From Childhood Stutterer to Inspirational Thought Leader

The Courage to Shine is a powerful and inspirational memoir by Dr. Eileen Forrestal, a former anesthesiologist who transforms her life. From a lifetime of 'putting people to sleep', Eileen is now in the business of 'waking people up!

When young Eileen accidentally overdoses on junior aspirin she suffers a speech impediment which she deals with by remaining silent in the shadows to hide her voice. 40 years later, unfulfilled and dissatisfied, with a failed marriage, a strained relationship with her mother, and in an outwardly 'successful' career, she wonders as so many of us do, how did this happen to me? Following this wake-up call, she leaves her successful career in medicine and starts a business writing and publishing inspirational and popular Get Up and Go Diaries.

In The Courage to Shine Eileen retraces her journey, acknowledging the courage it takes to tell the truth about one's own life. She shares her story of finding her voice, healing a powerful mother-daughter relationship, and discovering the courage to shine.

Eileen is now a successful entrepreneur who finds joy and freedom in the healing power of words and encourages others to discover the same. She now lives a life "beyond her dreams" as an entrepreneurial thought leader, writer, speaker, and coach using her own words and wisdom, to share her story of finding her voice.

If you ever wonder if you're living the wrong life, as if somehow, when "two roads diverged in a yellow wood" - you took the wrong road and wound up here, The Courage to Shine will inspire and uplift you. You may find yourself asking, does taking the path less travelled path make all the difference, or perhaps, Is there any such thing as a wrong road?