Kickstarter

I don't know how many of you are readers of The Onion, but there's a "columnist" there named Jim Anchower who always starts his columns with something like "yo, dudes, it's been a while since I last rapped at you, but there's been a lot going on."

Today, Jim Anchower and I stand in solidarity, because there's been a lot going on. Rather than dive into details, suffice it to say that it takes much longer to write a good book than I originally anticipated, especially when the outside world refuses to calm down and cooperate.

I'm excited with the progress so far, and I want to make sure everything is how it should be before unleashing it upon the world. I haven't even been updating the blog, both in anticipation of a new site, and in complete surrender to competing circumstances.

I guess the main message is this: Working on it. Will have a good book when it is done. Holding off on the website. Will have a great website when this is done. And I'm done predicting a due date, because I think that's what eventually killed Shakespeare. Or something like that.

Hang in there. Thank you for not arriving at my door with flaming torches and pitchforks. And, is a torch really a torch if it's not flaming?

See you soon.

jeff

Hey, $25-and-above backers, it's time to submit those Ask the Doc questions! Your pledge entitles you to one Ask the Doc question. Submit them via email to drjeff@gmail.com, with the header "Ask the Doc." Please include your name so I can keep track and make sure everyone gets their question answered.

Everything is fair game. If we need to narrow things down, or expand them, we can figure that out via email. Think about what would be most useful to you - a therapy question? A question about how to help a friend or family member? Something about a specific diagnosis? - then drop me an email and we'll get started.

Ask the Doc questions will be published on the existing Doc Blog. When the new site comes out, there will be a section dedicated to Ask the Doc questions, so they'll all migrate there. If you'd rather that your question doesn't appear, that's fine, too. Just let me know.

So... start questioning! I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

-jeff

Hey, backers and interested friends o' the Doc!

We just returned from our delayed honeymoon. We decided to hit Las Vegas again, this time all by ourselves. We learned several things, including the fact that the Mandalay Bay folks could have taken away everything but their awesome pools and we'd have been happy as pale little Portland clams. The sun was nice, the 105 degrees was okay, but it's great to be back home.

While I was lounging poolside, I came to some realizations. Sure, some of them were of the usual "hey, wouldn't it be great to be rich?" variety. But I got a chance to really give some thought to a realistic timeline for this project in which you're all invested. I realized that I could just CRANK something out, satisfy the letter of the agreement between us, and be done. But I have no interest in that. I want to make a really wonderful, well-edited, well-written book. And that takes some time.

Part of this project is building a new website, as you know. Another realization was that I'd like the book and the website to launch at the same time, to create maximum excitement and to really push the book out there. So, here's what I'm going to do. The book and website, if all goes according to plan, will appear simultaneously in mid-September. My birthday is the 17th of that month, and that would be a pretty cool way to celebrate. I'm shooting for that day. Cross your fingers! If not right on the 17th, it will be close.

In the meantime, it's time to start fulfilling some pledge incentives. And that's what your next update will be about. Stay tuned... it should hit your inbox in about ten minutes. :)

-jeff

Hi, backers and other interested folks!

When last we spoke, I was fresh off a wonderful wedding experience, and charged up about getting things going, book-wise. At that time, I had about a month of full time work left before my much-loved Summer Schedule started.

So much has happened since then. The day I returned to work after my wedding break, I learned that a former classmate and colleague had taken his life. Complicating this difficult situation was the fact that he was a professor to many of my current counseling clients. I found it confusing and difficult to figure out how to grieve the loss while comforting others who were feeling it even more sharply than I was. Piled on top of this mess was the death of my mother's husband/companion, leaving her alone at age 78.

Not long after that, I broke a tooth and embarked on a long and painful journey to fix it. A delayed extraction and a couple of weeks of dry socket later, I'm just now on the verge of feeling like doing much.

See, even the healers need healing! I haven't blogged for weeks. Summer schedule has begun, as of now, and I'm finding my way back to the path. This update represents my first effort to do so. Lucky you!

Have no fear.. I'm still very excited to get the book and website going. I just wanted you all to know why you haven't heard from me, and to tell you that I'm back in the saddle again. You'll be hearing more, more often, and the blog will rise from the swirling puddle of ennui and become a shining beacon of... well, whatever. I'll be blogging again. Soon.

Please feel free to be in touch at drjeff@gmail.com, or via the blog. 

Talk soon!

jeff

Thanks to all of you, the book and website are happening!

I will keep you all updated with book progress - I have a few weeks of full time work now, but after that will have a ton of time to write and polish the book that you all supported.

Thanks SO much. I'll be in touch to keep you in the loop about everything.

Hooray!

-jeff