Sublimity resident Janine Moothart is a key contributor to a new book by former Stayton businesswoman Bonnie Stephenson Milletto.
The book, called Dedicated to the Cup, Nine Ways to Reinvent a Life!, is a collection of short stories meant to inspire, encourage and motivate people through the events that have shaped their lives.
Milletto is an international business and motivational speaker. The marketing and development director for Regis High School and St. Mary Catholic School, Moothart shares her story about encouragement.
Moothart contributed the story Bruised Knees and Encouragement. She spent more than 30 years of her career in the public school system as a high school teacher, college career and work experience counselor, and community college administrator for the Chemeketa Santiam Campus in Sublimity.
“Look up the word ‘encouragement’ and you will find the name ‘Janine Moothart,’ along with the words ‘help, support, cheer, comfort, hope, inspiration and trust,” Milletto said. “Janine lifts people up, makes them feel special and adds value in the lives of all who know her.”
Bonnie Stephenson Milletto
Copies are available at bonniemilletto.com/book
or through www.coffeebusiness.com/book
or Amazon.com for Kindle
Milletto wanted the book to feel as if the reader is sitting across from the person telling their story and sharing a cup of coffee.
“Life is like a good cup of coffee, full of flavor and meant to savor,” Milletto said.
Each chapter addresses a different theme, including courage, confidence, perfection and gratitude, and features “sips” from the cups of 16 different people she has met along her journey, as well as her own story.
“These stories are from people in my life that are mentors, coaches, supporters – people who have said, ‘Go for it, Bonnie, I believe in you,’” Milletto said. “My hope is that in presenting other people’s lives and prevailing spirits, I will challenge the reader to get off the couch and get into life—to fill their cup with everything that is beautiful.”
“The great thing about this book is that you can read a story or two while you drink your coffee and be done for a while,” she said. “It enhances the coffee experience not only visually, but reminds us to use the cup as a metaphor for life.”
Milletto describes herself as being an inspiration, a light, easily connecting with others in her travels and speaking engagements. For her, encapsulating that energy and putting it onto the page was a natural next step.
“Writing a book really has been something at the back of my mind for well over a decade,” she said. “But I wanted to write the book for myself. Some days I’m so excited I can’t stand it.”
And Milletto has good reason to be excited: Her printer, Your Town Press of Salem chose Dedicated to the Cup out of thousands of books they printed to showcase at the Book Expo of America in New York City.
“This book is an adventure, and I am inviting everyone to come along,” Milletto said. “The stories will take you up and down and many will leave you with thoughts of what’s next. I’m not challenging you but I’m inviting you along for the ride.”
