2026 Is Your Year to Write a Book Start Here

If you’ve been telling yourself “one day I’ll write it” while carrying everyone else’s weight… this is your sign.

In 2019 I wrote a book largely by accident. I wasn’t “ready.” I wasn’t confident. I wasn’t some disciplined writer with a perfect morning routine and a color coded calendar. I was a former army medic and paramedic who’d seen too much, felt too much, and was trying to make sense of life after rock bottom.

And that’s exactly why I’m saying this out loud now.

2026 is your year to write your book. Start here.

This episode is for the women in their 30s to 50s who are tired in their bones but still alive inside. First responders. Veterans. Trauma literate readers. Creative types. Mental health advocates. The ones who keep showing up for everyone else… while quietly wondering if their own story matters.

In this talking head episode I walk you through:

How I started writing my first book even when my life was messy

How to begin writing a book when you’re burnt out, overwhelmed, or scared

The simplest way to turn your lived experience into a book idea

Practical tips for building a writing habit that actually works for real people

How to stop waiting for permission and start writing your memoir or book now

No fluff. No guru nonsense. Just honest guidance with dark humour and a writer’s eye for the details that actually make a story land.

If you’ve been carrying trauma, recovery, addiction, grief, service, motherhood, burnout, or just the quiet weight of “I’ve lived a lot”… this is for you. You don’t need to be healed to write. You just need a place to start.

Hit play. Then write one page.

If you want, drop a comment with what you’re trying to write:
memoir, fiction, poetry, trauma recovery, mental health, first responder stories, or something you can’t name yet. I read them.

#WriteABook #MemoirWriting #WritingTips #AspiringAuthor #MentalHealth #TraumaRecovery #FirstResponderLife #VeteranStories #AddictionRecovery #UnwrittenChapters

I’m Matthew Heneghan – former army medic, ex-paramedic, recovering alcoholic, and author trying to make sense of life after trauma.

On this channel you’ll find a mix of raw solo episodes and unfiltered reaction videos where I talk honestly about:

PTSD, trauma, therapy, and addiction recovery

Life after rock bottom: relationships, grief, fatherhood, and trying to build something better

Pop culture, internet drama, and politics seen through the eyes of a veteran medic who’s been in real chaos, not just online arguments

My ongoing journey as a writer and creator – books, essays, and the stories that didn’t make it to the page

This isn’t a polished “self-help” channel. It’s dark humour, blunt honesty, and real mental health talk for people who are empathetic but exhausted – nurses, medics, veterans, partners of first responders, folks in or around recovery, and anyone who’s trauma-literate and allergic to bullshit.

If you’re searching for:

“mental health podcast,” “PTSD stories,” “addiction and recovery,” “veteran and first responder mental health,” “reaction videos with real life experience,” “solo commentary podcast,” “trauma recovery and dark humour”

…you’re in the right place.

New videos weekly.

Subscribe if you want company in the chaos, not clichés about “positive vibes only.”

📚 My Books

A Medic’s Mind
– Memoir of military medic → paramedic, trauma, loss and reinvention.
Amazon: https://a.co/d/fbYbp7x

Trauma and Tea: Essays on Trauma, Recovery and Growing Up the Hard Way
– A collection of raw essays about hitting rock bottom, healing and telling the truth.
Amazon: https://a.co/d/9GnaoDV

🌐 Visit my website for more: www.authormheneghan.com

Author Matthew Heneghan

🎙️ Host of the podcast Unwritten Chapters – Life After Trauma (for veterans, first responders, survivors of addiction and anyone rewriting the next chapter).

Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5hmuMof...


LINKS & RESOURCES
– Buy my books: authormheneghan.com/buy-the-book

Author Matthew Heneghan

– Follow on IG / Twitter / Facebook – @matthewhenehgan_author
– Drop a comment, hit Subscribe, ring the 🔔 — let’s build a community of truth-telllers, healers and story-keepers.

WHAT YOU’LL FIND ON THIS CHANNEL
– Solo storytime episodes about PTSD, therapy, addiction recovery, relationships, family, and life after rock bottom
– Unfiltered reaction videos to pop culture, internet drama, and politics through the eyes of a former army medic and paramedic
– Honest conversations about mental health, trauma, grief, and trying to stay human in a burned-out world (with plenty of dark humour)
– Updates on my books, podcast, and creative projects, plus real talk about writing and living your own next chapter

Thanks for being here. Whether you’ve worn a uniform, watched someone struggle, or are simply trying to make peace with your past — you’re not alone. Let’s walk it out together.