For years now, I've been teasing about new books. Similar to any creative project (and process), it takes time to get things to the right distributor for your idea. With books, that means finding the right publisher. Also, there is something called a NDA or non-disclosure agreement that's necessary for legal reasons. So, while I can't share details at the moment, I can tell you that multiple book projects are in the works for 2019 and 2020. In the meantime, here is what I can tell you about:
This October, my second contribution to the Mental Health for Millennials book series with Book Hub Publishing in Galway, Ireland--the 2020 European Cultural Capital--will come out on World Mental Health Day. You can buy the first book in the series (2017), which features my chapter on sexuality, here:
www.bookhubpublishing.com/product/mental-health-for-millennials/
On January 1, 2019, my creative nonfiction essay, "750 Words About Cancer," is coming out in an anthology that Penn State called "spectacular," naming Floyd Skloot and myself as a few of the "notable writers.' This collection of illness narratives is co-edited by The Accidental Buddhist himself, Dinty W. Moore, also an essayist for The New Yorker, New York Times, and the winner of the prestigious Grub Street Book Award. Moore is the editor of Brevity, the journal of concise literary creative nonfiction where my essay was first published in 2006. Erin Murphy and Renee Nicholson are Dinty W. Moore's co-editors and bring a wealth of talent and experience to the volume as well. Bodies of Truth is from University of Nebraska Press and is available for pre-order now:
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bodies-of-truth-dinty-w-moore/1128511356?ean=9781496203601
www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9781496203601/
www.amazon.co.uk/Bodies-Truth-Personal-Narratives-Disability/dp/1496203607
Much of my work involves narrative medicine and concerns regarding increased risks with disability, higher co-mordity rates of mental illness, as well as early death--all of which negatively impacts the global economy--not to mention our very humanity. We need to be more aware of our interconnected lives--when one person is failing, we all fail. When someone is hurting, we all hurt. Wounded people wound others. In the States, suicide rates have risen 30%. The number of adult individuals who aren't working because of mental health issues has increased as well. Ageism, sexism, and racism contribute to all of the above, and it has to stop. All life matters. One life doesn't mean more or less than another, regardless of gender, skin color, or any other difference humans use to discriminate against each other, making individuals more vulnerable to things like illness and poverty. You can hear me talk more about it at the 7th World Congress on Clinical Safety in Switzerland this fall.
Like my headshot below? You're not alone. It received an overwhelmingly positive 98% approval rating in social media polls and will be featured on the back cover of at least one of my forthcoming books. The best I can say at this point is that there will be something for everyone in the next two years. In 2002, nine people donated blood and saved my life through their generosity. That was my miracle. I'm humbled and grateful to all of you for your continued support and will work hard to share my miracle with each and every one of you--no matter where you're from or what you believe in, I believe in you.
Stay uplifted! Good things can and will happen if you're willing to work hard and not self-sabotage by giving up on yourself or giving in to social scrutiny. I promise. And, I always keep my promises.
Best wishes to all the good souls of this world--
RAH