I made in my own life didn’t come from making a New Year’s resolution. It came about after my dad died at the age of fifty-nine, and I, like Amelia, realised how limited our time is. In the months and years that followed, I re-evaluated what it was I wanted to do with the time I had. I asked myself, what is it that ignites a fire within me? What is it I really want to do with my life? The answer that kept showing up was to write. At first, I wanted to write short stories, followed by an overwhelming desire to write a novel. I didn’t know if it was possible for me to write 90,000 words, let alone turn them into a fun and engaging story. But I made a commitment to myself, and as Amelia’s mum in Emergency Exit Only would say, I gave it a ‘bloody good crack!’ Over the years, I learned as much as I could about the craft of writing, I kept going when I doubted myself and got rejections (which all writers get), but I also held on tightly to those joyous moments when the muse showed up.

It’s easy to give up on the goals we’ve set ourselves when we don’t see the desired results straight away or when there are setbacks. But like most things worth doing, and as Amelia in Emergency Exit Only discovers, the journey to achieving what we want is guaranteed to be paved with plenty of wrong turns, detours and highs and lows.

A book about making moves … Emergency Exit Only by Michelle Upton.

Now, as Emergency Exit Only is stocked in bookstores across Australia, I can look back over the fifteen years since I last held my dad’s hand in mine and find comfort in knowing that in losing him, something beautiful was also born. After his passing, I listened to that niggling feeling inside me that told me there was another path I was meant to take, and in following that, I discovered what it was that ignited a fire within me. This was the gift my dad left me and the reason Emergency Exit Only is dedicated to him.

Some people make drastic changes after a wake-up call. They shift course after losing someone they love or after an accident or a health scare. Others set new goals because the timing is right or because they’ve had enough of the way things are, and sometimes, New Year is the perfect opportunity to jump on the resolution bandwagon.

But however the desire for change comes about, and regardless of whether you achieve your goals, simply recognising that you’re open to change and willing to be vulnerable is the first step – and it’s a courageous and brave one. You’re willing to take a chance on yourself, and that’s a pretty great way to be.

Emergency Exit Only by Michelle Upton is on sale now, published by HarperCollins. Swing by the Sunday Book Club group on Facebook to share your bucket list – or your to-be-read list, if you prefer! On that topic, our new Book of the Month is brain-bending social media sensation Cain’s Jawbone.

You can enjoy a 33 per cent discount off the RRP with the code JAWBONE at Booktopia.

Originally published as Author Michelle Upton reveals why she began a new chapter of life