The Thank-You Project Turns One!

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The Thank-You Project Turns One!

December 3, 2020

Dear Readers of The Thank-You Project,

Today marks exactly a year since my book hit the shelves, and I wanted to mark the milestone with a thank-you note to the people who made the whole endeavor worthwhile. This is a first for me, actually; a repeat thank-you letter. There’s one to readers in the book itself, but I wrote that before I knew any of you. While I stand by every word in that original letter, I wanted to send an updated one. You know, now that we’ve actually met.

I remember the very first person to buy the book: during Thanksgiving weekend last year, my publisher arranged a pre-release signing at Book Passage in San Francisco’s Ferry Building. A young woman walked up to the table where I was rearranging my pens nervously, and told me that she was undergoing cancer treatment and wanted to write thank-you letters to the doctors and nurses who were caring for her. We both cried a little as we talked, and we hugged, and that’s the day I learned to pack tissues along with the pens when I went to signings. I have thought of this beautiful young woman many times since and hope that she has made it through the pandemic safe and sound so far. I hope her doctors and nurses are hanging in there, too.

In the weeks and months that followed, I had the chance to talk about gratitude letters with so many kinds of people, in so many settings – from bookstores to living rooms to Zoom calls, from Oakland to Massachusetts to Hong Kong, from schoolkids to business people to church groups and book clubs. Whether in person or virtually, I have had the delight of hearing about so many wonderful people to whom readers are thinking of writing their letters. I stand by my decision not to write a true crime book because this is so much nicer than hearing reader stories about murder!

I’m grateful for the way you’ve taken the ideas I’ve shared in the book and made them your own – handing over your letters in person, tucked into the front flap of the book, doing the hard work of feeling your way through pain to forgiveness and on into gratitude. To know that this book launched a bunch of gratitude letters out into the wild will always be the biggest reward that this author could ever hope for.

I’m even grateful for the Goodreads and Amazon reviewers who left the 1- and 2-star reviews because I am notoriously thin-skinned – it was my husband’s main fear when I announced that I was going to be a writer all those years ago, because he knew he was going to have to pick up the pieces. (For the record: he was not wrong.) Their reviews have been helpful practice in the long-overdue lesson that everything is subjective, the praise and the criticism, and to treat it all accordingly. (I do laugh every time I see the lady who hated The Thank-You Project because it included playlists, and right beneath her review the lady who loved it. Because it included playlists.)

I learned so much about publishing since I signed my contract in August 2018 and I’m grateful for that, too. It’s like a door opened into a new country that I knew about vaguely, but now understand in depth. Not bad to be a 50-something dog still learning new tricks. Wouldn’t have happened if my wonderful publisher Running Press didn’t believe you readers were out there.

So I just want to take a moment to thank you for all you’ve brought into my life in the past year, and hope that you receive support and encouragement for your own goals in equal measure. Thank you again!

PS: Want me to sign a bookplate to stick into the front of The Thank-You Project when you give it as a gift? Just email me at info@daviskho.com with a photo proof of purchase, include your mailing address and tell me who I’m signing for. I’ll send as many as I can before I run out of bookplates!

How cool was this? Real Simple asked readers to send in their favorite books to give as gifts, for their December print issue, and someone suggested The Thank-You Project! Thanks Liana in West Islip!

And when the Washington Post asked authors to recommend books to give as gifts, the unparalleled R. Eric Thomas suggested The Thank-You Project! If you haven’t read them already, I highly recommend Eric’s book Here for It, ,and I just finished reading Reclaiming Her Time: The Power of Maxine Waters – both great reads to slip under the Christmas tree or Hanukkah bush or Festivus pole.

And one bonus book recommendation: my friend, the very talented writer KJ Dell’Antonia, released her debut novel this week called The Chicken Sisters, and Reese has already chosen it for her December Book Club. I got an early peek at this funny, poignant, relatable story of sibling rivalry that plays out against the backdrop of two Kansas fried chicken restaurants and it’s great – perfect for the novel reader on your shopping list. I’m giving away a copy of The Chicken Sisters on Instagram this week if you want to enter! And to celebrate KJ’s big launch day I made her a playlist – because how could I not? Check it out on Spotify at https://bit.ly/ChickenSistersPlaylist.

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