I’m just over the moon to share some big news with you today: I have a new book coming out next month! It’s called Lightly: How to Live a Simple, Serene, and Stress-free Life, and will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on February 26.

If you ever feel like life is weighing you down—like the stuff in your home, the to-dos in your schedule, the worries in your heart are too much—this book is for you.

Over the last few years, our hyper-connected, image-obsessed culture has added new pressure to our lives. Social media has put us all in the spotlight, with the expectation to buy more, do more, know more, and show more than ever. In our quest to keep up, our closets become overstuffed, our calendars overbooked, and our spirits overwhelmed. Instead of happy, our lives feel heavy.

It doesn’t have to be that way. If we want, we can shake off many of those burdens and live more lightly. We can breeze through our days rather than drag through them. In this book, I show you how.

• the content
While The Joy of Less focused on the mechanics of decluttering, Lightly goes beyond that—way beyond—to give you a complete philosophy of life. Make “lightly” your mantra, one lovely little word to live by, and you’ll make beautiful choices in any situation—whether you’re tempted by an impulse purchase, trying to resist a chocolate donut, or struggling to say no to another obligation. Instead of cobbling together guidance from a variety of books, then struggling to recall it in those moments you need it most, all you have to remember is one word. It doesn’t get any easier than that.

This book helps you lighten every aspect of your life, including:

  • Your Stuff: create a serene space with your favorite things
  • Your Step: consume less and live in harmony with the earth
  • Your Stress: be less busy and breeze through your days
  • Your Spirit: clear emotional baggage from your mind and heart

• the format
Lightly is like a recipe book for minimalism. Have you ever been in the thick of a decluttering session and desperate for specific advice? (Exactly how do I choose which shoes to keep???) In Lightly, you don’t have to dig through an entire chapter for the details. Each category has a separate page, so whether you’re tackling plates, papers, shoes, sheets, handbags, heirlooms (or even a nagging guilt), you can quickly find the help you need.

In our busy lives, it’s hard to find a big block of time to read. I totally get that (I have a 7-year-old, after all!). That’s why I organized Lightly in short, stand-alone sections that can be read a few minutes at a time. Keep it by your sofa, bedside, or somewhere close at hand, and when you have a spare moment (your child is coloring, you’re waiting for water to boil), you can easily dip into it for a practical tip or some words of inspiration.

• the backstory
Lightly is a very special book to me for personal reasons. Two summers ago I had a serious health scare, which made me face the possibility of not seeing my daughter into adulthood. I had surgery to address it, but it made me wonder, as a mom and minimalist, what kind of all-encompassing advice I would leave her if I weren’t around to give it. I wanted to give her something succinct, powerful and memorable, one jewel of wisdom to hold on to as she makes her way through life. And so I wrote Lightly.

With that motivation, I truly poured my heart and soul into this book. In addition to practical advice, I’ve filled it with my favorite quotes and sources of inspiration, from Scandinavian design to Stoic philosophy to the Yoga Sutras. You might say it’s my magnum opus of minimalism. It holds all the knowledge I want to give to my daughter, and to you.

• the design
I envisioned Lightly in hardcover from the start, so it could be perused, referenced, and treasured for a lifetime. It’s not a one-time read, but something to come back to over months, years, or decades, to find guidance for any situation or season of life—whether you’re starting out, starting over, in the prime years of work and family life, or downsizing your empty nest. Maybe you’ll even give it to your own children someday.

Therefore, I wanted it to be beautiful in design as well as content. HMH created a lovely aqua + gold foil cover, and the interior features hand-lettered quotes and delicate drawings by Ryn Frank (check out her Instagram, you’ll love her work). This book is all sweetness and light—it’s meant to be a moment of serenity in your hectic day, a beacon of hope when life gets heavy.

• preorder
I don’t know how many hardcovers will be printed—but if you want to make sure you get a copy, you can preorder one now:

It’ll also be available as an ebook and audio book if that’s more your thing. 🙂

I’ll be sharing more details over the next few weeks, so be sure to sign up for my email list to stay up-to-date. (If you didn’t respond to the GDPR opt-in last May, and haven’t been receiving my emails, you’ll need to re-subscribe.) You can also follow me on Instagram, where I post on an almost-daily basis.

I can’t wait to get this book into the world and into your hands! It makes minimalism so much more doable and delightful. Just imagine: with one simple word you can cast off the weight, and glide through life more lightly and gracefully.


{Photo credit: Kathy Howard Portrait}





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