This was a special episode for Kirsten as she got to talk to her book coach, Bob Welch. If you follow her book journey, she often mentions Bob, an amazing coach and partner who took everything that she threw at him and condensed it down and made each story stronger.

Bob and Kirsten were so excited to talk to each other that Bob jumped in before she even introduced him! It’s a true partnership.

As Kirsten states in the podcast, “you’re the poster child for exactly what I want to do, which is it's to be an athlete for life. The fact that you took Seven Summer (And a Few Bummers) to do the Pacific Coast Trail in your 60s, right?” Bob and Kirsten talk about how humility, perseverance and flexibility (hello Covid!) were the right combination to get Raising Empowered Athletes finished.

BOB WELCH is the author of more than two dozen books, including "The Wizard of Foz," Track & Field Writers of America's 2019 Book of the Year, and "American Nightingale," an Oregon Book Award finalist and featured on ABC's "Good Morning America."

As a columnist for "The Register-Guard" in Eugene, Oregon, Welch twice won the National Society of Newspaper Columnist's "Best Writing" award. He's also a winner of the Seattle Times C.B. Blethen Award for Distinguished Feature Writing.

Welch is a former adjunct professor at the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication, and founder of the Beachside Writers Workshop in Yachats, Oregon.

As a speaker, Welch has keynoted conferences across America. A storyteller by nature, Welch mines much of his speaking fodder from his books and the nearly 2,000 columns he wrote for The Register-Guard, Oregon’s second-largest newspaper.

Articles of Welch’s have been published in more than a dozen books, including seven in the popular “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series.

In addition, he has had articles published in such magazines as "Sports Illustrated," "Los Angeles Times," "Reader’s Digest," and "Runner’s World."

He and his wife, Sally, live in Eugene.

SHOW NOTES:

https://bobwelchwriter.substack.com/

bobwelch23@gmail.com

https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Summers-Few-Bummers-Welch/dp/B0CDK8SMHC

https://www.amazon.com/Raising-Empowered-Athletes-Parenting-Resilient/dp/1637272812