The Sneakiest of Peeks

To use the official terminology

It’s happened enough times now that I expect it.

I’m at a barbecue or a school fundraiser or the chiropractor (that’s right, I’m aligned) and someone inevitably asks what I do for a living. And when I say “I’m an author” or “I write books” (which still feels surreal), sometimes the person asking will go a little dead in the eyes and do the classic tight-lip-nod that says

Um…yes? I do?
Why does this happen?

Finally, one of my most deliciously blunt friends explained it to me:

THEY THINK IT’S FAKE. Like, a career that requires quotation marks. Like “influencer” or “podcaster” or “chiropractor”** (omg just kidding. I love you, Dr. Tom!)

They think you “write books” the way that their sister-in-law self-published her memoir about being kidnapped by Bigfoot. The way their college friend wrote a guide to investment that you can access simply by forking over the email addresses of your twenty closest friends! The way their breastfeeding neighbor wrote an illustrated guide to the care and keeping of nipples.

And apparently books are like dreams - nobody wants to hear about them unless they’re in it.

And I have to admit, when you visit our book listing it DOES feel a little fake. It’s just the (stunning!) cover…but not much else.

All of this to say, if you have been trying to share The Book of Belonging with people and watching their eyes glaze over, I have news for you:

These are the pages that will eventually live on retail sites, letting potential readers browse through some sample chapters and get a feel for the book! Many of you have enjoyed our sample chapter but the sneak peek contains pages that we’ve never shared before- including the full Table of Contents.

We thought it would be fun to soft launch it here, with our Substack community, before it goes live on some of the retail sites.

Hope you enjoy and please don’t tell Dr. Tom about my joke… I need him.

And since I KNOW someone will ask…

1. The Kickstarter copies aren’t here yet! My sketchy freighter app says the Zim Emerald will reach Baltimore this week

2. If you’re a Kickstarter supporter whose address has changed since November 2021 OR if you never gave us your address to begin with, you can fix that with these instructions

That’s all for now! This post was full of jokes but I am serious when I say I couldn’t be more grateful to do this work for our kids and I thank God every day for your support along the way!

Happy Tuesday!

Mariko (and Rachel!)

**Absolutely no shade if this is you. More power to you - we’re all just jealous!