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Chelsea’s Kate Bancroft Co-Author of No. 1 Bestseller ‘Stepping into Courage’

Courtesy photo. Author Kate Bancroft.

By Allen Wright

Chelsea’s Kate Bancroft is talking with a friend when her phone rings so she lets her voice mail pick it up.  

Her phone rings a lot these days, but that’s what happens when you are a co-author of the number 1 bestselling book in the United States.

“It’s been like this quite a bit lately,” she says. “I’m not complaining at all, but I’ve been very busy.”

Bancroft is a co-author of “Stepping into Courage,” a book about overcoming adversity, challenges and obstacles and having the courage to move past them.

She wrote chapter two of the book, “Me, Myself, and Chocolate.”

The book came about when Bancroft became friends with the owner of Creative Life Publishing, Tricia Andreassen, a year ago. Bancroft had read Andreassen’s book “Resilience in the Storm” and was very inspired by it.

“I’ve been writing my whole life, keeping a journal, jotting down thoughts, writing stories, and notes,” says Bancroft. “I knew several years ago that I should be writing more, but fear kept me from letting anyone read what I wrote.”

But overcoming fear she did when Andreassen approached Bancroft to submit a story for this new project.

“I felt if I can inspire one person to step into the life they are meant to live then I need to share,” Bancroft said.

When the book came out, they were watching the numbers come in – even though Amazon has the book in a tough category (200,000 + books) – so when it hit the #1 new release mark, it was a big surprise to Bancroft.

She and her family were watching “America’s Got Talent” when they got the news and Bancroft says she felt like the “golden buzzer” had been hit.

There was a big celebration with hugs and tears.

Bancroft is a spiritual and personal growth teacher, speaker and coach, who works with women who battle the giants of self-image, self-worth, fear, and the food they use to cover the pain. She can relate to the women she helps because she has walked through this journey and fought those giants.

“I draw from experience and training to create personal paths for each of my clients,” Bancroft says.

The daughter of Tom Lewis is a very humble woman. Born and raised in Chelsea, she lives down the dirt road from her dad, the home where she grew up. Bancroft is very busy all the time, as she has been involved with ministry work for over 20 years and before that taught in different co-ops. In addition, she home schooled her children for 12 years.

Bancroft serves on the boards for many non-profit organizations.

In 2004, her husband took over his family’s business, Bancroft Custom Painting, which his dad started in 1959. Despite all this, she still makes time to work on book number two.

Her next book project is on endurance and how to stay the course and finish well.  She explains that “we live in a “microwave” society where we expect everything to happen immediately. Life is a marathon and we need to look to the finish line but live where we are. We often get discouraged by the bumps and detours, thinking that they are taking us off course, when they often are our course. To finish, we must start. We often don’t like to be at the beginning because we are not good there. Endurance is as much about embracing our “less than perfect” starts as it is crossing the finish line.”

Bancroft remains humble and wants to spread her positive message around the world and help others. To her, the success almost doesn’t seem real.

“I am still me, wrestling with my issues, fighting alongside women as they wrestle with theirs,” explains Bancroft. “I love to share the hope that is within me to groups so they know they can overcome. I was ashamed to be me as a young person, tired of my speech that set me apart, marked me as different. What I thought was a weakness is now used to inspire, encourage and bring freedom. I am blessed to be used in this way!”

Bancroft and her husband, Brian of 30 years have 2 children, Kegan and Tori and 3 spoiled dogs, Dixie, and new puppies Tater and Dude.  

To purchase Kate’s book you can go to Amazon or visit her website www.slayinggiantswithkate.com, www.facebook.com/katebancroft.

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