Hi Reader,

People have heard me talking about Jean Liedloff’s biography for… well, years. Ten to be exact. Had I known what I was in for at the start, I still would’ve said YES.

I spent five years writing the first draft of Jungle Jean, then sent the manuscript around to a few key allies who know Jean's work. When Gloria Steinem gave the book her endorsement, I was over the moon!

Then a Simon & Schuster publisher came to me asking about the book. When I found out this publisher had based her parenting on Jean’s work AND credits The Continuum Concept with helping her heal her son of a serious birth defect, I thought for sure I’d found my publisher.

But in the end, her higher-ups decided to pass. After all, Jean Liedloff isn’t a household name like Jane Goodall.

After Simon & Shuster said, essentially, “Thanks, but no thanks,” I put indie publishing on hold and signed with an agent. A year later, we’d sold the Polish rights, but Jungle Jean still had no American publisher.

Then came a health crisis, then shoulder surgery, then a three-month horror show as I watched all my long blond hair fall out, and the pity-party that ensued. (No, I don't have cancer, its alopecia areata.) Fortunately, I’m a “make lemonade” type of gal so, rather than do the bald and beautiful bit, I went the hair chameleon route. You should see my collection of wigs!

Meanwhile, Jungle Jean languished on the back burner. Then, just about a year ago, a friend who'd read an early draft asked me, “Why haven’t you published that book?!?!” I had no answer. No good answer anyway. So I did what any underachieving overachiever would do. I decided I would just upload the manuscript to Amazon and be done with it.

Then I sat down to re-read Jungle Jean and was blown away. Truly. Blown. Away. Jean's life story is that epic.

In the year since, Jungle Jean has been my primary focus: four rounds of edits, countless creative discussions on publishing, production, promotion, publicity, printing, podcasting, Amazon optimization, crowdfunding… the list goes on.

Crafting the IndieGoGo campaign in cahoots with another Jean torch-bearer was a blast. The campaign has been up and running for a few weeks and we’re at 40% of the goal. ​​You can see it here:​

CLICK HERE NOW

Lean into this with me. I can’t do it alone. Let me put it this way: I NEED YOU. (There, I said it.) And guess what? WE ALL NEED EACH OTHER. That’s part of the beauty of Jean’s story.

​We’ve got some great perks to choose from, or you just make a donation by clicking on the raspberry colored "BACK IT" button and entering an amount, then you will feel the burst of joy that comes with supporting a friend who has set her sights on changing the world.

Sending love and blessings,

Geralyn
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