Two positive book updates for you today:

1. My legal review is done!

While I was waiting—which really wasn’t all that long—I had to make peace with NOT knowing what the attorney might flag and what that would mean in terms of revisions. When the manuscript came back, here’s what I learned:

The things I worried about weren’t issues at all.

Isn’t it funny how we can drive ourselves crazy like that?

This made me think of a quote about all the bad things that happen—but only in your head. So I looked it up.

It seems that there are various versions of this sentiment:

“My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened.”

― Michel de Montaigne

And:​

“I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.”

― Mark Twain

And even:

“Most things I worry about never happen anyway.”

― Tom Petty

And since many of the things I worry about don’t come to pass, this has led me to ponder that we often can’t predict—and hence worry about—things that might actually be problematic. Which is a good thing, because what we might think is problematic is often not so with just a change in perspective.

Which brings me to book update #2:

2. I spoke with a recording studio about doing an audiobook!

I decided to email a local studio and find out what the cost would be in comparison to doing it myself at home. And yes, I want to narrate it myself, particularly as it is memoir. (I have a few worries about the actual narration, which I’ll get to later when recording time comes…)

For now, what I want to share with you is that the guy who runs the studio was incredibly helpful and enthusiastic over the phone. I liked him immediately when he called. Then he told me that it’s a “faith-based” studio and that God had put a love for this work in his heart, hence his overflowing elation to share his calling with others.

As soon as he said that (which I had kind of ignored on their website), the old Catholic schoolgirl in me went on high alert, and I couldn’t think of anything else. So I stopped him as he was talking and I told him this:

“Since you mentioned faith, I should let you know that in the opening chapter of the book, I’m talking with a priest—about sex.”

To my surprise, he told me this was ok. What was not allowed, however, was profanity. Cursing, to be clear.

Oops.

“Well, there is one mention of S-H-I-T.”

Yes, I actually spelled it out.

Very cheerfully, the studio guy told me that unfortunately he couldn’t work with me in studio because of the content of the book, but that he could teach me how to set up my own studio at home.

Stay tuned.