By Warwick Dunnett   ¡ 5 min read  ¡ June 6, 2026
Whatâs your greatest achievement?
This weekâs newsletter isnât going to be an extract from âDance with Angelsâ. It will be a reflection on the journey and the achievement of writing it, and a big question for the readers of this blog. What is your greatest achievement?Â
 We all have accomplishments in our lives - have you taken the time to celebrate and recognize yours? They may be a series of smaller victories or acts of kindness, or may be one single, greatest achievement! But often we overlook their importance and forget to congratulate ourselves for them.
As you may already know, I lost my twenty-year-old son unnecessarily to malfeasance in the rehab industry. That loss incentivized me to embark on a journey of discovery and recovery that took ten years to record and publish.
After bringing Dance with Angels to market, I dedicated a lot of hours, advertising dollars, and effort to get it in front of readers. My assistant and I opened and posted daily on social media sites for months. I gave away hundreds of discounted books to get the word out, and advertised in Newsletters and on Amazon.
I couldnât understand why I was only selling a handful of books each day. "After all my hard work and amazing insights, research about the afterlife, soulful rumination's and wisdom... why was I not selling a hundred books a day, I thought? "Why hasnât Oprah heard about it yet and added it to her book club for Godâs sake!â âWhy is the cost of acquiring a customer so darn high on Amazon?â
I listened to 50 podcasts on book marketing and attended a convention in Vegas. We redesigned the cover; recreated the A+ content on Amazon, asked for reviews and got some great ones. I started a Substack Newsletter, and we produced lots of cool content for our YouTube channel, including excerpts from the upcoming audiobook and recordings I made on ghost tours. (Lots of fun btw)
The numbers were still disappointing to me. (Authors often have unrealistic expectations.) I finally asked an AI app what the problem could be. It was then that I realized that over 50 books about grief, recovery, and the afterlife are published on Amazon every week. As it turned out, the slow initial growth in sales was due to oversupply, an incredibly competitive space... not me â not the book â and not our marketing effort. Also, it seems that even the most successful books often take years to gain traction. Every day for three months, we had focused on the simple task of increasing readership, and we still do that daily, but it was time for a break.
 I filled up my little hybrid truck with overpriced gas, crammed camping gear in the back and hit the road to clear my brain.
On the very first morning of my self-imposed emotional vacation, I was overcome with a sudden epiphany. Regardless of the competitive landscape that had overwhelmed me since publication, Dance with Angels is a darn good read.
It has not been a misstep âĻ It is quite the opposite. Dance with Angels is my Magnum Opus- My lifeâs greatest achievement (other than being a good father); My greatest work and possibly some day, may represent my most meaningful impact on the world.
After a major tragedy or adversity in oneâs life, one often transitions to a new chapter, they say. Adversity and loss can bring out a part of you that you would not have experienced otherwise. Perhaps Dance with Angels will turn out to be my greatest achievement. Only time will tell. But let me ask you...
What is your greatest achievement?
 It can be as simple as being a wonderful parent, a good neighbor, teacher or artist. Whatever your achievement, I recommend taking the time to acknowledge and celebrate it. This has been a great week for me, because I took the time to do just that.
Thanks for reading this blog. I always welcome your feedback.
Warwick