The (self-imposed) anxiety behind “launch day” was a lot; I feel like I was subconsciously holding my breath from May - July. Thankfully, sometime in early August I slowly started to exhale, and I have to say - now that I am breathing again - I am glad the launch is behind me. Now comes the fun phase; I get to talk about Equal Partners with readers and media.
Highlights? Well, seeing my name at the top of Culture Study last week was HUGE. I have been a reader of Anne Helen Peterson for a long time, but I like her even more after this experience. She is the only person to date who has asked me do a written interview, which I admit took way longer than the average 1-hour Zoom interview. But AHP’s format allowed me to be thoughtful about my response and intentional with my words, and I appreciated that opportunity.
The interview on Apple News was fun. This was the only interview I’ve actually gone to a studio to record - so that in itself was novel. Shumita Basu was an excellent interviewer who clearly thinks about gender stuff as much as me. She shared that she even included the term “cognitive labor” in her wedding vows! If only I had thought of that 16 years ago…
I’ve had a bit of international media. I had an intense afternoon doing 15 mini-interviews with CBC across Canada (from Halifax to Yellowknife to Victoria.) I loved my 25 minutes of fame on Radio New Zealand. Tomorrow I am excited to do an interview for the BBC - and this coming weekend I have an event @ Semicolon Books here in Costa Rica. (100% of book sales are going to Casabierta, which supports the LGBTQ+ community in Central America. If you’re in San Jose - please come by @ 11:00 Saturday!)
I am grateful this topic is resonating with a large audience, and thankful for every person who reads the book, forwards an article, or downloads a podcast. If you’re interested, you can find all the links on my website. Pods here; articles here.
If you’ve read (or listened) to the book, and feel compelled to leave a positive review - please do! Reviews really matter, as do the algorithms that drive potential readers to my book. Thank you to those who have already reviewed Equal Partners! And for those interested, feel free to leave a 5-star review on Amazon or Goodreads.
EVERY review is greatly appreciated.
THANK YOU!
I’ve also said this before - but I’ll say it again - I couldn’t have gotten through the last few months without all of you - everyone in my support network. Thank you for the encouraging emails and texts, publicity tips, thoughtful reviews, pictures of you holding your copy of Equal Partners, and solidarity Tweets. I am genuinely humbled by the outpouring of support.
And an extra thanks to AA. Your endless wisdom and encouragement means more than you know.
In other gender news, I am very excited to read Mother Brain: How Neuroscience Is Rewriting the Story of Parenthood, by Chelsea Conaboy. Katherine Goldstein from The Double Shift told me this book was a “game changer.” Mother Brain is coming out on Sept 13, but is available for pre-order now. I plan to chat with Chelsea in the next weeks and will include some Mother Brain facts in my next newsletter!
I am very interested in hearing about what people are doing in their own lives to rewrite gender norms. Do you have a story to share? Have you recently changed your language, or altered an expectation about gender roles? Please let me know!