When people don’t necessarily have the resources for or confidence in “traditional” solutions—they’re more likely to buy a book than seek therapy. Or they might try alternative medicine for problems rather than expensive western medical solutions—whether they have insurance or not.

Times like these and it seems a good time for the “one of us” school of author experts. I think of Karen Casey, who has written nearly 20 books over a span of many years and helped, conservatively, something north of a million readers be more comfortable, hopeful, and sober in their daily lives. A few years ago we published This Is Not the Life I Ordered, written by four women, who among them had logged a lot of “not ordered”—divorce, death, kid problems, and, through hanging out with each other, a whole cupboard of tools to deal with the daily stuff. People are looking for “community” for someone who has been there, understands, has some real-life solution/ideas to offer.


My generation, dubbed Baby Boomers, a moniker that will never go away I guess, continue to search for meaning. Something like twenty years ago I remember some wag writing we’ve “never had an unpublished thought.” And, yeah, for a while we wanted to get rich, get a house, get a better job. Lately I’m seeing renewed interest in non-material, what really matters. People are not looking for top down authoritative answers necessarily. But they are looking for simple, focused information. And I find myself, sometimes regretfully, declining to publish manuscripts that are too complicated, try to cover three bases at once, seem like they would complicate rather than simplify a person’s life.

We is the new me. Books on helping. Books on connecting. Books on taking care of the earth—as self-help. AKA what’s good for the planet is good for me. For all of us. The Food Revolution>/i> by John Robbins, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows by Melanie Joy, The Green Devotional, Active Prayers for a Healthy Planet collected by Karen Speerstra. These are books you might want to check out. DIY for a healthier, happier self and planet.