A Letter from Danielle for June ’22
Hi Everyone,
I hope you’ve had a good week. Summer has arrived and I love it, although things have been a little hectic lately, with big projects and writing, family plans, and a massive purge/spring cleaning I did in my closets!!! It was an ambitious project, fun to weed things out that I don’t wear and rediscover fashion mistakes I’ve made!!
Life today is stressful after the pandemic—and just generally. Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some families. I live with constant publishing deadlines, to deliver books or edit “text proofs” (the last shot at changing the printed pages for a book before it goes to the printers). It’s like having homework assignments due constantly, for the rest of your life. And other jobs are stressful because of constant contact with the public, which can be incredibly stressful.
It sounds corny, but what gets me back on track and out of crisis mode in the daily grind of constant stress that rises steadily like the water level in a flood is that I try to devote several quiet hours once a week to reading religious articles—about how to apply one’s faith to one’s daily life, to improve one’s attitude, and be a better person. It’s like a breath of fresh air and everything comes back into focus. Whenever I can focus on gratitude, it changes my whole perspective, being grateful for the blessings and positives in my life instead of focusing on what’s wrong. I also love acupuncture for stress and find it extremely helpful!!!
And with summer, hopefully you’ll be able to find time to relax, take some time off—and do some reading! Later this month, my new book Suspects is going on sale! It’s about a dedicated CIA agent who becomes an unexpected ally to a woman haunted by the kidnapping of her family! I think it’s a really thrilling and exciting story and I can’t wait for you to read it!
I hope that your summer is off to a great start and that it will make up for the challenges of the last year and a half. Have a terrific month of June!!!
Love,
Danielle