Dear friends,

Thank you so much for coming to the book release, or at least sending good vibes our way! We had a great turnout! But I apologize for not having enough books available at the book release. My bad.

You can now buy the book here.

All proceeds go to the Campaign to End Fistula. An obstetric fistula occurs when proper maternal health care is not available, usually in poorer countries. Women can sometimes be in labor for days. When the labor is prolonged, the mother usually loses the child, and a hole is worn in the birth canal, causing incontinence. Because of the stench from incontinence, women are then usually shunned by their family and community. It is terrible, preventable, and curable.

With a simple $300 USD surgery, a fistula can be repaired and a woman can get her life back.

The money raised by the We Are Women Project has already been enough to pay for one woman's surgery.

The book is available as a paperback($11)  or ebook ($7). Shipping is only a couple dollars for the paperback.

To learn more about obstetric fistula, go to http://endfistula.org/

and to buy the book, go here, on lulu.com!

Thank you so much for all of your love and support. I feel like I'm in a dream! I am so happy that the book is done, that it is so beautiful, that people are being educated about obstetric fistula, and that we are doing what we can! What a great feeling!

Love, Allison

P.S. On the sidebar, we have a beautiful new button available for you to place on your blogs and websites. Thank you so much to fifth & hazel for designing it, and to Elizabeth Blevins for providing the photo used in the button.

Overwhelmed with gratitude!

Giveaway winners have been chosen, and chosen,
and the book release open house is tonight in Orem,
and has been blogged about here by the dear Reachel,
(who also wrote an essay for the book),
and also blogged about here by one of the photographers
featured in the book.

Please stop by and say hi tonight!

Tomorrow:

Winner: Gypsy*Diaries Giveaway

Thanks to Gypsy*Diaries for hosting such a fun giveaway!
Check out all of the responses on the comments!

Two Chances to Win the eBook!

OR

Click here to enter to win a We Are Women eBook (valued at $7) from the lovely ladies at "On How To Be Lovely." All you have to do is leave a comment on their blog about why you love being a woman. Easy, yes? Enjoy!

You're Invited! : Family Home Evening

My Family Home Evening (FHE) group will be coming to The Chocolate for the book release on Monday, 27 September 2010. In addition to spending the evening chatting with anyone who asks about the We Are Women book and obstetric fistula (or anything else, really), at 7:30pm I will present a FHE lesson to my FHE group and anyone else who would like to listen and join in.

Topic: Womanhood and the Priesthood, and why both matter so much. (They both matter a lot).

The event lasts from 6-8pm, though I plan on only giving the FHE lesson at 7:30pm. Please tell your friends and family, because it will be a wonderful night filled with cake and knowledge (two of the best things, in my opinion).

The book release open house will be in a few weeks, so please mark your calendars and attend if you can! It will be held at The Chocolate in Orem, Utah (and let me tell you: best cakes/cupcakes around), and you'll have a chance to learn about the book, meet some of the writers/photographers, and learn more about obstetric fistula and why we need to educate ourselves about it.

Pre-order ending soon:

If you want to pre-order the We Are Women book, you have until this Wednesday, 8 September 2010 to do so. See below for details!

Pre-order the We Are Women Book (Utah Only)

How to pre-order the We Are Women book:

• Send $10 to me through PayPal.
• Be sure that your contact information is available when you order the book in the case that I need to contact you for any reason.
• Attend the book release party at The Chocolate (212 South State Street, Orem, 84058) on Monday, 27 September 2010 from 6pm - 8pm and pick up your book there.
• (Please be sure to bring your ID so I can make sure the book gets to the right person!)

Why pre-order the We Are Women book:

• You don't have to pay shipping through lulu.com (about $3.99).
• You save $1 off the price of the book from lulu.com ($11, but you'll get it for $10).
• If you just show up at The Chocolate on the night-of, we may not have any more books available, so this will guarantee that you will get your book.
• Proceeds will still go to the Campaign to End Fistula, and probably even more directly because it's going through me, and not lulu.com.

You may pre-order the book until 
Wednesday, 8 September 2010.
Please only pre-order if you will be at the 
release party in Orem, Utah on 27 September.
That's the only chance you'll have to pick it up.


The book will be available from lulu.com on Tuesday, 28 September
as a soft cover book ($11) and pdf/ebook ($7).

A Thought.

This morning I woke up at 5:40am to get to a yoga class, and while the class itself was wonderful, my anxiety because of an unrelated issue (which coincided with yoga this morning, unfortunately) overcame me by the end of the class. My only goal for the morning was to finish the class, and get out of there. Then I came home and drowned my sorrows in raisin bran cereal.

photo by blue lily photography

This morning Stephanie Nielson blogged about the last three years of her life, from the fatal plane crash of 2008, to the many hurdles she jumped over in 2009, and now her satisfaction and joy in 2010. She is making progress, and I can no longer complain. I am blessed. She is blessed. We are all blessed.

We Are Women, and we have great potential in our lives.