Shawn tells the story of how he took a scary leap to transition to full-time writing after his business went bust. Practical tips from other accomplished writers on writing and the writing life are woven throughout, effectively breaking up the narrative and pacing the story. Shawn writes beautiful, reflective prose but somehow manages to avoid being heavy-handed with his words. This is no small feat. Beautiful story, beautifully written.

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Vanderkam shows how successful people use their mornings, profiling people who do all kinds of different things with their early hours: exercise, spiritual practices, family time, creative work. The common thread: they’re all intentional about using their mornings well, which is crucial to success. Read this one on vacation so you can think it through and dream about putting your own morning plan into action without any pressure or guilt to do something immediately. More info →

Hayley walks you through the steps of creating a small wardrobe that works (a “capsule wardrobe”) and shares specific instructions for shopping thrift stores, value stores (like Old Navy), dressing while you’re pregnant, and transforming jeans and a t-shirt into a bona fide outfit. Read it on vacation so you can spend some time thinking it over without feeling like you need to immediately clean out your closet.

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