We are about a month away from the delivery of our new book, Lessons on the Road to Peace. I’m pretty sure I understood that an 11-month turnaround to write, edit, design, and produce a 304-page book was a ridiculous pace, but I decided to do it anyway. In part, to help process the enormity of this 2-½ year journey Karen and I took across the country. And in part, because the world needs to hear these stories of hope and healing. Now, maybe more than ever.

I’m so excited for you to see this book.

Last week I signed off on the final proofs for the printer. My busy programming schedule has just about wrapped up for the year. We have a little down time with family planned for Thanksgiving. I’ll travel to Wisconsin the week after to help oversee press checks for the book, making sure the color is just right and navigating anything unexpected in the process. There’s always something unexpected in a project of this size.

Once the job prints, there are a few more weeks of folding and trimming and binding in the shop before I’ll get to hold the first copy in my hands. And then we will get them out to you.

Those final few weeks of production will be filled on this end with sending press releases to media outlets, making pitches to podcast hosts, and lining up a book tour for February. If you have any place in mind for a book reading and people to fill the room, let me know. That’s how we reach new audiences.

If you are in the Twin Cities (or if you’d care to make the trip) we will be hosting a book release celebration in Saint Paul on January 25 at the Saint Paul Neighborhood Network. We’ll have our newest exhibit installed for the event. There will be music and other festivities to be determined. I’ll read some excerpts from the book, and I’ll sign as many copies as you want to take home that night. Watch our social media feeds for details and an upcoming Eventbrite link so you can reserve your free tickets.

But, if you can’t wait until then…if you want to get a copy in your hands as fast as I do…here’s the plan:

On December 15, the book will go on sale on our website. By ordering your copy directly from A Peace of My Mind, you will make the greatest impact in supporting our mission of storytelling to bridge divides and build community. Those orders come directly into A Peace of My Mind’s global HQ and straight to me. That means every copy will be signed and packed with love and gratitude as we send it your way. We have some volunteers set up to help manage the rush, so we hope that you overwhelm us a little with your interest.

The books will start to ship the first week of January, but when we get your order, we will email you a PDF that says, “Your book is on the way!” You can print it out, wrap it up, stuff it in a stocking, and let people know you’ve gotten them the gift of peace and it will show up early in the new year to get 2024 off to a good start.

I’m excited. I hope you’re excited, too. Let me just leave you with a few words from the introduction of the book to set the stage:

“This journey was born out of a difficult season and the desire to remember the beauty and wisdom that is all around us. We set out to find stories of hope, healing, and transformation. Our goal was to meet people who were affected by and engaged with the issues of the day. We wanted to learn more about the complexities of the world, to mourn our deep wounds, and to celebrate our spirit of resilience.

You don’t have to drive 93,000 miles to find stories like these. There is wisdom and beauty all around us if we choose to see it. Listen deeply. Challenge your own expectations and be willing to stay at the table.”