Stopping to Feel by Collins, S.L.

Stopping to Feel is a deeply personal memoir, which was born out of the loss of my father in 2023. Malibu readers will love the book, because many of the stories are set in Zuma Beach, Sycamore Canyon and beyond. Perhaps most importantly, the most pivotal moment of the book involves an unexpected local celebrity sighting at Zuma! The story spans from my childhood into my own adulthood and parenthood. It addresses the silent suffering that is borne out of the family disease of alcoholism, and its isolating effects. But most importantly, it is a story of forgiveness. The story follows through my childhood as I experienced several traumatic events, and how those events shaped me into a very strict, Type A, rule following person who was obsessed with control and, in turn, completely debilitated with anxiety. The main storyline follows my relationship with my father, how that relationship shaped who I became, and how I learned to see him with different eyes as I grew into adulthood. When my father got sick in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, I struggled to navigate anticipatory grief, my career and parenting my own children. The book ends with his death in 2023, and the powerful transformation within myself as I faced my deep grief over his loss head on.