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What do LeBron James, the Holderness Family, and I have in common?
Dear <<First Name>>,
I have an announcement. Effective immediately, I am leaving my work as a professor and writer to become a full-time amateur pickleball player.
Yes, you read that right.
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Not exactly!
But don't think I haven't fantasized about it! Ever since my husband and I first tried this oddly-named sport of pickleball a few weeks ago, life has not been the same.
We volley in our bedroom. We queue up for public courts on weekends. We even found ourselves playing pickleball in street clothes in the rain one day, just because.
We are hooked!
We are not alone. Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the country, so much so that professional athletes like LeBron James and Tom Brady are now buying pickleball teams.
Our BFFs – Penn and Kim Holderness – are hooked too! (Okay, we’re don’t know them know them like in real life know them, but like millions of you, we love their awesome videos, podcast, book, and pickleball t-shirts, the latter of which was sold out when we first tried to buy them).
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A Soothing, Satisfying Story
There is a cute story about where pickleball got its unusual name. The sport began in the 1960s. To entertain their bored kids on vacation, some parents mashed up whatever sports gear and rules they could muster – a bit of badminton, a bit of ping pong, a bit of tennis. What to call it? Well, one of the families had a little cockapoo puppy named, you guessed it, Pickles. So cute, right?!
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Except the story is likely untrue, it seems. You see, Pickles wasn’t born until a few years later. One of the inventors of the sport recalls that they actually drew from the term “pickle boat”: the boat in crew where the team consists of rowers from different boats all thrown together. It’s a messier story, harder to explain, and less cute. So, history seems to have favored the puppy story.
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Dang it. That puppy story was soothing and satisfying. The whole sport is kind of soothing and satisfying, actually, I think that explains much of its popularity.
But it seems likely that the puppy story was just a fable.
Fables
In recent years, I have been thinking a lot about fables, and realizing that some of the history about the country I (we) love consists of soothing, satisfying fables. One example is the story of Rosa Parks. Parks was not an accidental activist nor was she unusually tired that day nor was she elderly (she was 42).
We know the fable, not the real story. For the real story, I highly recommend the fable-debunking new movie based on historian Jeanne Theoharis’ excellent award-winning book.
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Her real story is not as soothing and satisfying as the fable. It consists of many failed attempts at change and the disappointing realization that the majority opposed the actions she and others were taking. Parks was not treated as a hero in the years that followed; her life was filled with many hardships as a result of her actions and activism.
There were (and still are) many fables that I believe to be history that I need to unlearn if I am to really understand how change actually happens, the mess our country is in now, and how we can move forward. Knowing the truth matters, as I explained briefly in this Forbes piece and more deeply in my new book. Unlike the pickleboat fable, fables like that of Rosa Parks stand in the way of things we care deeply about, like a more just future.
Which brings us to my new book.
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A More Just Future
My new book came out earlier this month. It’s about the relationship we have with our country's past. Should we change the mascot of our favorite team? Should we take down Confederate monuments? Should we rename a brand? Should we teach children about the brutality of our history? Questions like these are dominating our headlines and flummoxing our souls.
I tackle questions like these using evidence-based tools from psychology, weaving together the science with real world stories. For example, I write about Dixie Beer's decision to change their name (and I was thrilled that Fast Company featured this story as a 1000 word book excerpt). And I share my own grappling, as I did in last month's newsletter (which featured another 500 word excerpt from the beginning of my book).
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Spreading the Word
The past month has been focused on getting the word out about the book.
It has been thrilling to work with the 140 of you who signed up for the Launch Team to help – THANK YOU! People are reading the book, and that is because of you. Every review, every social media post, every person you tell about the book, every kind note you send me, every good vibe you feel, makes a difference, truly. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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Media exposure makes a difference too, so I have been getting my self-promotion mojo going! It's part of the author job description. We'll eventually get these up on my website so more to come there.
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Readers are Everything
Nothing means more to me than reader reactions. I am so grateful for all reviews (they don't have to be positive or long or well-crafted -- the algorithm cares mostly about how many reviews there are!). I would be so grateful if you would leave a review on amazon and goodreads. Two sentences, five minutes ... that's more than enough! Photo of the book with you, your pet, or your favorite reading spot for extra credit!
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Thank You, Stephanie!
That positive reader response would not be happening without the extraordinary work of my editor, Stephanie Hitchcock of Atria Books at Simon & Schuster. A MORE JUST FUTURE is our second book together (our first was THE PERSON YOU MEAN TO BE). I love how Stephanie keeps the reader front and center when I am deep in my own head.
(And I love how she inserted a photo of Simon Biles sticking a landing, with no accompanying comment, at the end of our final manuscript.)
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Here we are the day before "pub day," seeing each other in person for the first time since we signed the book contract pre-covid in January 2020.
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Book Buzz
In summary, thanks for creating such great buzz about the book. Let's keep going. You can buy/borrow A MORE JUST FUTURE wherever you buy/borrow books. Again, if you feel moved to leave a two-sentence review on Amazon or Goodreads, that gives an algorithmic boost and helps more readers find the book - thank you for that. And tell your friends - feel free to tag me on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Instagram.
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Keeping my day job
And, no, I’m not quite ready to quit my day job for my pickleball career. But gosh, I sure do love the joy that this soothing, satisfying sport gives me in this complicated world, one in which unlearning fables is necessary.
I’m grateful for that and I’m grateful for you. Let’s keep building a more just future together.
Photo credits: Personal images, Holderness family, Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Tom Brady, Kim Clijsters, black and white Pickleball, Cockapoo Puppy, First Thanksgiving , Social media reviews, Amazon reviews, Elizabeth Favara , RosaParks
I deeply appreciate Anna McMullen’s thoughtful work and brilliant creativity. I cherish Katie Sutton’s dedication to this work here and beyond. .
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