I turn my eyes forward, and together Zoey and I start running along the water’s edge, our footfall heavy on the cold, wet sand. Together we are running, slowly at first, and then all at once faster: Toward tomorrow. Toward the future. Toward all our journeys ahead.

The bittersweet end to my Everyday Nostalgia series was a little more than a year ago. But in many ways, it seems like only yesterday I typed those words with an eye toward the unknown, exciting future that lay ahead for me and my daughter. I believed the coming year was going to be a watershed year full of change, opportunity, and growth. And you know what?

It was.

After three-and-a-half years, I left a job where my time was undervalued and my talents were underutilized and started as the Director of Marketing in a completely new industry. I was selected as one of the first Writers in Residence on Kindred Mom. I celebrated my thirty seventh year of being alive and my daughter’s seventh.

I learned to be a little more leisurely. I started going to movies again. I read more. I got a lot more sleep.

And I fell in love.

So here I am in January 2019, counting my blessings and feeling happy and alive and wondering what comes next. For me. For my daughter. For my writing. For my life.

Well, dear readers, while I’m not quite certain about where my life will take me, I can tell you what comes next for my writing.

Your love and kindness and encouragement were so overwhelming and inspirational I just couldn’t leave my words to remain floating around the digital landscape of the internet. They needed a new life beyond The Nostalgia Diaries blog.  A life worthy of The Nostalgia Diaries ideals. And what’s more nostalgic for a writer than to have your words live a perpetual life on actual paper?

Because you all had wonderful things to say about my Everyday Nostalgia posts and because many of you suggested I needed to make it into a book, that’s exactly what I did.

I am thrilled to announce that my book, Blessed, Beautiful Now will be published and available from Amazon at the end of this month, January 31, 2019! The book is a collection of lovingly curated stories from my Everyday Nostalgia series. As those of you who followed my journey know, my essays followed my year long journey with my remarkably insightful daughter as I navigated the complexities of my unexpected life after divorce. You’re sure to find it engaging, inspirational, relatable, and heartwarming.

Whether you’ve read one, a few, or all of the Everyday Nostalgia posts on The Nostalgia Diaries blog (or maybe you haven’t read any of them), I think you’ll love having them compiled in one place. There’s just something real…comforting…satisfying, about a book you can hold in your hands, ink indelibly printed on creamy white pages, ready to flip and dog-ear and bookmark. In the immortal words of Hemingway, “There is no friend as loyal as a book.”

(Of course, for those who love the convenience of having all your books in one place, Blessed, Beautiful Now will also be available to download to your Kindle).

So at the risk of sounding completely “salesy,” please head over to my website, coreywheeland.com, to learn more about my Blessed, Beautiful Now book, and sign up to my mailing list.  You’ll be one of the first to know about my special book-launch price, which will be good for only a few days after the book is released! You won’t want to miss it! Buy it for yourself or buy it for a friend. Maybe one for your mom. Or for a mom-to-be! And once you have read it, I’d love you to take a moment to be one of first to review it on Amazon! (As you may know, early and authentic Amazon reviews help so much!)

Thank you to all you amazing Nostalgia Seekers! We are looking forward to a fantastic, fulfilling, and fabulous 2019!

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BONUS! 21 Songs That Inspired Everyday Nostalgia and Blessed, Beautiful Now

Since it is Monday, how about a new Music Monday list? We haven’t done a playlist in a while, and we are feeling a bit nostalgic for the songs leading up to the creation of the Everyday Nostalgia series and my book, Blessed, Beautiful Now. We are throwing it back to 2017, and, really, basically all the years before that. Or after. It’s an anything-goes post!  Enjoy!

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Follow Your Arrow – Kacey Musgraves

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Keeping the Faith – Billy Joel

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Feel it Still – Portugal. The Man

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Rain – Patty Griffin

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Can’t Stop the Feeling  – Justin Timberlake

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Brand New – Ben Rector

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Roar – Katy Perry

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Brave – Sara Bareilles

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How You Get The Girl – Taylor Swift

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Fight Song – Rachel Platten

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I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar – Helen Reddy

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This is Me – The Greatest Showman Cast

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Sunset – The Midnight

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Happy People – Little Big Town

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Want You Back – HAIM

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Waiting for My Real Life to Begin – Colin Hay

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Unavoidable – Neon Trees

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Light On – Maggie Rogers

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Damn, Do I Think About You – Steve Moakler

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Somebody Loves You – Betty Who

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Talk to Us:  What songs are going to inspire you to follow your passion in 2019?

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Corey is a writer, graphic designer, and mom to her amazing daughter, Zoey. Here at The Nostalgia Diaries, her goal is to simplify, enhance, and engage people’s lives by helping them focus on the most important things: remembering, appreciating, believing, and becoming. It’s all about celebrating the past to create better days today.

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At The Nostalgia Diaries, our goal is to help you simplify, enhance, and engage your lives by focusing on the most important things: remembering, appreciating, believing, and becoming. It’s all about celebrating the past to create better days today.

P.S. You can find our colorful, creative spaces on , and . Stop by, leave a comment, like (or love!) a post or photo, and enjoy our happy, nostalgia-loving community!