In episode 51 of The Page One Podcast we get to hear a moving conversation about healing and transformation with beloved life coach Jon Chandonnet, author of Shadow Summit: A Journey from M.S. to The Other Side of Impossible and founder of VibrantU Academy. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 27, Jon initially ignored his condition, pushing himself to extremes. After his health declined, he embarked on an odyssey to understand life's essential elements, leading him to create a wellbeing system called the Seven Vibrants. Jon shares how his diagnosis propelled him to write his book, turning a personal struggle into a source of inspiration and guidance for others. He shares how he struggled for years to understand the concept of ‘showing’ versus telling, but when he did, how that changed everything about the way he writes—and gave rise to the tenth anniversary edition of his memoir and a wholly new page one. Jon is a testament to how writing can literally help us rewrite our lives and play a significant role in our healing. If you’ve ever wondered if you can tell your story some day, listen to Jon and be encouraged. Shadow Summit: A Journey from M.S. to the Other Side of Impossible will remind you of the human capacity to rebuild our lives after loss by choosing a path to restoring our vibrancy. This is one of my favorite conversations of 2025. I hope you enjoy it too.
The Page One Podcast, produced and hosted by author Holly Lynn Payne, celebrates the craft that goes into writing the first sentence, first paragraph and first page of your favorite books. The first page is often the most rewritten page of any book because it has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. We interview master storytellers on the struggles and stories behind the first page of their books.
About the guest authors:
Jon Chandonnet is a life coach, author of Shadow Summit: A Journey from.M.S. to The Other Side of Impossible and found of VibrantU Academy. At thirty-three, Jon thought living a vibrant life meant setting goals and working long hours and hard days to make things happen. Living by that credo he accomplished a lot. He earned his master’s from MIT, led teams to develop software to launch startups, ran a couple marathons, and scaled several 14,000-foot California peaks. Jon was well on his way—or so he thought—but he was a ticking time bomb.
He’d been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis six years earlier. He ignored it completely and instead pushed himself to extremes. He lived in denial—ignoring his diagnosis in hopes of literally outrunning the disease. The running ended and the disease caught up.
Jon’s health declined and led him on an eight-year odyssey to understand life’s essential elements. He wanted to find a way to minimize the impact of the disease. He wanted his health back and to create a full life despite the MS. During the journey, Jon found seven essential elements allowing him to track daily actions and habits in pursuit of the healthiest, most fulfilled, and joyful life possible. He realized others could benefit from the insights. Jon found a way to simplify life, strip away the chaos and unimportant to focus on what matters. The result was the 7 VIBRANTs ™ well-being system.
About the host:
Holly Lynn Payne is an award-winning novelist and writing coach, and the former CEO and founder of Booxby, a startup that built an AI book discovery platform with a grant from the National Science Foundation. She is an internationally published author of four historical fiction novels. Her debut, The Virgin's Knot, was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers book. Her latest book, Rose Girl: A Story of Roses and Resilience, a medieval, mystical thriller was awarded a Kirkus (starred) review and named Editors Choice from the Historical Novel Society. Holly lives on a houseboat near the Golden Gate Bridge with her daughter and Labrador retriever, and enjoys mountain biking, hiking, swimming and pretending to surf. To learn more about her books and writing coaching services, please visit her at hollylynnpayne.com and subscribe to her FREE weekly mini-masterclass, Power of Page One, a newsletter on Substack, offering insights on becoming a better storyteller and tips on hooking readers from page one! (And bonus: discover some great new books!)
Tune in and reach out:
If you're an aspiring writer or a book lover, this episode of Page One offers a treasure trove of inspiration and practical advice. I offer these conversations as a testament to the magic that happens when master storytellers share their secrets and experiences. We hope you are inspired to tune into the full episode for more insights. Keep writing, keep reading, and remember—the world needs your stories.
If I can help you tell your own story, or help improve your first page, please reach out @hollylynnpayne or visithollylynnpayne.com.
You can listen to Page One on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher and all your favorite podcast players. Hear past episodes. If you're interested in getting writing tips and the latest podcast episode updates with the world's beloved master storytellers, please sign up for my very short monthly newsletter at hollylynnpayne.com and follow me @hollylynnpayne on Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook. Your email address is always private and you can always unsubscribe anytime.
The Page One Podcast is created on a houseboat in Sausalito, California, is a labor of love in service to writers and book lovers. My intention is to inspire, educate and celebrate. Thank you for being a part of my creative community!
Be well and keep reading,
Holly
Power of Page One, Substack
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