Pre-order Links are Live! Click to get Some Nerve!

I am so excited to announce that SOME NERVE: Lessons Learned While Becoming Brave is now available for pre-order from these fine booksellers:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

IndieBound

iBooks

Is the book the same as the blog? you may be wondering. And the answer is:

No!  The book is 95% new material!

What's in the book?

Powerful, entertaining stories about ordinary people facing everyday fears including:  Aging, Becoming Boring, Biking, Breaking bones, Bullies, Clutter, Control (loss of), Crime, Death, Driving, Exercise, Failure, Flying, Heights, Letting go, Looking dumb, Nature (mosquitoes, sharks, marauder-filled woods), P.E., Pleasure, Public Speaking, Public toilets, Rejection,  Success, Surfing, Unknown, Water, Writing. And Wedgies.

Great expert advice - find out how psychologists, teachers, coaches, and clergy work with fearful people to bring out the courage within.  

Plus the antics of G and R, a bit about my Chang-family upbringing, and a few (ok, more than a few) ridiculous predicaments that will make you wonder how I've survived to middle age.

Some Nerve is the culmination of 4 years of facing fears and over a hundred interviews, and I ardently hope it will empower countless people in countless ways. But I need your help.  Me talking about it is nothing compared to all of our vocal power together. Imagine yourself, and everyone you love, living with less fear.  Let's go make that happen!

Please pre-order your copies and share the news. And let me know so I can thank you!

Because I do thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all your enthusiasm which has fueled FFUD from the beginning.  Let's get as many people as possible on their way to living their best, bravest lives. 

Love,

Patty

Mothers & More Power of A Purse Writing Contest - Winners Announced

I recently called for FFUD readers to enter the Mothers & More Power of a Purse Writing Contest (blog post here) because a) I think it's great to raise awareness of the roles moms have in caring for their families financially and emotionally and b) I was one of the judges and wanted to read some really good stories.  And were they ever!  It was very difficult to narrow them down, but here are the winners of the contest, with more details at the Mothers & More blog.

The grand prize winner is Joanne Gepp, a stay-at-home mom who moved from England to the U.S. five years ago and found support through the Summit Greater Area NY Chapter 14 of Mothers & More.  Her entry, printed in its entirety at the M & M blog, reflects on how she felt about her mother's purse after her mother died.  A snippet below:

 It personified her; it was like the hard hug for the hurt feelings of childhood, the gentle backstroking for a broken-hearted teenager, the comfort for a young woman who had lost her mother.

The other winners span the country and their stories will also be featured in coming weeks.

2^nd Place         Sharon Berger, Member of Bergen County, NJ, Chapter 40

3^rd Place             Barb Richards, Unchaptered Member, Centennial, CO

4^th Place         Barbara Coleman, Atlanta, GA

5^th Place         Lisa Jorgensen, West Tooele, Utah

Many thanks to all who entered the contest.  The judging was blind; I had no idea who wrote each of the pieces I was reading.  What I do know is that I was touched by every one. 

A Turning of the Seasons - Book Galleys are Here!

I handed over my first pass pages to my editor yesterday, marking the end of my writing and editing my first book.  I'd been carrying that big stack of paper with me everywhere, bound only by a large rubberband, clutched to my chest lest it all go flying in the wind, from house to library or office, for weeks.  Without it, I felt at a loss.  WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH MY HANDS NOW? 

Pages in my lap.

Pages by my side.  What to do without my pages??

And then my editor handed me this:

"Uncorrected Proof for Limited Distribution"  

Galleys are here! These gorgeous uncorrected proofs are now making their way into the world of reviewers and sales staff, marking the beginning of the marketing of this book (to be published in October).  Am I nervous (okay, terrified) at the thought of people I don't know reading my book?  Yes.  It's a good thing Riverhead is in charge of this limited distribution or I might limit it to my friends and family.  But I'm also excited, because I know these stories want to be told.

And now I know what to do with my hands - I'll be holding this baby everywhere I go!

Happy Mother's Day

On this Mother's Day, best wishes to everyone who is a mom, wanting to be a mom, appreciating a mom, filling in for a mom, or missing a mom today.  To birth moms and foster moms, step moms and mother in laws, the labels matter less than the knowledge that each of us is precious in a mother's eyes.  It's love and care that bind us all together as a human family. Happy Mother's Day to all the #1 Moms out there.

Listen to Your Mother 2013

It's sweeping the nation!  The Listen to Your Mother Show, a series of staged readings about motherhood, is now in 24 cities: click show information to find one near you.

I participated in the NYC production last year and it was one of the most moving experiences I've ever had, hearing so many funny, poignant, meaningful stories from women who have since become a sisterhood. These NYC 2012 YouTube videos show us in action (each one packs a punch in just 5 minutes).  Backstage photos here and much more to come in the fear of public speaking chapter of Some Nerve!

The 2013 NYC production will be held Sunday May 12, 5 PM at Symphony Space.  Bring tissues.  And a friend.  Prepare to clap and cheer.

Here we were, sitting pretty. But then we got a hold of the mic!

Listen to Your Mother NYC 2012 - Mom gets to speak!  Do I look happy, or what?

Spring has sprung!

Stand out in a crowd :)

Happy weekend, friends!

SOME NERVE Book Jacket!

I'm thrilled to unveil the book jacket for SOME NERVE: Lessons Learned While Becoming Brave coming October 10 from Riverhead/Penguin USA!

I gasped when I first saw this sunshine and courage filled jacket (designed by Janet Hansen) and the woman with the long black hair diving on the cover.  My whole life I've wanted to see a girl with long black hair on the cover of a book representing every woman.  And here she is!  

The moment when you see your heart and soul and everything you wish for your readers captured in one burst of yellow, white and blue?  Is like none other.  So excited to share this moment with you.