Book beginnings

* I have been writing again! I'm updating the progress with a link next to each chapter or section, since I haven't written in order. It's a work in progress - but it's finally growing!!

***

I worked on the outlines, table of contents, and beginning of my potential book back in late July, August, and early September of last year.

After that, I spent September through November finishing my last semester at UVU, which included writing the final research paper on perfectionism for my English 2010 writing class. (I posted that in 5 parts during December and January.) I finally earned an associate degree after four years of attending UVU off and on. When I received my diploma in late February, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I graduated with "high honors." That gave my confidence a small boost.

Since then, I have focused most of my attention on family history work, organization, and spending lots of time with our daughter and baby grandson. This week, I have cleared out my inbox for the first time in a couple of years and have revisited the original outlines for my book.

From those outlines, I developed this table of contents on September 3rd of last year:

Table of Contents 

Title Page / Dedication / Acknowledgements (Posted on August 2, 2020)

Preface (Posted on July 17, 2020)

[Original introduction / disclaimer] (Posted on July 18, 2020)

Introduction: The Journey Begins

·         Part 1: Finding Balance (Posted on November 24, 2019)

1.         The Messy Middle (Posted on July 10, 2020)

2.        A Formula for Balance (Posted on July 14, 2020)

3.        Gradually Replacing Negative with Positive (Posted on July 12, 2020)

4.        Be Present [Original title: Daily Bread] (Posted on July 15, 2020)

5.        Word of the Year (Posted on July 10, 2020)

6.        Perspective and Peace (Posted on July 11, 2020)

·         Part 2: Overcoming Obstacles ~ Overview of this part of journey (Posted on July 16, 2020)

7.         Opposition in All Things (Posted on July 16, 2020)

8.        Living Productively with Mental Illness (Posted on July 16, 2020)

9.        Walking Therapy (Posted on July 17, 2020)

10.      Developing Coping Skills (Posted on July 18 and 19, 2020)

11.      Perfectionism vs. Perfection (Posted on July 21, 2020)

12.      Dealing with Disappointment (Posted on July 22 and 23, 2020)

13.      Setting Expectations and Boundaries (Posted on July 20, 2020)

14.      Learning to Honor Agency (Posted on July 12, 2020)

15.      Compensatory Blessings (Posted on July 19 and 22, 2020)

·         Part 3: Reaching Out to Others with Love ~ Overview of this part of journey (Posted on July 24, 2020)

16.      Connection is Critical (Posted on July 27 and 28, 2020)

17.      Divine Intersections (Posted on July 29, 2020 and August 15, 2020)

18.      Spheres of Influence (Posted on July 20, 2020 and August 15, 2020)

19.      Do What You Can Do (Posted on July 13 and 23, 2020)

20.      Observe and Serve (Posted on July 26, 2020)

21.      Leaving the Comfort Zone (Posted on July 25, 2020)

22.      The Importance of Authenticity (Posted on July 31, 2020)

23.      Daring to Be Vulnerable (Posted on July 26 and 28, 2020)

24.      Focusing Less on Outcomes (Posted part 1 on July 30, 2020; posted part 2 on July 31, 2020)

·         Part 4: Seek Learning by Study and Prayer ~ Overview of this part of journey (Posted on August 1, 2020)

25.      Lifelong Learning (Posted on August 3-4, 2020; posted part 2 and pictures on August 15, 2020)

26.      Spiritual Learning (Posted on August 13, 2020)

27.      Faith, Prayer, and Miracles [Original title: Faith Precedes Miracles] (Posted on August 7, 2020)

28.      Personal Revelation and Possibilities (Posted on August 16-17, 2020)

·         Part 5: Part of Something Bigger Than Self (Overview of this part of journey) (Posted on August 14, 2020)

29.       A Growing and Evolving Testimony [Original title: Growth and Evolution of Testimony - changed on August 15, 2020] (Posted on August 16-17, 2020)

30.      Grace and Gratitude (Posted on August 16 and 18, 2020)

31.      Being Tutored in the Temple (Posted on August 8, 2020)

32.      Family History Fun [originally chapter 31] (Posted on August 9, 2020; posted part 2 on August 11, 2020; posted part 3 on August 12, 2020)

33.      Never Too Late [originally chapter 25] (Posted on August 10, 2020)

34.      Eternal Progression – The Journey Continues (Posted on August 14, 2020)

Appendix A – Perfectionism (English 2010 final paper)

Appendix B – Depression

Appendix C – More Insights on Mental Illness
Appendix D – Examples of Positive Playlists (Posted on July 18-19, 2020)

Sources

* My overall plan was this:

• Short chapters: between 2 and 5 pages long (some of them have ended to be much longer than that and I'm not sure if that's a problem or not) 
• The chapters on "Finding Balance" in part 1 are more like the overarching lessons I've learned after going through so many challenges. 
• Parts 2-3 ("Overcoming Obstacles" and "Reaching out to Others with Love") will return to the struggles. 
•  Parts 4-5 ("Seek Learning by Study and Prayer" and "Part of Something Bigger Than Self") will continue the overarching lessons.