In 2010, my daughter was born. Right after I returned to work from maternity leave, I was laid off from my job. With a newborn and this major financial loss hanging over my head, I was beyond stressed.

I looked for comfort outside of myself, which came in an easy package: an afternoon TV show with a box of Cheez-its and a glass of wine when my daughter napped.

Do you know how delicious a cream-cheese-smeared Cheez-it tastes? Oh, and the luxury of putting my feet up and turning on a show that would immediately render all of my problems obsolete. And the warm buzz of a glass of wine…Heaven.

After a few months of this, my weight really started to climb. My clothes were getting tight. I tried to stop. But I couldn’t.

What? I couldn’t? How could this be? The habit was ingrained. I loved it and I hated it.

Just a few months after my layoff, the TLC network came to me with a writing job. As I researched and wrote extensively about the psychology and the neuroscience of habit formation and willpower, I began to uncover a formula that people could apply to their lives to heal their issues around unwanted compulsive behaviors.

I learned that—when people frequently struggle with cravings for food or alcohol—there is often an issue of brain chemistry at play. Friendships and creativity are two factors that boost serotonin, the neurotransmitter of happiness. When I lost my job, my work-friendships and my creative purpose were suddenly ripped away from me. A probable drop in serotonin in my brain led to depression and anxiety.

Certain foods also raise serotonin and thus give us feelings of happiness and well-being. I was in the habit of medicating my emotions with food, leading to unstable mood swings and cravings for the foods that could bring my moods back to Happy Land. This led to a cycle of cravings for these foods for the rewards they would bring.

Dopamine, the neurotransmitter of craving, can be satisfied and redirected by ambition. I realized that I could nurse my bad habits, or I could come up with new friendships, new creative endeavors, and new ambitions that would eventually funnel my cravings and habits away from self-destructive impulses and towards creative and happy-making habits.

Once I had the answers, I climbed out of the hole of bad habits I’d dug for myself. I lost weight in the most mindless, healthy, and enjoyable way. I’d discovered a formula for beating cravings and elevating mood.

Then a novel came to me—the ideas, the characters, the plot, in great, clear rushes of insight and inspiration. Even the title: Secrets of People With Extraordinary Willpower.

It’s my hope this novel will heal many people who can benefit from the formula. Go to KatieMorton.com to learn more.