BOOK LAUNCH! Igniting Real Change for Multilingual Learners: Equity & Advocacy in Action

 AHHH MY NEW BOOK IS OUT! It's wild to say that. I had to rewrite this post like 6 times because I kept crying.

To be completely honest, I feel a little weird celebrating this right now - because of everything happening in the world and in our country, it's hard to feel excitement. AND ALSO, I do feel that this book is needed right now. It's a very funky Both/And situation for me. 

While I was writing this book, I was experiencing a lot of doom & gloom. I was digging up Supreme Court cases and civil rights laws, and I was wondering which ones would still be in existence by the time the book was published. That's deeply unsettling. 

Like my first book, this feels very personal to me. I feel super vulnerable wondering how it will be received. 

When Paul Gorski (AHHHHH! PAUL GORSKI?!?) reached out to me on social media to chat, my imposter syndrome was right there with me. I convinced myself several times, "He must think I'm someone else. There's no way he wants me to write in this series." I had ongoing battles in my own head over whether or not I should be writing this at all. One day I hope to overcome this, but I'm just not there yet. 

I was thrilled that I was still able to language informally in this book (I write just like I talk - I'm not fancy). I was giddy when they said we could incorporate PINK into the cover! I love that there's a sparkler to show the IGNITING element. I love sparkly stuff. 

I was beyond thankful for all the folks who were willing to be a part of this by providing VOICES FROM THE FIELD. Some were named and others chose to remain anonymous. Lots of various perspectives were shared. 

I was SO EXCITED over every social media comment/share/"like"/etc. My heart was overwhelmed and I think it gave me a little relief, too. I felt very supported - I cannot tell you how much it calmed my anxiety. The night before, I didn't sleep well. My anxiety was yelling at me all night long. Sometimes my brain and heart get in fights. The words of affirmation from friends, family, and colleagues were exactly what I needed. It felt like one of my calming weighted blankets. 

It shocked me to see my book get a little banner thingy on Amazon! To see "Top New Releases" made my stomach do a somersault. I feel incredibly thankful to folks who have ordered! Your support really means the world to me. 

Above all, the support for this book makes me feel RELIEVED and somewhat REASSURED, because with everything happening right now, it helps me remember that there are so many folks who support our kids. Our multilingual learners are supported by educators and leaders across the country who are still there - advocating, fighting, speaking up and speaking out, caring, loving, and uplifting our students and families. This reignites my own inner sparkler. Our advocacy does. not. stop.

I hope this book can help to ignite and reignite sparklers everywhere - our hearts, our minds, our decisions, our actions. Our students, families, and communities deserve to have educators and leaders who are loud and proud in our advocacy efforts. May we all together IGNITE REAL CHANGE FOR MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

You can purchase the book on Routledge, Amazon, & many other online retailers!