The Story Behind There’s No Room for Fear in a Burley Trailer

Not long after Dan and I met, he said, “It would be so fun to publish a book of your best blog posts.”

I said, “Yeah!”

And then after I thought about it some more, I said “No!”

Dan kept bugging me about it, and I kept saying no, and after a while he started threatening to just do it anyway. But Dan is really busy earning a living for the four of us, updating his online CSA directory (check out farmshares.info!), writing his own e-book (do you know what cross-platform mobile apps are? I don’t. I proofread his book anyway), digging in our garden, teaching Sweet Pea to ride a bike, and taking insanely long baths, among other worthy pursuits, so I never thought he would actually do it.

He said he had something up his sleeve for my birthday. I thought it was maybe diamond earrings.

But no. My husband went and published a book for me. It’s made up of what he considers my best blog posts, professionally copyedited. It has a pretty, professional-looking cover. It has a foreword by the lovely, talented Joelle Wisler of Running From Mountain Lions. It has blurbs on the back written by writers Ann Imig (the creator of Listen To Your Mother), Michele Mariani Vaughan (owner of A Storybook Life), and Stephanie Sprenger (blogger at Mommy For Real and editor of The HerStories Project).

I am an author!

 

Here is what happened when the surprise was unveiled:

PS Don’t all 37 year-old women wear cupcake jammies and open gifts in bed at the dawn’s first light on their birthday?

Click on the picture to see what happens when Dan surprises me with the Best Birthday Present Ever

Click on the picture to see what happens when Dan surprises me with the Best Birthday Present Ever

After I got over the initial excitement, I freaked out. Now what? Would I try and sell this book? Would anyone care? What if they didn’t? What about the fact that I would have done it a little different if I’d been in charge? What about the fact that actually I wouldn’t have done it at all if I were in charge? What about the fact that I’d be winging everything about selling a book? And was it too late to add a dedication page?

Dan told me to relax. He said that if I only printed copies for my parents that would be ok. He said I could do whatever I wanted with it, or nothing at all. And that I should at least read it before I freaked out any further. That night I stayed up well past midnight reading the book, and almost made Sweet Pea late for school finishing it the next morning. Is that weird? It’s not like I didn’t know the plot.

So… I’m scared and I’m not 100% sure what I’m doing but I’m going to go for it anyway. Which is actually, the basic gist of the book and it’s how I try to live my life.

You can buy it through my e-commerce site.  BUY THE BOOK

The book is also available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble (both in print and as an e-book), and for order at your local independent bookstore.

10 thoughts on “The Story Behind There’s No Room for Fear in a Burley Trailer”

  1. Nina says:
    Reply

    You know I’m a huge Dan fan now. I will be ordering my copy when I’m not sitting in a coffee shop. I do not trust anything but our own Wifi!

  2. Pam says:
    Reply

    Nina, Thank you thank you thank you! I think we have a mutual husband admiration thing going on now… I loved your post when you talked about how your friends call Brian “Brain.”

  3. Dana says:
    Reply

    This is the sweetest thing EVER! I am in awe of your husband and totally teared up reading this. What a beautiful book and an even more beautiful gesture.

    • Pam says:
      Reply

      Julia, Thanks!! I am inclined to agree (re: the book and the jammies- you can see how awesome I think the latter is by how faded they are!)

Leave a Reply