It's been 10 years since I did my year of less

...and I have more to say (starting June 2nd! 😎📖)

My first copy of the paperback version of THE YEAR OF LESS. I got it at Powell’s Books in Portland, when I went to give a talk there in January 2019 (a literal dream come true)

Hi friend,

It’s my birthday in 47 days. I know because I added two dates to a countdown app I occasionally use when I’m excited about something. Last year, I counted down to all my trips back home to see my family. And a little while ago, I got the idea to countdown to my 40th birthday. That one is 412 days away, and I’m already planning to spend it hiking some wainwrights in the Lake District. (Or if the budget allowed, maybe hiking in another country!?)

This summer, I’m turning 39. It’s not a milestone birthday, and I don’t really have any feelings about it. I don’t even know why I added it to the app! It’s just another birthday. However, July 7th, 2024 does mark the 10-year anniversary of a pivotal moment in my life: it will be 10 years since I started the experiment that would eventually be turned into my first book, THE YEAR OF LESS.

I got the idea in June 2014. It was in the weeks leading up to my 29th birthday, and I was feeling anxious about what lied beyond that—at age 30. I don’t remember exactly what I felt anxious about, other than this nebulous idea of having to “settle down” in my 30s. (Hard LOL now.) But I do remember feeling as though I wanted 29 to mean something. I wanted to do something with myself, for myself. That’s when I got the idea to stop shopping for a year.

I documented that experiment on my old blog, and unexpectedly got a literary agent on that other side (and then a book deal, but I did the work on that proposal). THE YEAR OF LESS came out in January 2018 and has lived a life of her own. She was a Wall Street Journal bestseller. Has sold 250,000-300,000 copies in English (royalty statements are confusing to interpret). Been translated into 11 other languages so far (and was a bestseller in Russia!?).

It’s had a lot of success, and I’m incredibly grateful for that! And, the most challenging part of publishing a memoir is that it is only a snapshot of who you were at one time in your life. People might read it for the first time and think it’s all still true for you. But a book does not showcase who you are today. I am not the same person I was when I wrote that book (2016-2017), and am certainly not the same person as when I did the experiment documented in it (2014-2015).

Since starting my year of less in July 2014, I have: remained sober, gotten rid of more stuff, travelled a lot/been nomadic at times, lived in a handful of cities, immigrated to the UK, furnished a house, remained self-employed, written a second book, experienced a trauma, done 3+ years of therapy, learned SO MUCH about myself, let go of many relationships, started new ones, changed my mind, started to form an identity, formed real opinions for maybe the first time…

I’ve written about some of this. And yet, I still feel like I have a complicated relationship with TYOL. If I’m honest, I think I’ve even been a little afraid of it. Afraid to open it up and be taken back to another time in my life. I’ve thought about revisiting it several times, but have never known what that might look like. Why do I want to do this? What am I really afraid of? What’s different? What was I right/wrong about? Who am I today? And what do I want to say now?

I don’t have answers to most of those questions. I haven’t opened it up yet, so I don’t know what I’m going to find on the other side of the front cover. But I finally know what revisiting TYOL is going to look like…

…and I am VERY excited to get started!

My idea: I’m going to spend the summer revisiting TYOL. Specifically, I’m going to read 1 chapter of the book each week and write a chapter-by-chapter follow-up here There are 12 chapters in total, which means I will write 12 posts over 12 weeks. I’m going to publish them on Sunday’s (and will continue to write my usual posts on Tuesday’s, which means you’ll hear from me twice/week for a few months*).

Like I said, I haven’t opened the book up yet—so I don’t know how it’s going to feel to read, or what I’m going to write about in advance. This will be happening in real-time. It might seem a bit unusual, to revisit your own work in this way. But I think being able to review/critique your work is an extremely valuable skill for a writer. I think this will be a good writing project (especially in my lifelong pursuit of wanting to feel fully expressed), but also a good editing project too!

A full follow-up on an entire book is a BIG undertaking (I’m essentially challenging myself to look at 60,000 words through a new critical lens). It’s also likely going to be a very personal journey. THE YEAR OF LESS is the most vulnerable piece of work I have ever published (next to the piece I wrote about trauma last year, which I have since deleted). Reviewing it has the potential to stir up a lot. And, I feel equipped and ready-enough for this experience.

For all of these reasons, this 12-post series will only be available to paying subscribers.

You might enjoy this if you read my blog back in 2014-2015, when I was first doing the experiment outlined in the book. You might enjoy this if you are a fan of TYOL—whether you read it years ago, or only recently (lots of first-time readers subscribe here every week!). And I think you could enjoy this even if you haven’t read the book at all! Because what I want to share is what’s true for me today… and you can’t find that in those pages.

Either way, summer is a great time to consume easy/fun content—and that’s exactly what kind of experience I’m hoping to create with these posts. THE YEAR OF LESS “10-year reunion” series is my version of being able to write a summer read for you! I hope we enjoy it! ☀️

xx Cait

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Join THE YEAR OF LESS 10-Year Reunion Book Club 😎📖

When: Sunday’s from June 2—August 25, 2024

What: 12 posts/emails sent over 12 weeks (1 per chapter of the book)

Where: I’ll send out each post via Substack, and we can chat in the comments!

How to join us: Become a paying subscriber

What you need: You don’t have to read along. You could simply enjoy the emails for what they will be. But if you want to truly understand the comparison of what was true for me 10 years ago and what is true for me today, you’ll want to grab a copy of THE YEAR OF LESS and read one chapter each week. (They are short, and it’s a super easy read!)