Guest Blog by Nikki DiGanci
My name is Nikki DiGanci, and I am an audiobook narrator based out of Atlanta, Georgia. I love audiobooks, both listening and narrating. I listen to them more often than music while I’m working around the house or running errands. I find I can carve out more time to listen to a book while doing other stuff, as sometimes it’s just plain difficult to find time to sit down and READ a book when you’re a busy working woman – as I’m sure a lot of us can relate to!
My usual genre is self-improvement for women. There’s just something about listening to how someone else conquered something that you’re personally dealing with – whether it be fear, confidence issues, lack of productivity, you name it – that lights that fire in one’s belly and heart and gets you raring to make changes in your own life. I’ve listened to probably dozens of self-improvement books over the years, and try to incorporate their lessons learned into my life.
I like to explore Amazon when searching for my next great listen. I was doing my usual browsing through self-improvement books one day when a cover caught my eye. It was simple but powerful: a woman juggling lemons, bright and yellow. The Lemonade Diet by Susan V. Wheeler. I checked out the “look inside” feature and the chapter names. “Stop Quitting.” Yep, I can use some help with that. “Adopt a Marathon Mindset.” As a runner myself, I can relate to that! “Slay the Excuses.” Well, now, that’s hitting a bit too close to home! I read through some of the content that was available and decided I needed to listen to this book. As you know, the look inside feature doesn’t include the entire book (for obvious reasons) but I knew I needed to listen to the rest.
But there was no audiobook! So I composed a short 10-minute demo of myself narrating part of Susan’s book and sent it to her. She reached out, interested in what I could do as far as an audiobook for her work, and we’ve been working together on it! Just with the little bit I’ve spoken to Susan over the phone, I can tell you that she is her own true self in this book. Her warmth and candor are evident in every word. Each chapter talks about one particular lemon that life could throw you, and she uses personal experience to really bring the lesson of dealing with that lemon to life. From coming back from disease and injury, to personal family issues, to dealing with everything that can go wrong when creating one’s first wedding cake (hint: a coffee cup was involved), Susan truly has gone through it all and has come out the other side stronger, wise, and turning her lemons into lemonade.
