Brava. #Obsessed. A superb read.

The early reviews are in. Here's what happens next.

Koda wasn’t a fan of drones.

The past two weeks have been a mad rush of printing mailing labels and hustling to the post office to ship books to every corner of the country (and overseas, thanks UK friends!) 🇬🇧💪

Keeping an eye on Amazon for new sales has been an absolute blast. Sure, it’s not a NYT best seller. I’m not perched on the couch of Good Morning America. Oprah hasn’t called yet. Instead, I have been deeply humbled by an outpouring of support from my friends, family, and readers who showed up to purchase (and then actually read!) this book in the first week.

I even sold a couple of copies at my ladies golf league, only to wake up in a cold sweat when I confronted the reality that I just opened up my squishy heart to a bunch of casual friends. Perhaps their opinions of me will change. Or, possibly, they will enjoy a few hours feeling seen in their own journeys of coming home to self. Maybe they’ll share it with their friends and daughters and daughters of friends.

I realize how these days, so many worthy creative endeavors are user-supported, crowd-funded, and people-powered. Getting it “out there” means pounding the pavement and spreading the word through your community, propelled by faith that what you’ve created is an act of service as much as it is a consumable piece of content.

My prayer for this book

…is that it lands in the hands of people who are ready to confront the ways they hold themselves back and rediscover how to feel autonomous, connected, and alive. That’s why I called it a prayer for a generation of roaming malcontents. I think it’s working.

We’ve only just begun

Yesterday, I popped into a few local bookstores to ask about stocking HALF WILD. I was as nervous as if I was about to ask someone to prom. I even scouted the nearest exit route to avoid awkwardly cornering myself in the Fiction section trying to make an escape after their polite “no thank you.”

I haven’t heard back either way yet, but I’ll keep you posted if HALF WILD gains a shelfy home in Asheville.

🥰 Finally, THANK YOU to everyone who purchased the book already You’ve made all the cold sweats and bouts of imposter syndrome well, well worth it. My community, amassed over thirty-some years of traveling and adventure, is incredible. You are incredible. I can’t thank you enough.

So what’s next? If you’re up for it, please leave a review and/or share your experience with your network. I don’t have the power of Penguin (e.g.) behind me, so I’m relying on word of mouth to reach new people, and I can’t wait to read a review from a name I don’t recognize.

Talk to you soon,

Whitney