Hi Kingsley, welcome to the blog. To begin please tell us: What inspired you to write PROJECT PERSONAL FREEDOM?

The inspiration for Project Personal Freedom spans a lifetime. From my upbringing, to my own healing journey, to the powerful and privileged experience of walking alongside others on their own personal journeys, these influences have shaped in me over time a deep appreciation for human potential, for people’s profound capacity to change, and for the transformational power of personal freedom, especially for those who have previously felt anything but free.

Over the years and across populations I’ve served—from addicts, codependents, and families in crisis, to the incarcerated, victims of natural disasters, and patients with terminal illnesses—I have found there to be one prevailing objective among an extremely diverse client base. It’s the attainment of this thing I call personal freedom.

(CC) Gallup

Personal freedom, as I see it, is an overall liberated life experience. It’s a state of being in which one is self-determined and self-directed. It’s the ability to choose, to explore, to dream, to self-define, to be who one authentically is and to be unapologetic about it. It’s a state of mind. It’s a way of life.

Project Personal Freedom is born of the same motivation that inspired my grandfather George H. Gallup to create the American Institute of Public Opinion (which would become The Gallup Poll) over seventy-five years ago. Teddy, as he was affectionately known to us, was a true pioneer. Fiercely curious, with a heart for social service, he dedicated himself to creating avenues for hearing from the American people. This passion found its way into all he did.

All of this began with a simple philosophy, a heartfelt passion, and a deep hunger to know. I believe effective counselors are similarly motivated. We meet people where they are. We listen to their stories and hear their needs. We walk alongside them from that place.

Throughout his career, Teddy remained steadfastly committed to learning and reporting "the will of the people”. This is my intention as well—to give back to my readers what I have learned is important to them—and in so doing, to meet them precisely where they are.

What is the message you want readers to take away from your book?

I want readers to rediscover and reclaim what is rightfully theirs (and has been all along)—namely, the freedom to be who they authentically are, to truly ‘own’ their inherent worth and value, and to claim sovereignty over themselves. I want readers to take charge of their present and future. I want them to get excited about doing so. As they make their way through the book, I want readers to become progressively committed to breaking out and breaking free, to freeing themselves from anything and everything that constricts and constrains, and to getting feisty about leading more self-determined and overall liberated lives.

Why do you believe personal freedom is so important in helping people lead happy lives?

As I see it, we live highly adapted lives. We conform. We please. We shape-shift. We ‘adapt’ to so many influences outside ourselves. In this adaptation process, we disconnect from our authenticity. We disconnect from our core. We find ourselves living lives that don’t even feel like our own—and we are not sure how it happened. Truth is, we knew no other way. We have been inadvertently squandering our talents, our passions, and our life-force.

Personal freedom is about claiming these. It’s about going within, connecting with true self, and living from that place at long last. It’s about living fully and making the most of this life. It’s about being the best possible stewards of all that we are and all that we have been given.

What are you working on now?

Project Personal Freedom Volume II! I’m also working on a book about overcoming shame, one about healing grief with gratitude, and a book on the power of a teachable spirit.

Kingsley Gallup, MA, LPC, NCC, DCC is a Licensed Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor, Distance Credentialed Counselor, and Certified Mediator. Her practice, The Gallup Institute for Personal Freedom, aims to promote personal freedom through counseling, education, and advocacy, as well as equip clients with positively-framed tools for personal advancement.

Micro-Description (or: Don’t Bore the Reader!)
By James McGovern -2014

Runcie and I climbed slowly closer towards the sharp edge of the cliff. The sharp stones were hard beneath our feet and with each step I could feel the jagged edges ripping through my cheap sandals. We walked and walked until we came to the chasm. The space stretched down beneath us, and the overflowing river flowed past many feet below, filled with angular rocks. There was only one way across. My heart was beating heavily in my chest. Thump! Thump! Thump! I looked at Runcie; sweat was dripping down his thick brow into his eyes. He always said he was fearless, but I knew that he wasn’t. I looked down again at the gulf, and shuddered.

The above paragraph is a slightly exaggerated example of the writing that I dislike. I mean, what’s really happening? The two characters have walked towards the edge of a cliff, and looked down. Why does the writer (me, in this case) need over 100 words to tell us this? Such writing surely insults the intelligence of the reader.

I call this kind of writing micro-description—that is, breaking events in a story down to a micro-level. Often, such writing is extremely boring. Of course, all writers have their own style, and my style happens to rather concise. Many other writers enjoy creating more ‘flowery’ prose, and do it very well. However, many others write micro-description in an attempt to add colour—or disguise a thin plot—and end up making their writing exhausting. If I were to include the above scene in one of my books, I would most likely write something like:

Runcie and I climbed over the sharp stones towards the edge of the cliff. It was a sheer drop; the dark water, broken by rocks, flowed past far beneath us. Even the ‘fearless’ Runcie was sweating. I shuddered.

Many modern writers have a habit of micro-describing. A good antidote for writers in this habit is Voltaire’s Candide. In less than 100 pages, the eponymous protagonist is expelled from a Baron’s castle, captured by the Bulgars, caught in a storm, caught in an earthquake, flogged… he meets a Hebrew, meets Jesuits, kills his lover’s brother, visits Eldorado, visits France, visits England, visits Venice, visits Constantinople… Voltaire ends with a deeply philosophical conclusion that ties the story together and makes the reader think. Even in translation, Voltaire’s prose is fresh, crisp and concise—most importantly, it never bores the reader!

My own novel, Martin King and the Space Angels, is very concisely-written—even to the point of shocking the occasional reader. Some people have expressed irritation at my supposed ‘sparseness’. Others have praised my concision. However, there is one criticism that is virtually impossible to level at my work—that of boring the reader. I sincerely hope that nobody will ever be bored by my work. And if you do ever decide to micro-describe, please have a good reason for it!

James McGovern is an author and poet. Born in Derbyshire and educated at Landau Forte College.


Martin King and the Space Angels, the first book in the Martin King series, is available on Amazon.

The Hurricane Sisters by Dorothea Frank

Moments of Pause