Hello friends!
I have a big announcement to share with you today. After much searching, pondering, and contemplating this past year, I have finally found and decided on my new last name. It's taken me a minute because the very thought of trying to rebrand absolutely everything and legally update (absolutely everything) has been way more than I could handle or take on while managing chronic illness and navigating newly single life in a "new" city with two pups. But with my third book releasing in Oct, the time to make a decision had come.
I decided that if I was going to all the work to change my last name, I was going to change my middle name as well. My middle name was neutral to me growing up...I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. While I was initially okay with it still when I came out, over time it became harder and harder to see in print as I grew further and further away from my birth family. So with the search for a new last name, the search for a new middle name also began.
I looked for a long time for the perfect combination that met all the qualifiers that I needed both personally and professionally moving forward. I wanted something that resonated with my personal journey and was representative of who I am as a person...and who I want to continually become.
After much introspection and research, I've decided on.....Amber Elira Wylde.
It means "to be wild and free".
This embodies so many things for me and resonates deep in my soul. We are all meant to be wild...untamed...uninhibited by the world's expectations and standards of success, beauty, and acceptance. We are meant to be fully and completely our most authentic selves...wild and alive...and free to embrace our continual becoming. Free to be who we are, not who others say we should be. Free to live. Free to love. Free to experience wonder, beauty, and awe.
I will hyphenate my last name for a time to help people with the transition. My new book in the fall will be published as Amber Cantorna-Wylde. Some time after that I plan to drop Cantorna completely. You'll slowly start to see the rebranding roll out across my social media, Patreon, and web platforms in the weeks to come.
This name will be a part of me and my story from this day forward. It's a name that wasn't given to me by birth or by marriage...and it's a name that can't be taken away. It's mine and mine alone.
I'm looking forward to the journey ahead of leaning into this new name and seeing the story that will continue to unfold as I continue to become. One thing my journey has and is teaching me is that...to be wild we must be free. And to be free we must let our souls be wild. To becoming more wild and more free together, Amber Elira Wylde