I have had quite the April this year. Between helping a daughter rehab a broken elbow (we had no idea that this would involve 6 months of physical therapy and home exercises post-surgery), helping another do all the things needed to get ready for high school and an Outward Bound week, AND finishing the writing part of my book, I am both exhilarated and exhausted! Those are just bonus activities added to our already very full and abundant life. It has been quite the helpful change to me personally and our family as a whole for my husband to ramp down to a 60% schedule.

I hope that you caught that I HAVE COMPLETED THE MANUSCRIPT FOR MY BOOK!! I had NO idea how much work writing a book requires. Moving from a blogger to a book writer is a major shift. I could not have done it without my amazing writing coach, Ed Cyzewski. I can't wait to share Adopting Grace: A Parenting Journey from Fear to Freedom with all of my friends, blog readers, and beyond. Now my attention shifts from writing to promoting a book - a whole different animal. I am on a steep learning curve.

In light of that, I am looking for people who are interested in being on my "book launch team." That mostly means that you get to read the book early (sometime this summer) in exchange for your willingness to review it on Amazon or Goodreads. If you want to know more about that, please email me at adoptinggrace2017@gmail.com OR leave a public or private comment on the blog or on one of my Facebook pages. I will be reaching out to individuals in days ahead, but if you want to raise your hand and volunteer, then I would love that! Or if you just want more information to decide if you can participate, that would be great too. Just let me know if you have interest.

I am so very excited about the cover of this book. It is amazing. The artwork on the cover was painted by my dear friend Rose Lynne Bowman of Winston-Salem, NC. The design work was done by my talented son Chris Younkin-Wilson. If you are on my launch team, you will get a sneak peek of this beautiful cover.

Last Friday, I met Rose Lynne in Graham, NC, and we sat on the sidewalk of a quaint downtown coffee shop. I told her that she looked like a "steel magnolia." We only had about 45 minutes to visit and catch up, but it was an oasis in the midst of a lot of craziness in my life. Our paths crossed very soon after my first son was born. She has watched my entire parenting journey both up close and from afar, and we have seen each other through many twists and turns in life.

Hanging out in front of Press Coffee+Crepes

Adopting Grace is my heart and soul in written form. I share intimate details of both my parenting and faith shifts. The official "short description" of this book is:

Tricia Wilson grew up in a conservative evangelical subculture. While her three biological sons often complied with the legalistic parenting practices she had learned, her two adopted daughters presented challenges beyond her experience. Wilson faced the possibility of emotionally alienating her daughters and perhaps the rest of her family unless she found a new way to parent with grace and mercy. As it turned out, the person who needed grace and mercy the most was her.

If this sounds like something you want to be a part of, please let me know. I would be honored to have you be an early reader and help me to promote my book. Thank you for coming along this journey with me. xoxo

PS Check out my new blog photos at tricia-wilson.com. Thank you to Stephanie Spencer Photography for a lovely morning together.