DO THE NEXT NEW THING

A memoir that also serves as a self-help guide to making big changes incrementally.

Lamp used a sensible strategy—build an entire structure one piece at a time—to plan a different life for herself in late middle age. After her sons grew up and moved out of the house, the stay-at-home mom felt a little unmoored. She still had church, pets, friends, and activities, but nothing that sparked great passion, and she feared upending her life. When her husband accepted a job offer in Nashville, Lamp remained in Houston for four years before deciding to join him in Tennessee. Alone in an unknown city while her husband worked, the author devised a plan; she’d try to do something new every day for a year. It could be something ordinary, like learning how to cut a whole pineapple or drinking coffee from a pretty tea cup she got in Paris instead of worrying that it would break. Lamp went to movies and concerts alone, growing to enjoy doing things solo. She took a sewing class, figured out how her phone worked, made her own pasta, and joined a book club. Going topless on a beach in France gave her courage. At last, after a year of stretching herself in unfamiliar ways and becoming more present in her life, she discovered what gave her joy. To help others on their own self-discovery process, the author, along with mapping her own progress, includes prompts and blank lines for readers to brainstorm ideas for trying new things. She suggests creating different lists—for example, of local activities, items never used because they’re being saved, what play means to the reader, delayed dreams, etc. Lamp’s writing voice has the flow of a conversation. She urges the anxious reader, who’s afraid to try low-stakes new things, to “GET OVER YOURSELF.” Her advice isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s well organized and practical. The emphasis on small steps makes Lamp’s achievements seem attainable, especially since she presents herself as having no special talents, and her end result is worthy of emulation: a gratifying life.

A methodical yet fun approach to brightening and expanding the everyday.