Layla El believes that becoming a professional wrestler turned into an all-consuming identity that she needed to step away from to find herself again.

“Honestly, after being there for 9 years, it became my identity. So, for me, it was um, a decision that Layla, you're not this person. You're Layla. So, I really just wanted to come back to be you know, be me instead of being like Layla like WWE Diva like kind of thing”

The pursuit of being a notorious, influential, and legendary writer necessitates self-mythologizing and embracing a public persona that can withstand intense media scrutiny.

“My own self- mythology has very much been, yeah, I'm a [ __ ] punk. I don't give a [ __ ] about your rules. I don't give a [ __ ] about what you think of me. I'm gonna write books that make you angry.”