LATEST BOOK
Every Shade of Love
You can live your life doing what's expected of you, or you can choose to follow your heart.
It is the summer of 1987 in Dublin. Though they haven't admitted it to themselves yet, friends Helena and Omar have more in common than they think. Both will be married within the year – Helena to her childhood sweetheart, Omar to the woman his Indian parents will choose for him.Will they marry the wrong person and live the lives ordained for them, or will they face down the truth and the prejudice about their love for each other, even as their families come to terms with the realities of half-lived lives?Or will they choose love over loyalty and freedom over duty, upending their families' world?
''A beautiful writer."
Ashley Audrain
Books
About
Bernadette Jiwa grew up in a house with no books but a home full of stories in Dublin, the storytelling capital of the world. These days, she and her family call Melbourne, Australia, home.She began her writing apprenticeship as a blogger and non-fiction writer in her forties. Within a few short years, she became a bestselling author and in demand story skills teacher.During the pandemic, Bernadette embraced the freedom of fiction and has published two novels,
The Making of Her and Every Shade of Love.
“Bernadette Jiwa writes with compassion and grace."
Pip Williams
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The Story Skills Workshop
A workshop designed to demystify the craft of the storytelling, and open the door for you to bring your work and your message to those who need it. The path to success is littered with great ideas that failed because they were poorly marketed. Too often our ideas fail because we haven’t told the right story in the right way.
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For fiction enquiries, contact Gráinne Fox~ at United Talent
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Bernadette Jiwa
Every Shade of Love
You can live your life doing what's expected of you, or you can choose to follow your heart.
It is the summer of 1987 in Dublin. Though they haven't admitted it to themselves yet, friends Helena and Omar have more in common than they think.Both will be married within the year – Helena to her childhood sweetheart, Omar to the woman his Indian parents will choose for him.Will they marry the wrong person and live the lives ordained for them, or will they face down the truth and the prejudice about their love for each other, even as their families come to terms with the realities of half-lived lives?Or will they choose love over loyalty and freedom over duty, upending their families' world?
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Reader Reviews
☆☆☆☆☆
'A beautifully written story full of love and compassion.'
☆☆☆☆☆
'Loved it from the first page to the very last.'
☆☆☆☆☆
'I had a very hard time putting it down once I started reading - I didn't want it to end.'
☆☆☆☆☆
'A gorgeous book, written with confidence and love. Unforgettable.
☆☆☆☆☆
'Beautiful story and characters you feel like you've known all your life.'
The Making of Her
A New York Post Best Book of The Year
Dublin 1966. When Joan Quinn, a factory girl from the Cranmore Estate, marries Martin Egan, it looks like her dreams have come true. But Joan lives in the shadow of a secret – the couple’s decision to give up their first daughter for adoption only months before.Then one day in 1996, a letter arrives from their eldest daughter. Emma needs her birth parents’ help; it’s a matter of life and death. And the fragile facade of Joan’s life finally begins to crack.Spanning the nineties and the sixties, with Dublin as its backdrop, The Making of Her is the tender and page-turning story of marriage, motherhood, a culture that would not allow a woman to find true happiness—and her journey to finally claim it.
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Praise
“Bernadette Jiwa’s powerful debut serves as a tribute to motherhood and the strength of women.”—Veranda
'Tightly crafted women's fiction, with a sensitive look at love, conscience, and loyalty.'—New York Journal of Books
'While the issue of accidental pregnancy might have seemed an old-fashioned problem just a year ago, it's suddenly deeply relevant again. Jiwa reminds us that no such decision can be made lightly, and whatever happens will follow the parents—but mostly the mother—for the rest of their life.'—The Star Tribune
'The Making of Her sucked me in from the very first page, and didn’t let up until I’d turned the last. Heartwarming and heartbreaking, it is an exquisite examination of the secrets that haunt us. I cried several times. A stunning debut.'—Sally Hepworth, New York Times bestselling author
'The Making of Her is a compelling and tender exploration of the unattainable expectations of women, the shame and guilt inherent in motherhood, and the reverberations of the hardest choices we make. Jiwa gives us a beautifully crafted, thought-provoking novel that ultimately celebrates the strength of women. A true pleasure to read.'—Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push
'Bernadette Jiwa’s moving fiction debut, The Making of Her, explores the impact of secrets, the magnitude of our choices, and the tenuous binds of family. Set in Dublin and shifting between past and present, this deeply evocative novel is a masterful study into what it really means to love, and to forgive. The Making of Her is ultimately a story about the plight and power of women, and is not to be missed.'—Karma Brown, bestselling author of Recipe for a Perfect Wife
'An absorbing, brilliantly paced book; I didn't want it to end.'—Roddy Doyle
'Oh how I love this novel! Once I started reading I never looked away, except when my eyes filled with tears. The Making of Her renders its characters so perfectly, and with so much compassion, they feel like dear friends after only a few chapters. Bernadette Jiwa has written a beautiful tribute to what our lives can become when shame is forgotten, and love is reclaimed.'—Nina de Gramont, author of The Christie Affair
'Bernadette Jiwa writes with compassion and grace about what it means to be a mother, a daughter, and a sister.'—Pip Williams, author of The Dictionary of Lost Words
The Making of Her
‘An absorbing, brilliantly paced book; I didn’t want it to end.’
— RODDY DOYLE
Dublin 1966. When Joan Quinn, a factory girl from the Cranmore Estate, marries Martin Egan, it looks like her dreams have come true. But Joan lives in the shadow of a secret – the couple’s decision to give up their first daughter for adoption only months before.Then one day in 1996, a letter arrives from their eldest daughter. Emma needs her birth parents’ help; it’s a matter of life and death. And the fragile facade of Joan’s life finally begins to crack.Spanning the nineties and the sixties, with Dublin as its backdrop, The Making of Her is the tender and page-turning story of marriage, motherhood, a culture that would not allow a woman to find true happiness—and her journey to finally claim it.
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Praise
'Bernadette Jiwa’s powerful debut serves as a tribute to motherhood and the strength of women.'—Veranda
'Tightly crafted women's fiction, with a sensitive look at love, conscience, and loyalty.'—New York Journal of Books
'The Making of Her sucked me in from the very first page, and didn’t let up until I’d turned the last. Heartwarming and heartbreaking, it is an exquisite examination of the secrets that haunt us. I cried several times. A stunning debut.'—Sally Hepworth
'The Making of Her is a compelling and tender exploration of the unattainable expectations of women, the shame and guilt inherent in motherhood, and the reverberations of the hardest choices we make. Jiwa gives us a beautifully crafted, thought-provoking novel that ultimately celebrates the strength of women. A true pleasure to read.'—Ashley Audrain
'An absorbing, brilliantly paced book; I didn't want it to end.'—Roddy Doyle
'Oh how I love this novel! Once I started reading I never looked away, except when my eyes filled with tears. Bernadette Jiwa has written a beautiful tribute to what our lives can become when shame is forgotten, and love is reclaimed.'—Nina de Gramont
'Bernadette Jiwa writes with compassion and grace about what it means to be a mother, a daughter, and a sister.'—Pip Williams
What Great Storytellers Know
'The first book you should read when you're ready to share an idea with the world.'
—SETH GODIN
We all have stories. Learn how to tell yours.We've always used stories to entertain, teach, and inspire. And despite what we’re often led to believe, storytelling is not an innate ability. It’s a skill anyone—from marketers and professional communicators to parents and teachers—can, and should, master.In What Great Storytellers Know, bestselling author and storytelling
teacher, Bernadette Jiwa takes you through the steps of finding and strengthening your storytelling muscles. Jiwa shares the seven skills to being a great storyteller, and shows you how to cultivate them to build trust and connection. You’ll discover how to become more fully present and in tune with the world around you; how to find the extraordinary in the everyday and the power in the particular; how to speak from the heart and express your truth; and how to recognise, and replicate, the patterns in strong stories to chart an emotional path for your audiences.You’ll also experience how the power of storytelling extends not just to the listener, but to the storyteller. As you find your voice, you’ll create the change you want to see—whether to inspire hope in the hearts of your team, to build trust with your customers, or to strengthen a relationship.
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Praise
'The first book you should read when you're ready to share an idea with the world.'—Seth Godin
'Just get this book. You will find inspiration and learn a lot from this book. It really is good. Amazing how detailed yet short it is.'Nikolay Kalamski
Marketing, A Love Story
Bernadette’s back, and just in time. This is her finest work, a book that ought to be read by everyone on your team, and somehow hidden from your competitors.
— SETH GODIN
October 2014One of the biggest challenges we face as entrepreneurs and innovators is understanding how to communicate the value or our products and services to people in the marketplace. Marketing has become a necessary evil for every business, but what if we adopted a different view of it?What if marketing was less about promotion or coercion and more about reaching out to people and helping them to solve problems?What if marketing was how we found more ways to do better work and to matter to our customers?What if marketing was where we began our journey towards understanding what people need and want?Featured by LinkedIn as one of the 20 books every marketer should read.
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Praise
'Each page was filled with wonderful advice for business success and even advice for life.'Mary B. Peterson
'This is the best handbook for anyone who understands they are not selling commodities, but rather stories.'Noam Shahaf
Story Driven
You don’t need to compete when you know who you are.
March 2018Every one of us—regardless of where we were born, how we were brought up, how many setbacks we’ve endured or privileges we’ve been afforded—has been conditioned to compete to win. Ironically, the people who create fulfilling lives and careers—the ones we respect, admire and try to emulate—choose an alternative path to success. They have a powerful sense of identity. They don’t worry about differentiating themselves from the competition or obsess about telling the right story. They tell the real story instead. Successful organisations and the people who create, build and lead them don’t feel the need to compete, because they know who they are and they’re not afraid to show us.How about you?What do you stand for?Where are you headed and why?What’s been the making of you?What will make your career or company great?You must be able to answer these questions if you want to build a great company, thriving entrepreneurial venture or fulfilling career. Whether you’re an individual or you’re representing an organisation or a movement, a city or a country, Story Driven gives you a framework to help you consistently articulate, live and lead with your story. This book is about how to stop competing and start succeeding by being who you are, so you can do work you’re proud of and create the future you want to see.
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Praise
'When you have something to say, you don't need to shout. Bernadette Jiwa helps us learn how to create the change we seek to make in the world.'Seth Godin
'This book is outstanding. I did a great deal of highlighting while reading this book and tweeting. Bernadette does an outstanding job of guiding us through how to differentiate ourselves, our brands, and our organizations by telling the right story.Byron L. Ernest
Difference
'An inspiring read and a truly powerful tool. Bernadette is a rare find – she doesn’t just know what she’s talking about, she’s not afraid to stand for why it matters.'
— JONATHAN RAYMOND
Marketing is not a department — it’s the story of how you create difference for your customers.Difference lifts the lid on how brands like Airbnb, Uber and Apple have succeeded by creating difference and gives you a new one-page method for reimagining your business and reinventing your marketing. Learn how to recognise opportunities that create value and to develop products and services that people love.The Difference MapDifference introduces the 'difference map', a one-page tool for reimagining your business and reinventing your marketing
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Praise
'Have you wondered about that 'certain something' that makes an extraordinary business? Bernadette's stylish little book is that 'certain something' explained.—Mark Schaeffer
'Bernadette is the Banksy of the marketing world.'—Merryn Padgett
Meaningful
'Bernadette’s unique views and teachings will give you the most important, empathetic tools to know the consumer and be successful.'
— ANTONIO ZEA, Under Armour
October 2015This book and the Story Strategy Blueprint are invaluable for anyone who wants to disrupt their industry and to know and genuinely matter to their customers.Our new digital landscape has spawned an entrepreneurial culture and the belief that anyone with a laptop and an Internet connection has the power to change the world—to create an idea that flies. But for every groundbreaking business that started this way, a thousand others have stalled or failed. Why? What’s the secret to success? What do Khan Academy, the GoPro camera, the Dyson vacuum cleaner and Kickstarter have in common?Every business that flies starts not with the best idea, the biggest budget or better marketing, but with the story of someone who wants to do something—and can’t.We don’t change the world by starting with our brilliant ideas, our dreams; we change the world by helping others to live their dreams. The story of ideas that fly is the story of the people who embrace them, love them, adopt them, care about them and share them. Successful ideas are the ones that become meaningful to others—helping them to see what’s possible for them.Our ideas fly when we show others their wings.The Story Strategy BlueprintMeaningful introduces The Story Strategy Blueprint, a simple framework for you and your team to follow when developing or marketing a new product or service.
DOWNLOAD THE STORY STRATEGY BLUEPRINT
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Praise
Listed as one of Inc Magazine's Top Business Books of 2015.''Empathy, relevance, and affinity—three great concepts to help you make a dent in the universe. Jiwa explains a whole new way to innovate and change the world.'—Guy Kawasaki
'As marketers our future value and success relies on using our customers as our compass. Through inspiring case studies, learn about the Innovation Trifecta and how affinity that is earned, rather than attention that is bought can power your business growth. Bernadette digs deep to explain why brands that give a damn make a difference and win in terms of profits, people and the planet.'—Lee Tonitto, CEO, Australian Marketing Institute
'This book and the Story Strategy Blueprint are invaluable for anyone who wants to disrupt their industry and to know and genuinely matter to their customers. Bernadette's unique views and teachings will give you the most important, empathetic tools to know the consumer and be successful.'—Antonio Zea, Global Director, Football Footwear, Under Armour
'A must read for any entrepreneur or marketer. It’s full of lots of “aha” moments with a concrete tool that you can implement immediately. This book should be added to every marketer’s toolkit!'—Diane Diaz, Instructor Digital Storytelling & Branding, Full Sail University
Hunch
In a world where the smallest insight can spark a breakthrough idea, intuition is more valuable than ever.
JUNE 2017Longlisted for the
2017 800-CEO-READ Business Book AwardsWhat do the Dyson vacuum cleaner, Starbucks, Instagram, GoPro, Facebook, and Lululemon yoga pants have in common? Every one of them was the result not of data-driven analytics or corporate brainstorming sessions, but a hunch—the intuitive understanding of a deep, unmet need. Anxiety over "being more innovative" leads entrepreneurs to create solutions in search of problems. But what if you could use your intuition to identify an existing problem that's begging for a solution?International bestselling author and business advisor Bernadette Jiwa shows how anyone can uncover the kind of insights that become breakthrough ideas. Combining hands-on exercises with inspiring stories of the killer hunches that brought us ideas like those that launched the beloved Spanx and Goldieblox brands, Hunch is a guide to cultivating your intuitive powers, and a roadmap to getting from insights to ideas that fly, examining the less talked about and often unexplored intangibles of innovation—empathy, creativity, trust and uncertainty.Every breakthrough idea starts not with knowing for sure, but by understanding why it's safe to try. Intuition alone doesn't tell you exactly where "x" marks the spot, but it can give powerful clues as to where you might begin to dig. This is the book you need if you're ready to begin finding them.
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Praise
This brilliant little book is sure to inspire the next new meaningful product or company.'-Ivy Ross, VP design at Google
'At the heart of every great business is a leader with a curious mind, heart, and spirit. Hunch helps you to tap into those often overlooked yet valuable qualities that will unlock your boldest ideas.'—Chip Conley, strategic adviser at Airbnb
“This book provides much needed jet fuel for any leader of creative people. Bernadette Jiwa reminds us that if we want to leap, we must use our higher human capabilities and not delegate our intelligence to data and tech.”—Chris Bruzzo, chief marketing officer at Electronic Arts (EA)
'Hunch arms you with powerful tools you won’t find in a traditional business book. Read it and realize the potential we all have to be creative.'—Antonio Zea, Senior director at Under Armour
“While data-driven decision making is a useful business capability, Bernadette Jiwa reminds us that gut and instinct still reign supreme. Hunch goes further, showing you in practical ways how to cultivate this important skill.”—Steve Clayton, Chief storyteller at Microsoft
“Your next great insight is right under your nose, and you’re probably missing it. Bernadette Jiwa expertly shows you how to connect the dots in your world to transform everyday hunches into impactful work.”—Todd Henry, author of The Accidental Creative
Make Your Idea Matter
'A little book with a very big message.
Your idea is worth a great story, well told.'
—SETH GODIN
October 2012The path to success is littered with great ideas poorly marketed. Don’t let yours be one of them.Make Your Idea Matter is a call to action for entrepreneurs, emerging brands & anyone with a great idea, who knows that to stand out in today’s noisy world they need to tell a better stor
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Praise
'Every story you tell is a choice, and the choices you make matter. For best results make the choice to read this book.'Chris Guillebeau
'Make Your Idea Matter' is a book that's easy to get into and hard to escape. Full of valuable, original, engaging content.
Bernadette Jiwa has been likened to 'a female Seth Godin' and I have to agree.'Robert Gerrish— Director of Flying Solo
'The most brilliant people I have known have the rare ability to distill complexity to an essence. This is what Bernadette Jiwa does for entrepreneurs in Make Your Idea Matter.'Mark Schaefer
'If I discover one useful insight in a business book, I consider the time well spent. This surprising little book delivers them in spades!'Tom Asacker
'Now is your time to make a difference, your time to be the best at what you love doing, your time to use your skills to enrich not only your own life, but the lives of each and every individual you do business with. It doesn't matter if your idea has been done before, because as Bernadette rightly points out, it hasn't been done by you.David Airey — Author of Logo Design Love
The Right Story
What makes some bad ideas successful, and why do many good ideas fail?
January 2019It turns out there is no such thing as a bad idea or a good idea. There is only the wrong story or the right story. The right story is one that is trusted. It is believed because it is told by the right person, for the right reasons, in the right way, at the right time, to the right people. The success or failure of our ideas depends on us telling the right story. We can only do that by being clear about the change we want to create, and why—and then bringing enough of the right people with us on the journey. It’s up to us, the changemakers of today and tomorrow, to galvanise those people we hope to bring on the journey with us.That’s what this book is about. It’s not just about helping you to change someone’s mind. It’s about how you can get better at articulating the change you want to create and understanding the people you want to influence, inspire or impact—so you can build upon what they already believe and ultimately shape the future you and they want to see.
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Praise
' Memorable stories about stories, practical, hard-won insights about how people change and why. Short and powerful.'Seth Godin
'With the right amount of brevity and depth, Jiwa provides a closer look at the art of storytelling with a broad perspective of the effects it can have and why it matters. For those of us with a message to share, this short read pacts a powerful punch.'Karie L. Alton
The Fortune Cookie Principle
This should be the next book you read. Urgent, leveraged and useful, it will change your business like nothing else.
— SETH GODIN
June 2013It’s not how good you are. It’s how well you tell your story.The most successful brands in the world don’t behave like commodities and neither should you. A great brand story will make you stand out, increase brand awareness, create customer loyalty and power profits. Isn’t it time you gave your customers a story to tell? The Fortune Cookie Principle will show you how.
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Praise
'It's so easy to overcomplicate what great brands and new businesses need to do to resonate with their consumers. The simple questions asked in this book help you to de-mystify that process. It encourages you to think beyond what you do to why you do it and why that matters to your customers. Had this been available when I was driving Sales and Marketing Capabilities in my past corporate life at Cadbury Schweppes, this would have been recommended reading. Now I'm an entrepreneur I simply apply these principles each and every day."Wendy Wilson Bett—Co-Founder Peter's Yard
'The wisdom in this book is better than any fortune. Read and apply!'Chris Guillebeau
'This book is an inspiration. Bernadette ignites real-world experience with a true passion for helping businesses move to the next level.'Mark Schaefer
'Full of inspiring stories about what makes businesses unique (and successful) in today's supersaturated markets.'David Airey—Author Work For Money, Design For Love
A Compass for the Heart
Let your stories guide you. This journal is inspired by bestselling author, Bernadette Jiwa's work with thousands of Story Skills Workshop students.
A Compass For The Heart is a 90-day guided journal for self-reflection that helps you to record the everyday stories and life lessons that will guide your decisions in good times and bad.Long before we know how to tell stories, we understand that they are our teachers. We are transported to worlds where heroes and heroines find themselves in circumstances, faced with choices, that cause them to change.By listening to stories, we learn ways that we too might be braver, more courageous, and true to ourselves.Every day we have the opportunity to use yesterday's stories as wise counsel for tomorrow.Inside, you will find a framework and templates for daily reflection that help you to easily capture your wisest, strongest self to store away for a time when you need it the most.
