Here is a random thought.
I find it funny every time I explain to a new author that Parenting Unpacked went through five versions before I found the one. Five versions, not five edits.
The Publishing Industry Prices Itself Out of Reach (And Why I Won't)
I buy books myself. I know what it feels like to look at a price and hesitate. Books are not like videos.
I Went to Coffee with an Expat Looking for a Mentor. Here Is What Happened.
I have been on a search for a mentor. The vira-lata move of assuming nobody would bother to teach me. The ten steps ahead brain that forgot to ask for directions. I went into that meeting with my antennae fully extended. Someone in here might be my knight in shining armour.
The Book That Was Not There When I Needed It
Every pregnancy book I read before my daughter was born told me what to pack in my hospital bag. None of them told me that not understanding how health insurance works in a foreign country would cost me close to ten thousand euros.
I Am Usually the Mentor. Turns Out That Was a Vira-Lata Move.
A friend here in Switzerland asked me the other day if I have someone bigger than me in the industry who can be my mentor. I said no. I am usually the mentor. What I did not say, because I was still figuring it out, is why.
I am starting a book about burnout.
I am starting a book about burnout. I want to be transparent about the conditions under which this decision was made.
Does Exhaustion Feel the Same Everywhere?
Research confirms that exhaustion is experienced and expressed differently depending on culture. Brazilian Portuguese has a phrase for it: tô morta de cansaço. Dead from tiredness. Not dead-ish. Dead.
The Lens Is Migration. The Book Is For Everyone.
The lens I use is migration. But migration is not only geographical.
This Idea is Either Brilliant or a Disaster.
I have been watching presentations. The ones that stayed with me were not the ones with the best slides. They were the ones where someone stood up, looked at the room, and just talked. So I made a decision.
This Has Nothing to Do With the Books. But It Made Me Laugh So Hard.
My dad moved from Uruguay to Brazil when he was a teenager. New country, new language, new everything. His mom pulled him aside before they left the house: blend in, don't draw attention to yourself, just blend in. The plan was solid. There was one small problem.
I Chose the Least Voted Cover. Here Is Why.
When I was putting Parenting Unpacked together I made two choices that other authors warned me were risky.
What Is Identity Migration — And Why I Built Parenting Unpacked Around It?
I moved countries. What else moved took me years to name.
Germany Is Leading the Sales. I Did Not See That Coming.
I do not check the dashboard that often. Anxiety and sales reports are not always a healthy combination. But other authors kept asking which countries the books were selling in and I got curious.
Why It Took Five Versions to Write Parenting Unpacked
I wrote a first draft in six months and I was proud of it. Then Luciana Gomide read it and came back with something that was not quite criticism and not quite praise. She wanted more of me in the book. I pushed back.
I Explained My Author Philosophy to a Journalist Yesterday.
I told her I do not mind sharing any of it. The tips, the mistakes, the things I wish someone had told me. I did not have a name for any of that when I said it, but now I do.
She Called It Deeply Relevant. I Will Take That Over Bestseller.
I sent Dr. Débora Pasin an advanced reader copy of Parenting Unpacked and she came back with this: "Parenting Unpacked gives voice to the silent transformations that accompany parenthood, adaptation and the sense of belonging in times of change."
She Is Absolutely a Queen.
I had spoken with Margery before so I went in as a fan already. Fully prepared to be impressed.
Why Are Cultural Literacy Books Not on Every Child’s Gift List?
Parents search for ways to help their children navigate a new country in the specific, daily, practical way that actually helps a child feel less like a stranger in a room full of people. The books that do that job are not on the lists.
A Psychologist Doing Her PhD Found Maternity Abroad. Then She Emailed Me.
A psychologist doing peer-reviewed work on the psychology of expatriate motherhood found a book written by an expat mother about exactly that experience and said the overlap felt very real.
I Have Two Marketing Degrees. I Am Choosing to Demarket.
I know how funnels work. I know what a conversion rate is. I know approximately seventeen ways to make someone feel like they are missing out on something. I also live in the world, which means I am constantly on the receiving end of everything I just described. And I made a decision. I am not doing that to you.