What's New?

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Over the past several months, I’ve been deeply immersed in writing and editing my second book, What’s Next: A Practical Guide to Values-Based Decisions.

I completed the first major editorial round of the manuscript yesterday. That doesn’t mean the book is finished. It just means the next phase is beginning.

There’s still a significant amount of work ahead, including ARC reader feedback, additional editing rounds, structural refinement, copy editing, formatting, cover work, and overall evaluation of the project itself.

After we decided to publish If They Only Knew, we quickly learned how much time and effort a professional editing and publishing process actually requires. It took just over one year from decision to publication

The Process

Good writing rarely emerges fully formed in a first draft. At least for me, it develops through reflection, revision, clarification, simplification, restructuring, and repeated attempts to better communicate what I’m actually trying to say. Sometimes editing a completed chapter takes hours, longer than it took to write it in the first place.

This second book has been a very different experience from writing If They Only Knew.

The first book was deeply personal and reflective. It focused heavily on addiction, recovery, mental health, identity, leadership, family impact, and the consequences our choices can have on ourselves and the people around us.

About What’s Next

What’s Next grew out of many of the conversations that followed after the publication of that book.

Over the past year, I found myself increasingly thinking and speaking about alignment, intentionality, values, priorities, transitions, and the difficulty many people experience when trying to determine what truly matters to them as they move through different stages of life.

The book is designed to be both reflective and practical.

Rather than simply discussing abstract ideas, it walks readers through a structured process intended to help them better understand:

• how past experiences shape current decisions
• how values are formed and tested
• why people often drift into misalignment gradually
• how external expectations influence decision-making
• how to identify core priorities
• and how to make decisions that are more congruent with the life they actually want to live

The manuscript also includes practical exercises at the end of each chapter. Readers are encouraged to actively engage with the material rather than simply read it passively.

My hope is that the book will be useful for people facing:

• major life transitions
• retirement
• career uncertainty
• relationship changes
• burnout
• questions about meaning or direction
• or simply the feeling that something important no longer feels aligned

Deeply Rewarding

At sixty-eight years old, I continue to be surprised by how much I enjoy the writing and editing process itself.

There’s something deeply rewarding about taking decades of lived experience, mistakes, observations, lessons, leadership experiences, recovery, conversations, and reflection and trying to shape them into something meaningful and useful for others.

I’m extremely grateful to the small ARC group who’ve agreed to read the manuscript during this next stage of the process. Their willingness to invest time, honesty, thoughtfulness, and feedback into the project means a great deal to me.
 

Publishing… or Not

The next major stage will involve reviewing ARC feedback along with discussions with my professional editor sometime in June. At that point, I’ll have a much clearer understanding of both the strengths of the manuscript and whether moving forward toward publication ultimately makes sense.

For now, I’m simply grateful to have reached this stage of the process and thankful for the opportunity to continue doing work that feels meaningful, reflective, and creatively  fulfilling. 

Please continue to check this website for further updates.