Pause and restart: the essential exercise of taking some time out

Writing a book is an immense undertaking, and one of the most important steps in the process is editing. As I wrote my new book, The Tangram Method, about fostering self-awareness amongst neurodivergent young people, I knew that I would need to ensure that the content was accurate, accessible, and engaging. To that end, I engaged a team of experts by experience to review my work and provide feedback. Their assistance was invaluable in helping me to refine each chapter and make sure that the message I wanted to convey was clear and impactful. With their help, I was able to make sure that the book was a useful and inspiring guide for young people.

Initially, I was planning to launch my book, The Tangram Method, in September 2023. However, as the launch date drew nearer, I realized that I was not yet satisfied with the content. Despite engaging the experts by experience to review my work and provide feedback, I felt that I needed to take a step back and look at the book with fresh eyes before it was released. This pause proved to be invaluable, as it allowed me to further refine the content and make sure that it was accurate, accessible, and engaging. I also had the opportunity to review the perspectives of the neurodivergent young people who contributed to the book, which enabled me to create an even more inspiring story. Ultimately, this pause gave me the chance to make sure that the book was the best it could be before its launch. 

Talking with the neurodivergent young people who contributed to the book has been invaluable in helping me to shape the content. Their perspectives on their experiences and how they managed them have enabled me to create an engaging and inspiring story to help other professionals to support neurodivergent young people in their journey to self-awareness and self-acceptance, geared towards self-advocacy. Now I am in the final stages of editing the book based on the feedback of these trusted readers. With their input, I am confident that I am offering some pointers that can be helpful to those in a similar learning journey with their young people. I am planning the launch for September 2023 when I hope to be ready to share the book with the world.