More Details on My New Book, Neighboring

A Deep Casual Guide to Building Community You Can Count On.

Photo by Araix Rand on Unsplash

After 14 months of writing and finishing my first draft, I’m excited to share a book publishing milestone with you. I have a tentative pub date and title I’m very amped about!

Get excited for….

Neighboring: A Deep Casual Guide for Building Community You Can Count On

It’s being published by Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and will hit bookshelves on April 22, 2027!

I wrote this book to truly meet this moment. Not to meet this news cycle or the latest outrage (I’ve been working on this idea since 2023), but to meet a collective moment where it is clear that no one is coming to save us, and we must turn to each other. I define Neighboring as a verb. It’s any simple action that contributes to the people around you. It is THE defining activity of how we will survive and thrive in the 21st century.

This book does not spend much time outlining all the facts and figures on the deep issues of social isolation and alienation. We all know that this is a problem. What this book provides is immediate action that anyone and everyone can take to start building the connections that will lead to communities they can count on.

I wrote this book to be tangible, accessible, and extremely practical. I’m going to help you get out of your house, off your phone, and inviting people over. I also walk you through how to practice some of our most important social skills and habits that have been in collective decline for decades, but may have atrophied even further for many of us in the years since the pandemic.

In addition to helping you understand where we should put our time, money, and bandwidth in order to build communities we can count on, this book also focuses on the areas I think are the best bets for investment. I dedicate chapters to building relationships with people who live in our neighborhoods. I talk about how to build villages around our family lives and care responsibilities. I make a pitch that would have shocked 20-something Katherine about the value of joining houses of worship. Civic groups that create a culture of trust, sharing, and vulnerability get time to shine. And Deep Casual hosting gets its own glorious chapter!

I also write about how a culture of busyness stops us from investing in these important relationships. Sadly, I haven't solved all of the time and money pressures of capitalism, but the book does focus on two areas that we spend a lot of time, money, and bandwidth on, which we do have control over. I walk you through how to scale back on domestic chores and intensive kids' activities. So get amped for those spicy ideas!

I am so excited for you to read this book, and I'm excited to share it with the world. If you are a member of the media and want an advanced reading copy when they are available, email me, and I'll get you on the list. If you are interested in doing an in-person event around this book, please reach out. I’m already brainstorming creative ideas for a book that was meant to bring people together IRL. If you're interested in booking me to speak, I’m developing my speaking topics in the coming months. I’m currently thinking about talks around Building Connections You Can Count on in the Age of AI, and Why Your Messy House is Your Superpower… but more to come, and I'll keep you posted! (I am also continuing to book my signature talk this year, Our Job to Care: Bold Ideas and Concrete Solutions for Moms and Caregivers at Work)

You can reach me for all of those inquiries at katherine@thedoubleshift.com.

Let's get neighboring.

8 Ways to Embrace “Deep Casual Hosting” (So You’ll Actually Do It)