From time to time, someone says, “Hey, Mallory, you should make a book!”
So, well. Here I am, telling you about the book I made. Although perhaps not the book some were expecting.
Once upon a time, during the first COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020, I was taking lots of nature photos around the neighborhood we live in here in the northern European nation of Estonia. (If you didn’t know, our house is sandwiched between gorgeous old forests and the sea.) Quite a few people mentioned I should make a book of the photos once COVID times were over.
Well, Corona times are definitely not over, but I wanted to make a book anyway. So I did. There’s only one page of text, but what I did write is in both Estonian and English. (Thanks to Maarit, Taavi, and Monica who helped me out.)
Why now?
If you missed it, earlier this year, Brian and I had a baby girl — Eloise. We expected our life to be turned upside down, but not in the way it has. She’s precious and perfect and, also, is missing 19 million pairs of DNA. (Yes that’s a lot. And, yes, that definitely means she will be profoundly mentally disabled on top of a host of health issues — like regular seizures which just recently started.)
It’s been a complicated journey of learning to accept life with her, and as part of our new normal, I don’t have much time for picture-taking. Yet still, despite all of her complications, Eloise fills our life with a joy I never thought was possible and I have a feeling that’s going to continue for a long, long time.
Still, I wanted to memorialize not only the photos I took pre-Eloise, but to give people who wanted to a chance to help.
Your book options
You can buy a physical version of it or you can buy a PDF version of it and donate whatever you want to.
- BOOK LENGTH: 68 pages
- LANGUAGE: There’s not much writing (it’s mostly Estonian nature photos), but everything but the dedication page is in both English and Estonian both
1. A digital (PDF) version of the book for whatever you want to donate
We have a 170MB PDF version of the book (which, of course, might not be quite as exciting as a physical book) you can download and view on your device. Or print.
- Send me an email to eloisethetinyfighter@gmail.com so I can keep track of orders
- I’ll then send you a link that will give you the book and tell you how to pay
2. A hardback coffee table version for $75/€66 (built in donation of $20)
You can buy a hardback of the book for $75 (66€) valgus pimeduses (light in the darkness) straight from Blurb’s website here. Blurb charges $51.87 to print each book, so $22 of that will go towards making Eloise’s life as good as we can.
Just know if you do order a hard copy, Blurb keeps buyers’ identities private, so the only way we’d know you did is if you tell us.
3. A hardback coffee table version for $26/23€ (+ any size donation)
Blurb is running a coupon of 40% off of the base price until December 17th, but it only works on books you have made yourself. So I can make a bulk order from my account, but we will need to arrange payment and delivery through email eloisethetinyfighter@gmail.com.
If you do want one of the books for this price and you’re in Estonia or the US, here’s the steps:
- Send an email Contact me at eloisethetinyfighter@gmail.com by December 16th
- I’ll send you payment details You can send money to us in the US or in Estonia.
- You can send your payment To cover costs, you’ll send $26 if you’re in the US or 23€ if you’re in the EU. If you want to make a donation on top of that, you can. If not, that’s also okay.
- I’ll make a bulk order all Estonian books will go to our address and all American books will go to my mom in Springfield, MO
- Pick delivery method Once the books arrive (which will be after Christmas), you can either pick yours up in person from our place in the US or my parent’s place in Springfield, MO.
Hugs and books and stuff,
Mallory, Eloise, and Brian
(Feel free to share)
Eloise The Tiny Fighter 