Recently, I was working with a client who had an amazing story to tell. He was doing an excellent job of it, too. I was amazed by how he had gone from being an excellent, social, broadly talented student in high school to becoming a functional alcoholic during college to finally sobering up and reaching his health goals a decade later. It was absolutely inspiring.

However, when I was reading the part where he explained what made him stop drinking and make a huge change in his life—that “come to Jesus” moment—the narrative fell flat. I was expecting something big like a DUI or a heart attack or a mugging as he stumbled home from the bar too drunk to even know where he was. But really, it seemed like nothing.

What?

This was what he hoped would grab the attention of his readers. This was the part that really tugged at your desire to make a change in your own lives. This was where he reached out and said, “I’ve been there. It’s tough. I hit rock bottom and clawed my way back to the top.”

But in reality, it seemed like he was choosing between a ham sandwich and a turkey sandwich. There wasn’t enough emotion. I couldn’t feel what it was like to be in his shoes at that moment. It wasn’t earth-shattering.

So we talked about what to do to add punch and connection to really drive the point home and leave his readers both cheering and wanting to do the same in their own lives.

1. The five senses – seriously. When your epiphany moment isn’t something from an action film, you need to draw out the scene and give it the feeling that seconds were passing like hours. In my client’s case, I suggested that he give me a description of the scene like it was really sinking in for the first time.

I wanted to feel the imprint of carpet on his face as he lay on the living room floor. I wanted to see the blurred room around him flooded with too much sunlight. I wanted to feel stiff and dehydrated. I wanted to taste the vomit mixed with shots of Jager. I wanted smell the sweat and the rancid bar scent of lost dreams, spilled beer, and stale cigarettes. And I wanted to hear his labored breath and the piercing sound of silence. I wanted to be in his shoes when he checked the texts on his phone and accidentally opened the camera in selfie mode. I had to know exactly what it was that finally flipped the switch.

2. The bigger why – After we zoom in on the five senses, I need to see the big picture. I was fine for him to say, “This is gross, and I feel like crap all the time,” but an even bigger reason to change is to gaze farther down the road. What will it look like if I don’t change? How sad will it be when I’m staggering home from the bar every night into my 40s and 50s? Will I make it to my 50s if I keep this lifestyle up?

That big picture is what cements the need for change, and it can drive that epiphany home. Encouraging reflection in the reader’s life will not only help them want to finish reading your book, but it will also make them want to make the change themselves.