By By SPIROS GALLOS / Niles Daily Star
NILES - There aren't a lot of people who take the path Michelle Carpenter took to getting her first book published.
The 35-year-old Three Oaks resident has overcome personal tragedy and mental illness to pen three very different books all in the span of about a month.
The three books Carpenter has published include, "No Fear Here," a children's book of scary stories, "Looking Within: A Book of Poems by Michelle Carpenter," a collection of poems, and "Breaking Free: Taking the Fat Off Me," a diet book chronicling Carpetenter's 80 pound weight loss which offers tips she used to lose weight.
Carpenter will be signing books at book stores all around Berrien County during the first week of November.
She'll be at the Andrews University Book Store in Berrien Springs Thursday, Nov. 4, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., New Buffalo Pharmacy in New Buffalo Saturday, Nov. 6, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., the Lake Michigan College Book Store in St. Joseph Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
All three books will be available for sale at the signings and Carpenter will also have a review of her upcoming autobiography.
Her books will also be available for purchase online at www.michellecarpentersurvivoroflife.com, and at stores such as Cannon Video in Three Oaks, Bookwarm in Plymouth, Ind., the Book House in South Haven and the Andrews University and Lake Michigan College book stores.
Carpenter began her road to recovery through writing almost a year ago when she had what she called, a life changing experience.
At that moment in her life, Carpenter had a vision, which she can only describe as a miracle from God, that turned her life around.
After her vision, Carpenter began working out and dieting. During that time, Carpenter began writing poems which would become the basis for her book of poetry, "Looking Within."
Carpenter had been writing since the age of six, but most of her notebooks were lost or destroyed in abusive relationships, she said.
About a month ago, when she was visiting her fiancee, Bill Meloni, in Boston, Carpenter shared some of her poems with him and he suggested she get them published.
Two days after her vision, Carpenter had the poetry book written and ready to edit.
To publish her books, Carpenter went the direct route. Rather than shopping her books to publishing houses, Carpenter went to lulu.com, a website which offers direct publishing to members. A membership to the website is absolutely free. The writer needs to pay the printing costs of the books.
Carpenter e-mails all her books to Meloni for him to proofread before she sends them in for publishing. She said he's currently taking a proofreading class to better assist her with her writing.
While talking about her diet book, Carpenter wanted to stress that she is not a doctor and her diet is not approved by a doctor.
Carpenter's fourth book, an autobiography titled, "Saving the Little Girl Within," is currently being proofread, and now she is working on her fifth book, "Izzy Kittie and the Magic Within."
A dollar from the sale of every copy of "Izzy Kittie" will be donated to the Animal Lovers group in Three Oaks. The group helps get cats and dogs spayed and neutered.
Carpenter's autobiography takes readers through her experiences as a child, which Carpenter said included sexual molestation, and her battle with bi-polar and borderline personality disorders.
The book recounts her realization of her mental illness and the steps she took to turn her life around through medical help, exercise and prayer.
To help pay for the printing costs of her books, Carpenter runs an internet store, www.bargainbuys.com, which offers name-brand products at near wholesale prices.
Carpenter lives in Three Oaks with her parents, Bob and Carol Carpenter. She has two sons, Trent, 14, and Danny, 12, who live with Michelle's ex-husband, Brent Rainwater, in New Buffalo.
Carpenter said Rainwater played a big role in her recovery when she was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. She said he's a wonderful ex-husband because he's raising their children in a good environment.
Her parents have been her support staff through everything, Carpenter said.
Looking back, Carpenter said she can't imagine doing anything else with her life.