November 2026 Update – What if I actually can do this?
November always feels like a turning point. The days are getting shorter, the first snow is on its way, and year end is around the corner. It’s a good time to reflect on how far you’ve come.
This month, I’m celebrating the publication of my first book! It’s hard to describe the feeling of watching your first book become real. It’s a mix of euphoria, vulnerability, pride and immense gratitude.
I met my co-author, Gordon Holley, at a CPA Nonprofit Conference in early 2020. One of us said, “We should write a book!”
In February 2026, we submitted our manuscript and thought, “Whew, almost done!”
Little did we know… Next came editor feedback, advance reader feedback, proofreading and what felt like a million more decisions.
Now The Deep End is here. Wow, we are officially authors!
I’m so grateful to everyone who cheered us on, especially Cathy Taylor, President and CEO of the Lawson Foundation, who so generously wrote our foreword, the Hesje CPA Knowledge Centre, whose Self-Publishing Grant helped make it possible, and our advance readers and the FriesenPress team.
My husband, Paul, made me a calendar featuring some quotes from the book. One is a line our main character, Alex, writes in her notebook in Chapter 1, as a brand-new executive director completely in over her head:
“What if I actually can do this?”
It brought tears to my eyes. I’m so grateful for Paul’s support through this whole journey, and that one line captures the process perfectly.
If you’re asking this question about your work, here’s what I learned: just start.
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