Ballantine Author Doree Shafrir Reminds Us to Live Life at Our Own Pace
;void(0);){kind=link}
Doree Shafrir, author of THANKS FOR WAITING: The Joy (& Weirdness) of Being a Late Bloomer, published by Ballantine, reminds readers that it’s OK to live life at your own speed. In her debut memoir, Shafrir explores the enormous pressure people, especially women, feel to hit particular milestones by a certain age and how we can redefine what it means to be a late bloomer. She writes about everything from dating to infertility, to how friendships evolve as you get older, to why being pregnant at forty-one is unexpectedly freeing—all with the goal of appreciating the lives we’ve lived so far and the lives we still hope to live.
In this Behind the Pages Igloo feature, we gain insights into the creation of THANKS FOR WAITING from the book’s author and editor.
Sara Weiss
Ballantine Executive Editor Sara Weiss says, “A few years ago, I started listening to Forever35, a podcast about self-care co-hosted by Doree Shafrir. Funny, smart, and deeply relatable, listening to the podcast felt like talking to a best friend. So when Doree’s book proposal crossed my desk, I knew I had to acquire it. Doree and I worked on THANKS FOR WAITING for about two years, and what started out as an essay collection morphed into a memoir that became that much more vulnerable and nuanced, about the ways women’s lives have been constrained by arbitrary deadlines, and how learning to live at your own pace can be unexpectedly freeing. I hope it will give many more women the comfort and reassurance — and inspiration — it gave me.”
Doree Shafrir shares, “I’m so lucky that I got to work with Sara Weiss on this book, which would not exist without her thoughtful, perceptive, challenging edits. She pushed me to dig deeper and to be vulnerable, and she helped me shape the narrative of the book in ways that I didn’t think were possible. I think a good editor helps an author write a book that they didn’t know they were capable of writing, and that’s exactly what Sara did.”
A selection of praise from fellow authors:
- “Tender, funny, and endlessly reassuring, Thanks for Waiting is a much-needed reminder that certain things take time. This is a keen-eyed, heartfelt memoir about ambition, expectation, and the sweet surrender of relinquishing a schedule. . . . A coming-of-age story that’s truly of the moment and spectacularly good for morale.” —Mary H. K. Choi, New York Times bestselling author of Emergency Contact and Permanent Record
- “Thanks for Waiting is the loving, wise, cuttingly funny, older sister we all need in book form. In it, Doree offers us the comfort of knowing that there is no such thing as being too late; rather, if we pay attention to our lives and evolve, we are always right on time. Thank you, Doree, for helping us put less pressure on ourselves.”—Tara Schuster, author of Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies
- “Vulnerable, hilarious, and wise, Doree Shafrir’s Thanks for Waiting is a wonderful reminder that life is not a race, and its obstacles can be just as affirming as its triumphs.”—Meredith Talusan, author of Fairest
- “This book is a hug for every single person who has ever felt like they were falling behind; a beautiful reminder that you’re right on time, wherever you are, and that the wait isn’t your life being delayed . . . it is your life!”—Nora McInerny, author of No Happy Endings and It’s Okay to Laugh