Some Nerve

July 29, 2013
The author’s desire to bring up daughters unafraid to try new things—despite her own unforgiving parents, who refused to accept failure—leads this suburban mother and blogger (www.upside-down-patty.blogspot.com) to explore the everyday fears that prevent people from living their lives. As children, many folks develop intense aversions to relatively benign activities like swimming, biking, or public speaking, and these fears often extend unhealthily into adulthood. Anker sets out to dismantle these childhood phobias by changing the sense of herself that she’s come to accept. En route she finds tons of encouragement—and offers it too, mentoring her children, as well as adults she meets at her local coffee shop, a writer’s retreat, and a soul-baring Toastmasters meeting. Anker shows that the key to success is finding a teacher who is willing to meet you where you are, and having a friend nearby who is both willing to believe in you and make sure you don’t chicken out. This warm memoir is not a traditional self-help book, yet the joy that Anker and her peers feel when they allow themselves to be beginners—even after the age of 40—will be motivation enough for can’t-do readers to take steps toward making their lives a little bigger and better. Agent: Brettne Bloom; Kneerim, Williams & Bloom.

September 15, 2013
A blogger's humorous account of how she transcended her "nervous nature...bookish upbringing and midlife responsibilities" to discover her courage. Anker grew up "eating fear of failure like the breakfast of champions." But as she neared her 40th birthday, she became aware that her timidity was not only limiting her, but also her two small daughters. So Anker dedicated herself to finding her "nerve." She began her project by jumping into the murky waters of her anxieties by using the diving board at a community swimming pool. Mortally afraid of moving water, she learned how to boogie board in the Atlantic and surf the ice-cold waters of a half-frozen Lake Michigan. On land, she learned how to ride the bicycles that had secretly terrified her and speak in front of an audience without crumpling. As she let go of her anxieties, she uncluttered her own personal space, since "holding on to...belongings was tantamount to fear." Anker also came into contact with others who were dealing with phobias similar to her own--such as fear of driving or heights--or who were helping others move beyond their own psychologically imposed limitations. Not only did Anker realize that she was not alone in her suffering, she also learned that, as both a person and a parent, the most important thing she could do was to "keep [her] eye on where [she] want[ed] to go" rather than listen to her inner "Greek Chorus" of self-doubt. By changing herself, she could also transform everyone with whom she came into contact: "we start to shimmer, and the world is never the same." Lightweight but honest and inspiring.

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