From Burnout to Bestseller: How I Turned My Life Into a Book (And You Can Too)

Orlando Rivera
Nov 5
2 min read

I didn’t grow up dreaming of writing a book.

I grew up surviving.

I learned English at 18, became a paramedic out of necessity, not ambition, and then worked every shift, every trauma, and every hallway handoff that healthcare could throw at me. I didn’t have time to dream, I was charting through chaos, leading teams, and holding the line.

But here’s what they don’t tell you: The stories you’re living now are the ones the world needs to hear later.

I didn’t know that one day, those late-night shifts, those near-death saves, the moral injuries, the moments no one clapped for would become chapters in a bestselling book. Not a viral TikTok. Not a motivational speech. A book. A 200+ page reclamation of what we go through and what we carry.

And I self-published it. No fancy agent. No publisher. No “connections.” Just truth, trauma, and a Word doc I kept rewriting between calls.

I turned my backstory into You Can’t Chart Gut Instinct and it hit #1 in EMS categories the week it launched.

Then I did it again with You Can’t Chart Moral Injury.

Another bestseller.

Another inbox full of messages from nurses, medics, and strangers who said, “I didn’t know anyone else felt this way.”

That’s the power of telling your story.

Not just for ego. Not for likes.

But to give language to the things others don’t know how to say.

But let’s be clear: This wasn’t luck.

It was a system. A strategy. A decision.

To stop letting my story die in DMs and hallway rants…and start putting it where it could outlive me.

So here’s what I’ve learned and what you need to know if you’re even thinking of writing your own book:

1. You don’t need a publisher.

Amazon KDP is the great equalizer. You can be global by tomorrow.

2. You don’t need perfect grammar.

You need truth. Real truth. The kind that makes people uncomfortable in a good way.

3. You don’t need thousands of followers.

You need the right message for the right reader and a launch plan that hits like a defibrillator.

4. You do need help.

A blueprint. A coach. A checklist. A ghostwriter. Someone to keep you moving.

5. You already have the story.

You just haven’t written it yet.

So… why not you?

Why not turn the shift that broke you into a chapter that saves someone else?

Why not turn the rant into a movement?

Why not stop scrolling and start storytelling?

You don’t need to be famous.

You just need to be undeniably you.

Ready to start?

At Beyond The Chart Publishing, I help nurses, medics, and people like you become published authors with a real plan to hit bestseller, not just dream about it.

Want to talk through your book idea?

Or explore our step-by-step author services?

Go to the Home Page and complete the form today!

Because your story deserves more than a footnote.

It deserves a spine, a cover, a reader crying in the dark thinking: “This book gets me.”