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Image sharing title and subtitle of new book, A New Year's Present, and blog post title "New Book Update: The Manuscript Is Done"

I completed the next major step on the way to publishing my second book. Today, I sent in the manuscript to prepare the files for publication. This is great news for several reasons.

This will be a short post because I’ve been busy editing. Even so, I wanted to share the reasons why this is such a big step.

I Made the Book Publication Deadline

The book is about mindfulness, of course. Based on this, you might think that a book like that could be published at any time. Not in this case.

As I shared before, this one is my first attempt at fiction. It’s a mindfulness fable inspired by Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol. Although my story focuses more on the New Year than Christmas, it’s still a holiday tale.

Based on this, I plan to publish before Thanksgiving this year. Doing the math backward, that means I got the manuscript finished right on time.

Done with Editing!

Having never written fiction before, I wrote this book in part to learn and grow as a writer and mindfulness teacher. Writing the book taught me so much about writing.

Editing the book taught me ever more. I went through 5 drafts of the book. That means I read and edited myself several times.

I also included detailed edits from an editor, coach, and several beta readers. Each level of review taught me something new. But let’s be real. Editing a book can be tedious and it can inspire a lot of self-doubt.

The good news is that I persisted and got to see how much better the book got because of my efforts and all the great feedback I received. Still, I am so glad to be done and am celebrating getting to move on to the next step.

The School Year Is Here

If you didn’t notice, I set the manuscript deadline with some intention. The majority of my law practice is devoted to school law. This means, the academic year is my “busy season.” As the mom of two girls, that means that the new school year rush hits me two ways at once.

Because the summer is usually not so hectic, I had planned to edit the book then and be done before school started. To be perfectly honest, I had hoped to be done even sooner but summer was a bit less chill than I had hoped. Regardless, I made my drop dead date, so the project is still right on time.

And now I can devote my full attention to getting my kids back in school and keeping my educator clients on track.

I’m Proud of the Book

And the best part of sending in the manuscript? The best part is that I’m proud of the book I wrote. As my first attempt at fiction, I don’t have illusions that the book is perfect.

Even so, it tells a story with heart. It conveys teachings about mindfulness that I couldn’t convey in a webinar, talk, or even a blog post.

It also combines so many things I love, including writing, teaching mindfulness, and good stories. This project was also supported by many people I love and respect. I have already had really great conversations with friends and family members who have read it. It’s so neat to hear what people focus on most when they read a story.

When and How Can You Read the Book?

Image of a book cover with the the title "A New Year's Present" and the announcement that it will be released for the holidays in 2026.

I don’t have a specific date set just yet, but the title is final. The title of the book is A New Year’s Present. I hope you hear the rhythmic similarity to A Christmas Carol there, because that’s intentional.

It will be released in November. Like my other books, you will be able to find it on Amazon, BookShop, and other online retailers.

I will definitely let you know when it is published. I may even bang pots and pans and set off fireworks just like on New Year’s Eve!

Want to learn more about mindfulness and compassion? Check out my new book, How to Be a Badass Lawyer, for a simple guide to creating a meditation practice of your own in 30 days. And to share mindfulness with your little one, check out my new children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute.

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The word “badass” may not be the first one that comes to mind when most people think of lawyers. Some people may not like the word. Though the term has been thoroughly adopted into contemporary slang, I’m aware some people may be mildly offended by it. Still, it’s hard for me to deny that being a lawyer is pretty badass.

Yes, we are supposed to be rule followers. In many cases, we are hired because we are experts of the rules. But anyone who has practiced law knows that there are times when the rules don’t tell us everything. Sometimes the rules shift suddenly. And there are instances when we have to blend creativity and ingenuity to chart a course around, through, or alongside the rules for clients.

This is why lawyers, steeped in rules as we are, are not mere rule followers. Instead, our jobs position us to be badasses. Our role is to help our clients shape the future for their lives, their businesses, or their families.

Much the same way, “badass” may not be the first word that comes to mind when you think about mindfulness and compassion. The popular image of mindfulness these days is a blissed out yogi sitting on a cushion. We are more likely to think of our grandmas than a superhero when it comes to the word “compassion.”

But when you understand either of them, you realize how badass they really are (and maybe how badass your grandma was too). At it’s heart, mindfulness is accepting reality as it is without judging, resisting, or fighting it. Compassion, warm and cuddly as it sounds, is nothing less than courage. It means staying present for suffering and remaining willing to help.

In recent decades, some amazing pioneers have begun teaching lawyers about mindfulness. Much of the discussion, however, has focused on the calming aspects of mindfulness practice. To be sure, meditation can offer that and it’s not a small thing. But, my experience as a practicing lawyer has shown me that meditation has helped me so much because it helped me be okay with not being calm.

This may be hard for some lawyers to hear. I know we can feel like we need to look composed. I know it can feel awkward and vulnerable when you can’t control your emotions. Breathing strategies can help in these situations but at a certain point something else is needed too.

That magic ingredient is compassion. It’s a word that I have seen mostly absent from discussions of stress management for lawyers. I think some people have believed lawyers wouldn’t listen. Some may have believed talking about mindfulness by itself would cover the bases.

Over the years, though, I have used compassion for myself and taught other lawyers about it. They do listen and I don’t believe merely talking about mindfulness by itself is enough. Mindfulness and compassion work together. In combination, they don’t just make us calm and soothed. They allow us to soothe ourselves and others and find clarity and stability in even the most troubling times.

What could be more badass than that? And it’s clear why lawyers – who readily take on challenges for clients in the midst of risk and conflict – could use this. This is why I started teaching mindfulness and compassion to lawyers and professionals years ago. This is why I founded this blog. And, today, this is why I wrote and published my first book: How to Be a Badass Lawyer: The Unexpected and Simple Guide to Less Stress and Greater Personal Development Through Mindfulness and Compassion.

I wrote it as a short and simple guide to help lawyers (or anyone else) understand the concepts of mindfulness and compassion and build a meditation practice of their own. Having meditated now for nearly a decade, I understand that meditation can be a challenge so the book creates a four-week program for you to build skills and stamina for meditation. As you do the practices, you’ll cultivate mindfulness, compassion, body awareness, and emotional intelligence.

The book includes no metaphysical discussions, little complicated terminology, and is actively and ardently anti-perfectionist. Admittedly, it’s a self-help book but only in the sense that it may offer some new skills, strategies, and ways of thinking that may allow you to help yourself. Explicitly, the goal of the book isn’t to change you in any way. It’s to help you see how awesome you are because your clients, your family, your community, and the world needs it.

Check out the book to learn more, reach out to me to discuss, or leave me a comment below. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to have written it. Achieving a goal like this has caused me to look at myself in the mirror and think “yeah, I am kind of a badass.” I want all of you to feel the same way.

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