A Letter from Danielle for November ’25
Hi everyone,
Well, we’re warming up to the holidays. I barely got the sand of summer swept out the door, leapt into September starting a new book, enjoyed Paris Fashion Week with my daughters in October, started yet another book to work on, and here we are in November, with the holidays almost upon us. The summer is long forgotten; we are well into fall, and we’re making holiday plans. November is a special time for family and friends. It’s a perfect time to welcome people into our homes who may not be close to home or have a place to go. And we welcome them among us.
It’s a time for special books too. At the very end of October, my book Never Say Never came out in paperback. If you were out trick-or-treating or handing out candy, you may not have gotten to it yet. It is about unexpected new beginnings. Louis L’Amour had a wonderful saying I love: “There will come a time when you think everything is over. That will be the beginning.” We can’t predict what will fall apart in our lives; sometimes things do. And then, much to our amazement, new plans and new people and new projects and new hope appear, and life takes off again, and begins again, and everything is brand new. Never Say Never is about a woman whose marriage, career, and life generally fall apart. She travels to France on vacation, and suddenly new opportunities come her way. She has choices and decisions to make . . . and a new life begins for her. It happens! We have to be brave enough to embrace those new options (and yes, it can be scary but worthwhile!).
And this month my new hardcover is a very special book too. Not only do we need to be brave enough to welcome or at least try new possibilities, but sometimes we have to be brave enough to let go of familiar things in our old life that just aren’t working anymore. The Color of Hope is about completely unexpected changes, new discoveries, moving forward, not clinging to an unhappy past. It’s about rediscovering ourselves, and when things fall apart, clinging to hope. Hope wears different faces for different people at different times. It can come in the form of a child, a new home, a new friend, a new town. It can be caused by a tiny gesture from a stranger. We don’t always recognize it at first. But hope is what gives us strength, reminds us of joy, helps us to give joy to others. Hope is what keeps us going in dark times.
It seems amazingly fitting to have a book about hope for the holidays, to end one year and start another. It is a beacon to guide us and to put a bright light in your heart. May the spirit of Thanksgiving bless you, and those around you, and help you bless others. I am deeply grateful for all of you, faithful friends and readers. May your Thanksgiving be abundant with joy and hope.
Love,
Danielle