So many feelings about the Italian edition of “Somatics for Rope Bottoms” coming into the world! The dominant feeling is one of gratitude, as I have so much to be thankful for.
I’m deeply grateful to my teacher Joseph Kramer, who transformed my understanding of living in my body and inspired Somatics for Rope Bottoms; my partner Alexander Ma, for constant support and the memorable “brain drain” in 2019 that led to the book draft; Celia, whose dedication brought the Italian edition to life and whose friendship has been invaluable; and the Bologna project for believing in this book and supporting its Italian release.
I also feel joy and wonder about my book making its way in life… It’s a strange feeling to have produced a book. It’s like you did your best, you poured your soul and heart into it, and then it’s on the way out in the world. And you don’t know. You have no power over it. It’s an irreversible step. It’s gonna live its own life now. It might be liked and praised, it might be bullied, or it might be ignored… basically, it’s a terrifying feeling.
I must say I received a lot of love for my book. It was written from a place of love and compassion for people, and also from a place of my own vulnerability, and I think people can feel it.
As we worked on the translation with Celia, there was one point that I wanted her to convey – that this is not a “how-to” book. I made all the effort possible not to make another “how-to”, because it’s already too narrow, too binary, too much “right” vs. “wrong”, and if you are not right, then you are wrong… And what I really wanted with the book is to challenge this framework altogether.
I believe the way is to notice, trust, and value what we feel. I also believe that we are already there, we have bodies that hold our truth beautifully, that develop mechanisms to cope with difficulties and challenges of life, that have a tremendous resilience, and capacity for pleasure, that hold our intuition, that helps us to make decisions, from small ones to very important ones…
I believe that we are resourceful beyond any framework of “how to” or right and wrong. What we need to re-learn is to trust this innate ability of ours.
And this book is a humble reminder about just that. Now also in Italian! Cheers to “Starre Nelle Corde” and looking forward to her adventures in Italy! 🥂
Official release will take place on 22.09.2025. Pre-orders are possible through www.starenellecorde.it
