An Interview with Emily Colwell

Dr. Emily Colwell is a licensed and board-certified naturopathic doctor and therapist whose extensive career spans three decades. She earned a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of Social Work and a doctorate in naturopathic medicine from Bastyr University. Emily’s personal encounters with anxiety, childhood trauma, family addiction, chronic illness, shifting sexual orientation, and cancer have been her teachers, showing her the capacity for healing, regardless of the circumstances. Learn more at www.dremilycolwell.com.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Gosh, it took a long time to land on my title! Initially, my working title was Coming Home: It’s Time to Discover How Right You Are in a World That Makes You Feel So Wrong. When I searched for books with that title, I only found one other. Then the pandemic happened, and suddenly there were a billion books with this title! Although I was initially frustrated by this, I came to recognize that I was being guided to a new title that was more compelling and better fit my book. I played around with many titles, polled close friends, and eventually landed on What If You’re Right? Now I can’t even imagine my book having the title Coming Home!

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

I’m so grateful Ronaldo Alves and his team led my book cover design process. I definitely put them through the wringer because I knew what I wanted to feel in my gut when we landed on the right cover, but it took a long time to get there. Ronaldo was patient, kind, and supportive throughout. We both celebrated when the final cover showed itself! And I definitely experienced butterflies in my gut when my eyes landed on the final design.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I’ve wanted to write books for twenty-five years, but it wasn’t until I went through a profound experience with thyroid cancer that the focus of my book became more clear to me.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I am both a therapist and a naturopathic doctor, and I integrate these two disciplines in my work with patients. In What If You’re Right?, I explore the deep connection between emotional and physical health, offering insights and tools to help readers nurture both aspects of their well-being.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

I am passionate about teaching my patients tools that empower them in both their physical and emotional health, helping them uncover the wisdom they’ve always possessed. Publishing my book has enabled me to share these transformative tools with a much wider audience, bringing me a sense of fulfillment beyond what I had ever imagined!

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

My biggest hope is that readers will discover how right they’ve always been in a world that makes them feel so wrong.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.