Gosh. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been here on this blog space. Let me start by saying sorry for neglecting you, blog. I should never have left you so alone. But Facebook and Instagram started this whole microblog situation — essentially a way for people to not have to leave those apps and still get to read incredible words from so many insanely talented writers… so I hopped on the trend. Or. I suppose, not trend… because that insinuates that it is going away… and it isn’t. Things will only become easier to access, all in one place.
And then, around Thanksgiving, I decided to sort of wean myself off of social media. I was at legit addict status. It was as if my phone and my hand had grown into one unit. And I just didn’t like the reality of seeing my screen time report each week be upwards of 8 and 9 hours A DAY on my phone. Like… what the what?! That, for me, was not my goal — my goal with writing and blogging has always been to educate, inspire, help, and grow my heart. Looking at a screen all day was doing none of that.
So I backed off slowly… and then, wasn’t really on anything at all. It wasn’t some big declaration or group-movement. I just slowly backed away from the phone. And as my boys would say, “ooooooohhhhhhhh bajingles,” it was so damn freeing.
Being less into everyone else’s words and comparing my writing chops to others on the daily, allowed me to focus on what my mind had to say. It allowed me to clean toilets on the regular. It allowed me to quelch some anxiety. To take daily walks. In disconnecting, I found myself to be a much more connected human.
And then, I knew what I had to do. For my third year of being cancer-free, I needed to write a book. THE book I’d been wanting to write but couldn’t figure out how. THE book that would fulfill one of my life goals… to become an author of something that will be here, even when I am not.
So I hunkered down. Not a morning person (also not a late night person… more like a 10 am person), I woke up conistently before the cock crows. I wrote when I left the Littlest off at school. I wrote on paper. I wrote in notebooks. I wrote in notes on my phone. I filled my office floor with chapters and notes spread on every inch of carpet. I wrote.
I stopped worrying about what ANYONE (even my parents and school mamas) would think about what I wrote. I wrote, for me. It reminded me of the way I started this blog. The way I wrote on it up until I learned about social media. I wrote unapolagetically and voraciously. I wrote, in tears. In laughter. In anxious thought, at times. I wrote and I found an editor and a layout person. I talked with people about how to purchase ISBN numbers. I worked in Canva on my cover. I found a rock star to convert my vision into a finalized cover. I figured out what steps I needed to take to not get sued. I wrote and published my book: Wear the Damn Swimsuit.
To-date, I have sold a little over 900 copies. I can’t even believe that. I CANNOT believe it. THANK. YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH. To each of the over 900 of you who made an effort to go onto Amazon, pay the cash money for my pages, and then, who have read it. Holy Hannah, people. THANK YOU.
What’s next? Well.
Here’s my goal: I want to work as a paid speaker. I want to speak. I want to connect with people face-to-face. I want to have the opportunity and privelege to really educate people on resilience and being human and falling apart and putting it together — if not the way it was, in a new way that is a different kind of good. I want to make people laugh. And honestly, you know what I’ve figured out? I am good at it. And I want to get even better.
I want to share the lessons of Wear the Damn Swimsuit. And sell even more books.
We have the right the not just dream but to do. We all have the chops to grow. We all have the very wonderful opportunity to wear the damn swimsuit. So let’s do that, okay?
Thank you again for being here. There will be more here again, from now on. I have to get back to this blog space. My memorybook. My own little corner of the internet. I will still be on Facebook and Instagram. But I will be here more than I have. Getting back to my roots. And moving forward at the same time.
…………………………… MORE BOOK INFO ………………………………….
If you haven’t snagged a copy of Wear the Damn Swimsuit, there are currently a few ways to get one in your hot little hands.
- Order on Amazon through this link (and then, if you read the book and love it, you can leave a 5-star review
- Pop into the Book Worm in Omaha and purchase a copy today
- Pop into Barnas Drug in Wilber to get a signed copy today
If you have interest in setting up a book signing event at a venue, please email me at babyonthebrehm@gmail.com. If you are jazzed about selling the book at a business or a store, please reach out to me at the same email address for wholesale prices. And if you are wanting to book me as a speaker for a lunch n learn, women’s event, conference, retreat, or opening of an envelope, give me a shout.
