Just a few more weeks until Beautiful Risks launches, and I’m so excited to share this book with the world.

When I lost my sister Libby in 2023, I knew I wanted to write something to honor her. I just didn’t know what form it would take. Did I want to write something factual? A memoir? Or did I want to fictionalize her somehow — keep her spirit alive in a character who could exist beyond the confines of what actually happened?

Then Nora and Roman came to me.

Nora lost her sister, just like I lost mine. Roman lost his partner. They’re both grieving, but in completely different ways. He wants to stay quiet, stay small, stay out of trouble after years of hard lessons. She wants to be loud and free the way her sister always was — to finally say yes to the things she spent her whole life saying no to. Together, they open up their hearts and keep each other grounded when everything else feels like it’s falling apart.

Mara, Nora’s sister in the book, is inspired by Libby. Not a carbon copy — fiction gave me the freedom to protect what was private while still honoring what was true. Libby was fearless and funny and magnetic, the kind of person who made every room feel more alive. I hope readers feel that energy in Mara, and I hope that anyone who has lost someone they love finds something of their person in these pages, too.

Beautiful Risks launches July 15th. I can’t wait for you to meet Nora and Roman — and Mara.