On February 2nd, at 8p, Emily Ann Peterson has invited all of us to a musical celebration of the release of her new book, ‘Bare Naked Bravery: How To Be Creatively Courageous.’ An accomplished cellist, Peterson turned adversity – in the form of a devastating diagnosis – into an opportunity to learn about being brave. She has published her journey and the discoveries she made, and she will be bringing the book, and her music, to Fremont to share all of it with us.
“It is a concert,” Peterson explained about Friday’s event, “a book release concert. To celebrate the book release with music…” Peterson will return to the Fremont Abbey Arts Center, where she previously performed and taught cello, with other musicians. Together, they will share original songs to honor the hard work, personal achievement, and positive message Peterson has, three years after receiving news that would have sent many people scrambling under a dark rock for the rest of their lives.
Peterson will talk at the Abbey about bravery, the theme of her book and her journey, but her message isn’t heavy. “It doesn’t mean you have to jump into a burning building,” she said of being brave, “sometimes it is just getting off the sofa, putting a pair of pants on, and going to a book release.”
‘Not Just A Cellist’
In 2013, Peterson received the diagnosis that she had a degenerative neurological essential hand tremor – a terminal diagnosis for a woman who had already given 20-years to building her professional cello career. In early 2014, scheduled to write and record new cello music at a six-week artist’s residency at the Grünewald Guild, Peterson faced one of many challenges to her creative life. She decided that she would not lose her music – her form of self-expression – she renegotiated the residency agreement, and her own identity, spending the time song writing for all kinds of instruments.
“I realized that I was not just a cellist,” she explained, “If I was going to say the things I wanted to say, I was going to have to be brave.” Peterson soon began working on what would become ‘Bare Naked Bravery.’ Rather than seeing her diagnosis as a door closing, and struggling in a locked room, she let it open her to what have come to feel like limitless possibilities.
Peterson researched bravery, and her condition. “The brain is an amazing thing,” she observed about her explorations into neurological conditions, and their treatments. “I have learned so many wonderful things about the brain,” she said, “I can’t wait to find out more.” Her research included talking to others, about the brain, about being brave, and about what it all takes. “I will forever be learning more about it,” she said.
Peterson wrote ‘Bare Naked Bravery’, her first book, between early 2014 and November 2017. In it, she said, “I wanted to practice what I preach.” She did do a podcast about bravery, interviewing people on the subject. Originally, she thought she would pull together the information she gathered there for a book. However, “I realized it would be braver to share my own stories,” she observed.
As a songwriter, Peterson has learned that when she writes about others, the result doesn’t have as much heart, or impact on her audience. “There is more when I write about an experience I’ve gone through,” she explained, “my personal experience allows the story to sink deeper.
“The reason I wrote this book,” Peterson said, “if we all know how to be brave, we would be able to do more. There’d be more progress, more innovation, more understanding… We need your bravery!” The memoir shares her story, while illuminating for everyone, of every age and experience, an understanding of what bravery can really mean for us. Peterson shares ways she has learned to step through fear, anxiety and self-sabotage.
When The Earth Shakes Beneath Us
“When I was first diagnosed, I felt the earth shake,” Peterson said, “that season of my life, I was grieving, and I still am.” She recalls it as a time of grief and pain, that hasn’t entirely ended. The ‘Essential Tremors’ that started in one hand have started to show up in the other, leading her to cut out caffeine and make other life-style changes to minimize the uncontrollable movements. “You can hear it in my voice, sometimes,” she observed.
“It’s part of the nature of these tremors,” Peterson said. Little is known about ET, and what Peterson may, or may not, encounter in the future. “It does not have a lot of research,” she acknowledged, “for many people, it doesn’t affect them as much, and then there are other, more extreme cases. You don’t know how bad it is going to get, or how fast.” As she observed, “there were a lot of questions, and there still are.”
Yet, “knowing what I know now,” Peterson said about bravery, “I feel an exhilaration to face the future.”
The Conversation We’re Going To Have
“The big news is the book,” Peterson said of ‘Bare Naked Bravery,’ which came out on January 28th, in e-book, hardcover, paperback, and audiobook formats, simultaneously. “I have such a high creative output right now that I decided to do it all at once,” she explained about the multiple formats. “It seemed like a PR ploy to coordinate all those different dates and details,” to release different editions at different times, to different audiences.
Peterson self-published the book, using IngramSpark. “Technology is a wonderful, amazing thing,” she said about the process, “when you know how to use it.” The book will be sold through the EmilyAnnPeterson.com website, on Amazon and through events like the book release on Feb 2nd.
At the Fremont Abbey book release, “I will be performing,” Peterson acknowledged, with friends Steve Norman and Jeff Brumley. The audience will be hearing, “a set of songs that exhibit the bravery talked about in the book,” Peterson explained. The original music, written by Peterson, will celebrate the book she has written – as will the opportunity to hear Brittain Ashford, another singer-songwriter, performing a set of her own music.
Yet, the book release will also give attendees access to the book, and the author. “Every concert I ever play,” Peterson said, “I open it up to the audience.” She made a deliberate choice of Fremont Abbey for her book release performance. She wanted an intimate space that allows interaction between the artists and audience and, she said, “I chose the Abbey for that reason; to be able to mix. That space is really conducive for the kind of conversation we’re going to have.”
Purchase tickets ($10 adv/ $15 door) to the book release music performance through EventBrite, and go to hear the music, learn more about ‘Bare Naked Bravery’, and how to step into your own limitless possibilities. Be brave!
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