Fired Up: How to Turn Your Spark into a Flame and Come Alive at Any Age !

Charis and the Georgia Center for the Book welcome Shannon Watts (Founder of Moms Demand Action) and Representative Park Cannon to discuss , a guide to harnessing your potential, living without fear, and coming alive at any age. Too many of us are living on autopilot. We believe we’re too old, too busy, or too inexperienced to go after what we really want. Shannon Watts has a message for you: Think again. If you are ready to stand tall in your greatness, Fired Up invites you to shatter your self-imposed limitations and unleash your potential so you can finally start living the life you deserve.

Since starting Moms Demand Action, the nation’s largest grassroots organization against gun violence, Watts has helped thousands of women step off the sidelines and into their power. What most women don't realize is that inside all of us is a spark waiting to be ignited. Your spark is the catalyst for your life’s meaning and joy. When nurtured, it has the potential to transform not only your life, but the world.

Whether you want to fight for what's right, stand up for yourself at work, launch the business you always dreamed of, or leave a toxic relationship and reclaim your confidence, Fired Up shows you how to identify, light, and feed the fire inside you. As Watts says, "That’s not an indulgence—it’s a requirement for living the most authentic life possible, without regrets."

About the Author:

Shannon Watts is the founder of Moms Demand Action, the nation’s largest grassroots group fighting against gun violence. Known as the ‘summoner of women’s audacity,’ she spent more than a decade leading one of the world’s largest field experiments for mobilizing women. She has been named one of TIME’s 100 Most
Influential People, a Forbes 50 over 50 Changemaker, and a Glamour Woman of the Year.

Prior to founding Moms Demand Action, Watts – a mother of five – was a communications executive at public relations firms and Fortune 100 companies. She is an active board member of Emerge America, one of the nation’s leading organizations for recruiting and training women to run for office. Her first book, , was released in 2019. She writes regularly for Substack and outlets like The Washington Post, Elle, Time, The 19th, The Meteor and more. Her ideas on leadership help redefine what’s possible when audacious women unite to drive change.

About the Conversation Partner:

Rep. Park Cannon is a Georgia State Representative, one of two openly queer lawmakers in the Georgia General Assembly and its youngest. She represents House District 58 which encompasses a diverse cross-section of Atlanta.

Rep. Cannon champions a range of social justice causes and her legislative efforts focus on education, jobs, and health care. Rep. Cannon seeks to stop the erosion of affordability for basic needs which she believes are the foundations of social stability. She also devotes her legislative work to protecting Georgia’s most vulnerable citizens: women and children, the elderly and the LGBTQ+ community. She has worked to address maternal mortality rates and the HIV epidemic in Georgia, housing affordability and extending protections to victims of family violence and sexual assault.

Rep. Cannon attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic Linguistics and a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics, and minored in Women’s and Gender Studies. During her time at UNC Chapel Hill, Rep. Cannon was named a Camões Award Recipient and inducted into the Order of The Old Well. She also participated in the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Executive Education State and Local Government program. She was named by the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) as a Bohnett LGBTQ Leaders Fellow and studied police accountability.

She is the author of The Universal Guide to Running for Office.

About the venue:

VENUE IS TBA but will be in Decatur, GA

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