Winner of the Literary Titan Gold Award (2026) "Deeply researched, disarmingly funny, and quietly revolutionary." - Jenny Porter, author of The Space Between "Cutting Loose is a thoughtful, vulnerable, and quietly powerful read, and I'd recommend it to readers interested in memoirs of healing, anyone curious about somatic practices, and people who have ever felt trapped inside a coping mechanism they couldn't simply 'just stop.'" - Literary Titan "An insightful memoir about compulsive behavior, self-discovery, and the enduring possibility of change." - Independent Book Review For years, Aimee Zaring couldn't tell anyone about her secret-not her husband, therapist, or closest friends. She'd been trapped in a body-focused compulsive behavior rooted in shame and chronic fight-or-flight. When her childless marriage ended, her coping pattern spiraled. She tried more than a dozen interventions, but nothing helped. Then she met Tom, a recovering alcoholic with two young children and a life that both terrified and called to her. Suddenly she had to face her lifelong fear of family and rejection. Could she choose connection over the safety of isolation, or would her painful past and overwhelmed nervous system sabotage everything? The answers came not from listening to her mind's racing thoughts but from attuning to her body's whispers. In Cutting Loose, Zaring weaves memoir and somatic insight into a powerful journey of healing from the inside out. More than a story of unwinding survival patterns, it's an invitation to wholeness-integrating your fractured parts, reconnecting to your deepest wisdom, and stepping fully into embodied life. For anyone stuck in old cycles, living too much in their head, or seeking sustainable paths to nervous system regulation, Cutting Loose is both a guide and companion for the voyage within.