Aslı Gümüşel’s Debut Book “Ne Gerek Vardı?” Reaches Readers

Ashley Joy Kozmetik founder and CEO Aslı Gümüşel has published her first book, Ne Gerek Vardı? (“Was It Really Necessary?”), through Destek Yayınları. The book traces her life from childhood to motherhood, from her entrepreneurial journey to the periods when she rebuilt her life, and it does so with all its vulnerability intact. But do not expect a success story: Gümüşel’s real aim is to be able to tell any woman who has ever felt stuck, lonely, inadequate or lost, “You are not alone.”

Ne Gerek Vardı? offers no ready-made recipe, only “You are not alone”

Gümüşel writes about turning points ranging from losing her father at a young age to love and separation, and from giving up on achievements to starting over, yet she offers readers no ready-made recipes. Her own words capture the tone best: “I was scared too. I was wrong too. I fell too. Sometimes I too did not know what to do. But as I learned to hear my own voice, I found my way. Maybe you can too.”

That is why Ne Gerek Vardı? is not an “I did it, so can you” book, and certainly not the flawless success story of a woman. It is a candid life story about the real person behind a woman who looks strong, successful and visible from the outside, told through her fears, mistakes, losses, choices and the moments she got back on her feet. It also reminds readers that every woman may carry a strength she has not yet noticed, a gem that can change her own life.

Connecting the dots of life: the book’s key idea, “planned coincidences”

The encounters Gümüşel calls “planned coincidences” run through the book as one of its main threads. A job experience opens the door to a different venture years later. A need turns into a new brand. An unexpected meeting changes the direction of a life. A loss makes room for growth, giving up makes room for a fresh start, and a farewell lets a person make space for herself again.

She does not tell this fatalistically. In her view, life may put certain people, events and opportunities in our path, but seeing those dots, connecting them and acting when necessary is up to the person. The lines on the back cover echo this: exams she thought she had failed opened new doors, a love that broke her pride created a woman with pride, and the farewells that broke her heart made room for entirely new reunions.

“I am not a chosen one”: Gümüşel does not set herself apart from her readers

One of the book’s core feelings is that Gümüşel never places herself above her readers. She puts it this way: “I do not think I am chosen or special. I am just an ordinary woman. I was scared, I made mistakes, I lost and I started again. Over time I simply learned to connect the dots in my life. If this book helps even one woman notice the gem within her, believe in herself and take a courageous step, I will say, ‘I am glad I wrote it.’”

So the book holds failure as much as success, vulnerability as much as strength, and the ability to give up as much as the will to carry on. What Gümüşel wants to convey is not perfection, but the courage to take responsibility for one’s own life.

Woman to woman solidarity: “Share what you know”

Another strong thread is solidarity among women. Gümüşel says that sharing the knowledge, experience and opportunities that helped her with other women has never diminished her; on the contrary, it has multiplied what she has. She believes women do not have to be each other’s rivals, in business or in private life, and for her, taking another woman’s hand, sharing what you know, encouraging her and applauding her success are important parts of real strength. The book therefore does not only say “find your own way”; it reminds us that we can light each other’s paths a little more.

From a journey that began with four products to the question “What does success mean to me?”

Although the journey that began with four Ashley Joy products has grown into a far larger brand, Gümüşel does not define success only through sales, money or visibility. In her present understanding, success means that her work is genuinely useful, that she never gives up her ethical values, that she respects others’ rights and supports women, that her children can be proud of her and that she can put her head on the pillow at peace. In that sense the book is less a success story than the answer, changed over the years, to the question “What does success really mean to me?”

Ne Gerek Vardı? tells its readers seven things

• You are not alone: even people who look strong from the outside have times when they are afraid, hurt and unsure what to do.
• There is more in you than you think: sometimes life has to move us out of our comfort zone before we can see our own strength.
• Listening to your own voice takes courage: the life others expect of you and the life you want are not always the same.
• Giving up is not always failure: leaving a job, a relationship, a habit or an old identity can be the first step toward yourself.
• Support between women gives strength: a piece of knowledge, an opportunity or a word of courage can open a far bigger door in another woman’s life than anyone expects.
• The past does not change, but where you look at it from can: you may only understand years later the place in your life of an event you once called “Was it really necessary?”
• You can start over: at any point in your life.

About the author

A graduate of Bilkent University’s Business Administration department, Aslı Gümüşel completed a master’s degree in marketing at King’s College London. She began her career in communications and public relations, then founded the BellaMom brand and, in 2015, Ashley Joy Kozmetik, which now reaches consumers in Türkiye and several other countries. She continues to work as the brand’s founder and CEO.

Alongside business, Gümüşel has held management roles in several non-governmental organizations and contributed to social responsibility projects. As a speaker and content creator she shares her experience in women’s empowerment, entrepreneurship and social benefit. A mother of two, she tells her personal story in her first book in a candid, unfiltered voice.

About the book

• Title: Ne Gerek Vardı?
• Author: Aslı Gümüşel
• Publisher: Destek Yayınları
• Editor: Özlem Esmergül
• Genre: Self-development
• Pages: 152