TEMPORARY BEAUTY: A Memoir about Panic Disorder and Finding Purpose through Art & Meditation

I can’t believe the day has finally arrived! My book, Temporary Beauty, is officially available on Amazon. This book has been a long time coming and I’m so ready for the world to read it.

You can watch my YouTube video discussing my book release here!

I honestly can’t believe I got up to the courage to actually share this book. It’s essentially all of my deepest, darkest secrets tied up in a nice little bow. There have been moments where my stomach has dropped, knowing that people might read these stories. But I keep reminding myself that if I’m nervous, then I’m doing something right. I’m pushing myself out of my comfort zone and testing my limits. I’m living my life to the fullest. When I was growing up and going through the dark moments of my mental health journey, I was constantly searching for books that would validate my thoughts and feelings so I could feel less alone. I loved angsty coming-of age novels and books like It’s Kind of a Funny Story and The Bell Jar. I like to think that I would have loved stumbling across Temporary Beauty during that time. In my more adult years, I fell in love with books like The Collected Schizophrenias, Educated and World of Wonders - creative memoirs and honest accounts of personal struggle. While I’ve never really been the kind of artist to be majorly creatively influenced by the work of others, I do think Temporary Beauty falls somewhere in the vein of these books. I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drum, which lends to a lot of loneliness and insecurity, but I think has also allowed me a lot of room to grow as an artist. Ultimately though, if I’m able to help even just one person to feel some comaraderie with this book, then it was all worth it. We’re all just searching for community and understanding, especially as we’re navigating difficult times.

Temporary Beauty is a collection of memories, poetic ponderings, travel adventures, journal entries, nightmares, and love stories, following Myles through her picturesque childhood in the Blue Ridge Mountains and on to her adventure-filled twenties as a photographer in the Pacific Northwest, discovering herself as an artist. After her diagnosis of panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder in high school, she spent her college years struggling to find her footing, finding solace in art, meditation, and travel. Temporary Beauty is a reflection of what it means to be a career-driven woman in modern society, an honest and unapologetic account of the darkness that mental illness can bring, and a conscious reminder of the fragility and beauty of human existence.

"And regardless of my mental illness, deep down I do believe that the day will come where I can walk through the woods, alone, and feel not an ounce of sadness or crippling fear. The grass will be filled with neon-green four-leaf clovers, and delicate pink blossoms will hang silently from the perfectly silhouetted fog-lined trees. I will smile to myself about all that I’ve accomplished. I’ll be proud of myself for defeating my unhinged mind. But that would mean that I’d have to have won the ultimate battle. The one between me and my anxiety. The one battle that never seems to end." — From Temporary Beauty

If this book sounds like something you could relate to, I’d love for you to read it.

And if you feel inclined, please leave a review on my Amazon page when you finish reading it! It will help others to be able to find my book too! And make sure to follow my author page on Amazon for future releases.

Purchase Temporary Beauty!

Thank you all for your support as I’ve been navigating this journey of becoming an author!

- Myles Katherine

Temporary Beauty:

A Memoir about Panic Disorder and Finding Purpose through Art and Meditation

Book Release on April 14, 2024!

If you follow me on any social media, you know that I’m planning to release my first book soon! I’ve spent the last 4 years working tirelessly to make it absolutely perfect before it’s debut into the world. Temporary Beauty is a memoir about my personal experience with Panic Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, alongside my journey with art and spirituality. While my idea for the book technically began in 2008, it wasn’t until 2020 that I truly sat down and began forming it into a reality. Back in 2008. it was all too fresh and overwhelming - I wasn’t ready to share my experience with the world yet. But during the pandemic, I found myself with time to spare and I knew that if I didn’t sit down and write it then, I never would. I ended up taking an online writing workshop with my friend, Renee (she runs a small business called Write for Joy), and she helped me to structure my days and actually get the words onto the page. By the end of the workshop, I’d written over 160,000 words for my book. However, I quickly learned that it was just too long for the standard book-making industry. I forced myself to scale back, focus on the message and eliminate unnecessary length. The book is now right around 90,000 words and is all the better for it. I’ve learned so much while working on this project. The world of writing is entirely different than anything I’ve ever experienced and I truly respect anyone who has taken the time and energy to full understand the industry. The main takeaway for me was this:

If I wanted full creative control over my book, I’d have to self-publish it.

As a photographer and artist, the idea of someone else telling me what my cover should look like made me crazy. Not to mention, the editing that would go along with it. I wanted my message to be fully mine.

I honestly couldn’t be more proud of myself for how hard I’ve worked on this. I’ve poured every last bit of my heart and soul into it. I’ve never spent this much time or creative energy on a project in my life. Temporary Beauty represents everything about me that I’ve always been too afraid to share. It’s essentially all of my deepest, darkest secrets wrapped up in a nice little bow. I’m extremely nervous about it, if we’re being real! But I know that this book has a much larger message than just me. It’s about the reality of dealing with a mental health disorder. It’s about the expectations of society on women and artists. It’s about finding your own spiritual path. It’s about pushing yourself to your ultimate limit. It’s about being brutally honest, even when it hurts. It’s about family, love and human existence.

I hope that you’ll consider reading it.

I’ll be sure to make a blog post about it once it’s officially available for purchase on April 14th!

See you then.

<3 Myles Katherine