Join Rachel Cockerell as she shares her journey from doubting her writing ability to becoming an author by learning from her creative heroes. Through podcasts and audiobooks, she gained invaluable writing insights, like George Saunders’ reminder that “prose isn’t delicate,” and the importance of persistence and self-forgiveness in creative work. She encourages others to find their own mentors, no matter the distance, and to learn from those who inspire them to reach their full potential. Rachel Cockerell is an author and historian. Her first book, Melting Point, is the story of her family’s journey from the Russian Empire to London, New York and Jerusalem, and her great-grandfather’s role in a long-forgotten project to help 10,000 Jews escape Russia for Texas. The book is formed entirely of interwoven first-hand accounts, taken from diaries, letters, memoirs, newspaper articles and interviews.Melting Point was published in February 2024, and has appeared in The Times, the Guardian, the Financial Times and the New Statesman. It has been called ‘a truly radical book’ (Andrew Marr), ‘extraordinarily original’ (Laura Cumming), and ‘groundbreaking’ (Anthony Beevor). Jonathan Freedland has said of Melting Point that ‘non-fiction will be different as a result’.Rachel Cockerell was born and raised in London. Her research for Melting Point has taken her to Texas, Ohio, New York, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. She has spoken about her work on CNN, LBC, Times Radio, and the BBC. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx