I have some happy news to share.

After years of writing, researching, reflecting, illustrating, and revising, my new book, Life Beneath Uncertainty: Misfires, is now published and available through the Blurb Bookstore.

Many of you who have visited Gratitude Squared over the years will recognize some of the ideas that found their way into this book.

There is biology, of course. There are the unexpected misfires of living systems, and the remarkable processes of repair that continue quietly within us. There are personal stories, reflections on disability and illness, poetry, and questions that do not always have easy answers.

And there is a House.

My mother, Marian E. Blake, gave me that House through her poetry many years ago. I have wandered through it in my imagination ever since. In this book, the House has grown into a place readers can visit, with a Winding Stream to follow and rooms in which to pause, wonder, reflect, and sometimes simply rest.

This book is not a promise that uncertainty disappears. It is an invitation to look more closely at the abundance of life that exists alongside it.

I am grateful to everyone who has encouraged my writing and followed these reflections over the years.

The book is available as an illustrated paperback and a digital PDF. You can explore it here:

Life Beneath Uncertainty: Misfires — Mary Blake Huer

https://www.blurb.com/b/13041251-life-beneath-uncertainty-misfires

Thank you for visiting Gratitude Squared.

The House is open. I hope you will come inside.

— Mary Blake Huer

Note: Blurb frequently has sales for new customers. There is a 30% off sale now.

Here is a potential podcast to announce the book as well:

Pip and Mara: The House Has Opened Its Doors

Pip: Mara, have you heard the news? The House is finally open.

Mara: The House? You mean the one we’ve been talking about—the House that began with a mother’s poem?

Pip: That very one. Only now it has 260 pages, illustrations, a Winding Stream, and places where visitors can stop along the way.

Mara: And a name, I understand. Life Beneath Uncertainty: Misfires.

Pip: Yes. Although I suspect the title might make some people think it’s a book about everything going wrong.

Mara: Which would be rather unfortunate, because so much of the book is about everything that continues going right.

Pip: That’s what I’ve been thinking. Our bodies are doing remarkable things every moment, even when we’re worried about the things that aren’t working.

Mara: And the House reminds us that a person is always more than a diagnosis, a disability, or a difficult chapter of life.

Pip: So what does a visitor do when they arrive?

Mara: They can follow the Winding Stream, explore the rooms, read some poetry, consider the science, or simply pause.

Pip: No mandatory tour?

Mara: None that I know of.

Pip: Good. I’ve never been particularly fond of mandatory tours.

Mara: Then perhaps we should open the door and let readers discover the House for themselves.

Pip: With pleasure. And I hear the book is now available at Blurb.

Mara: It is. Here’s the address: https://www.blurb.com/b/13041251-life-beneath-uncertainty-misfires

Pip: Welcome, everyone. Come inside.

Mara: And stay as long as you like.