Try a New Path: A Real-World Guide to Dismantling Comfort, Defying Fear, and Defining Your Future

Try a New Path is a nonfiction book about breaking free from the invisible traps of conformity, doubt, fear, and comfort to discover the life that’s truly yours. Through personal stories, cultural commentary, and psychological insights, it shows readers how to listen to their inner voice, even when the world is shouting over it.

My name is Shanelle Simmons, and I am the author of Try a New Path. I wrote this book because I know what it feels like to build a life that looks successful on paper but feels misaligned in the soul. After retiring from the Marine Corps, I had the freedom to choose any path—and yet I still felt trapped. This book is the result of years of personal reckoning, reinvention, and research into why we stay stuck and how we move forward.

My hope is that, in reading this book, you will discover that the life you want is already whispering to you—you just need to quiet the noise. In this book, I hope to instill in you the same sort of passion and excitement I’ve found in the journey toward authenticity, growth, and purpose. Ultimately, I want you to see this book as a tool to help you stop living on autopilot and start making bold, conscious choices.

In this book, you’ll learn about:

• How conformity can quietly shape your values, choices, and even your identity
• How doubt and fear show up in high achievers and what to do about it
• How comfort can become the final trap that keeps you from your fullest life
• The story of my baptism and early life in Vallejo, where I learned to seek approval instead of truth
• A moment of clarity at a veteran leadership conference, when I realized I had said yes to everything but myself
• How my brother Bakul’s bold, nonconforming life helped me question the boxes I didn’t know I was living in

Try a New Path is a nonfiction book that speaks to high achievers and everyday seekers who are confronting conformity, fear, and uncertainty for the first time—and want to grow beyond them.

The book is written in 3 Parts:

Part I: Shaped and Silenced
This section includes the introduction and early chapters exploring how we are conditioned by society to conform. It includes stories from my childhood, life in the Marine Corps, and cultural references that show how invisible rules govern our lives. You’ll read about the pine processionary caterpillars, my struggles with doubt as a commander, and the first time I realized I was living someone else’s dream.

Part II: Breaking the Traps
Chapters in this section focus on overcoming doubt, fear, and comfort. Readers will learn strategies for identifying internalized beliefs, managing fear through action, and embracing discomfort as a catalyst for growth. You’ll read about a woman named Tasha whose brilliance was hidden by doubt, a Marine officer who made me question my worth, and the moment I realized comfort was keeping me small.

Part III: Becoming and Growing
This final section covers the process of preparing for and committing to a new path. You’ll learn how to build confidence through preparation, how to fully commit by “burning the boats,” and how to grow beyond what you ever expected. I share how I rediscovered my joy in HR after years of running from it, and how growth isn’t a finish line—it’s a lifestyle.

You will love this book if you’ve ever felt like you were meant for more—but weren’t sure what that “more” was. If you’re standing at a crossroads, if you’ve ever looked around your life and wondered, “Is this it?”—this book is for you.

Where Does Your Support Go?

My publisher (Manuscripts Press) gave me a publishing team to help me produce and launch my book. I am working with…

• A revisions editor, copy editor, and proofreader this Spring to further hone my book (when you buy a ticket for my launch, you’ll get early excerpts and access to earlier versions of my manuscript!)
• A marketing specialist to coach and support me in marketing efforts, and help me reach new audiences
• A cover artist and layout editor will be designing my book. (The mockups you see currently are a placeholder!)

I am also offering some exclusive rewards for people who buy a ticket to my book launch:

• All tickets include either a physical copy (softcover, paperback) or digital copy (ebook) when I publish and a handwritten thank-you note.
• Your name will appear in the Acknowledgments section of my book (“with Special Thanks to”).
• You will be invited to join my Author Community and get behind-the-scenes sneak peeks into the publishing process.
• You will receive early access to the Introduction and some excerpts from my book, with the opportunity to review it and give me early feedback.
• You will have the opportunity to be involved in finalizing my cover and title.
• And more!

Other Ways You Can Support Me

Some people just can’t contribute, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help:

• Please share my pre-sale campaign on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn with your friends, family and network. Please use #Tryanewpath and tag me as well as my publisher, Manuscripts Press, so we can help amplify your efforts.
• Please recommend my book to five (5) friends, family members, or co-workers who you think would enjoy it via text or direct message on social media.

Thank you so much for all of your love and support!

Thanks again,

Shanelle Porter-Simmons

Author Bio

Shanelle Porter-Simmons is a retired United States Marine Corps officer, former professional athlete, and current Human Resources Business Partner in the construction industry. She is also an amateur half-marathon runner, SHRM-certified HR professional, and culinary school graduate. 

Shanelle’s journey has taken her from the track lanes of national championships to the boardrooms of the Marine Corps, and through a rich post-military life of reinvention. With a voice that is both vulnerable and commanding, she shares the internal battles behind the uniforms and accolades, and how she rebuilt a life rooted not in titles, but in truth.

She writes for anyone who’s ever checked all the boxes and still wondered, now what? Her writing is grounded in lived experience and fueled by a passion to help others find the courage to evolve beyond what they were taught to want.

Shanelle once joined a half-marathon on a dare and ran it like it was a 400-meter sprint—because pacing yourself is overrated when your playlist is fire.

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