NASEEM ROCHETTE

Tell everyone who you are and what you do.

I am the author of The Unexpected Benefits of Being Run Over and a digital transformation leader at Google. I am also a woman who loves her many hats—mom of chaos (three kids, two dogs, four cats, one husband), occasional wedding officiant, neighborhood therapist, seasoned sales leader, and family CEO & cruise director.

How would you define your purpose?

I am not sure I have a purpose to be honest, I think I just have an ambition to seek, share joy and inspire optimism, self-love and acceptance.

What are some of the hurdles and challenges you’ve been through to get to where you are today?

I guess I look at my life as two transformative stories – pre and post-accident me. Pre accident, I worked really hard to become a person I liked. I was a very shy, insecure girl, one of the few minorities in my town who hated being different and just wanted to fit in... It took about 25 years of my life to learn to appreciate being a misfit and another several to become a person I felt mostly good about. Then that person was run over by a car and unrecognizable. So that was the second transformation –recognizing and accepting I wouldn’t be that other person again, and also appreciating that I can be a different person. I can be a better, happier version of myself even with some set of limitations I didn’t have before because I now have insights I didn’t have before.

Where do you yourself in the next five years?

I see myself pretty close to where I am today – happy, a mom of many, working hard, enjoying life, eating better. . . . and maybe (hopefully) doing more speaking engagements, sharing my journey on a wider stage, and reaching more people. . . but still finding time to be present for my family, friends and people that I care about.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

What advice would you give to the next generation of female leaders?

I would remind them to find joy and personal value from multiple sources. Don’t let your identity as a leader – business leader or any type of leader- become your only identity. Enjoy the many facets of who you are and find at least two or three (if not more) sources of pride and accomplishment.

What is your favorite film?

According to my husband, I haven’t watched enough movies and have somehow missed everything he deems a classic - so this is a tough one for me! The first movie that comes to mind as a favorite is Four Weddings and a Funeral. What I love about it is the range of emotions – the joy, the heartbreak, the silliness and even spontaneity - all woven together in a journey of perfectly imperfect people that sustain each other with laughter and love and friendship. I guess it’s kind of a story of misfits and belonging –and I relate to that.

Are you working on any events or upcoming projects?

Let’s talk about your book and the motivation behind the book. The book is my effort to share what I have learned through trauma (being run over 3 times!), lived experience, insecurity, and I guess triumph too –over my very full and winding 50 years of life as a misfit.

If I could go anywhere, it wouldn’t actually be a place, it would be a moment. A moment I experienced often but didn’t appreciate. It would be hearing the joy and smile in my dad’s voice when he saw me or just picked up the phone. I didn’t realize it when I had it, but that moment was always this beautiful gush of love and I depended on it far more than I had realized.

My book, The Unexpected Benefits of Being Run Over, just came out in April so I am still focused on the book launch events – readings and signings - around the US. That has been really rewarding. So many readers – and even those just learning about the story when we meet – resonate with the struggle and the journey of self-acceptance. They feel inspired by the idea that breaking doesn’t mean you are broken.

Where can the readers follow you?

I just started a new Instagram for the book @lifeunbreakable, or they can find me at naseemrochette.com. Thanks!