I am writing a book (announcement)

If You Don’t Like This I Will Die, (Simon & Schuster, Spring/Summer 2025)

In September of last year, I decided I wanted to write a book. It felt like a force; like it wasn’t a choice. It came out of me like sludge being unclogged from a pipe. I typed away, building a proposal that I didn’t know if anyone would buy. But I didn’t care. I just kept going. 

I dedicated myself to writing. I didn’t tell a lot of people (I had heard there was such a thing as “talking your book away”). I woke up every morning at 6:00 a.m. and wrote, half asleep, sitting on a silent Zoom call with a few other NYC writers until the sun came up. Then I wrote some more. I had an agent turn me down. I kept going.

I almost gave up.

But then, it happened.

Three weeks ago, I was sitting in a park in Brooklyn. It was around 3 on a Monday afternoon, unspectacular in any other instance. I had had a meeting with Simon & Schuster the week prior, and I was on pins and needles waiting to hear back. My agent called with the good news. I screamed. Later on in the evening over an omakase sushi dinner with a friend, tears flooded my eyes.

I’ve been keeping this in for 3 weeks, and it’s felt like years? It feels like I am announcing a pregnancy. Is this how engagements feel? No, because those things require partnering with another person in some way/shape/form. Writing a book comes from within.

I can honestly say this is the most excited I have ever been, about anything. I find myself walking down the street, dancing and yelping at random times. Also, I’ve been so excited that I wasn’t sleeping well the first two weeks, but I’m slowly getting back to a normal sleep schedule.

If You Don’t Like This I Will Die will be published by Simon & Schuster, coming spring/summer 2025. 

I knew I wanted to write about going viral, about the strange world of being an influencer, and the reflections I’ve had after a few years of living life much differently.

After holding my 1-day-old baby niece, I knew I wanted to share my experience as a word of caution for the 98% of elementary school students who want to be influencers when they grow up. I wanted to share how walking away from the things we are “supposed to want in life” can save us. 

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see ya soon.