Small Press Launch & Celebration Sale
Small Press Launch & Celebration Sale
Charlotte and Tim Donlon. She’s excited about all of the reasons to celebrate. He’s happy, too, but he can’t help wondering, “more websites and trademarks and business lines, oh my.”
Start a New Small Press Anyway
Why wait for perfect timing or flawless plans? Thoughtful Books Etc. is here because sometimes the best stories start in the middle of the beautiful chaos, right where real life happens.
This week, we’re celebrating:
The creation of Thoughtful Books Etc., a new home for thoughtful voices, brave books, and anyone willing to flourish, no matter how tangled the journey
Our first two books, The Great Belonging Project and Take More Retreats, launching in January as inaugural releases
And we’re gathering writers, readers, and seekers under the Flourish Anyway™ umbrella where belonging wins and new beginnings are always welcome.
Ready to join us? Become a Thoughtful Books Etc. Founding Member during our launch week and support stories and encounters that matter, written for real lives in all their wild wonder. Sale pricing ends Friday, November 14, 2025.
Books, workshops, and gatherings for the rebels, the seekers, and the out-of-place—because belonging, creativity, and authentic flourishing shouldn’t depend on having it all together.
Get your hands on anthologies, guidebooks, and resources built for real life—not just inspiration, but gritty tools for reflecting, reconnecting, and chasing down what actually matters in your tangled, beautiful world.
Forget perfect. Claim your place and create anyway + belong anyway season after season.
Thoughtful Books Etc. is a new small press founded by people who believe in the transformative power of stories and practices for living thoughtfully.
We publish books, host workshops and gatherings, and offer resources dedicated to sustainable retreat practices, nurturing belonging, and supporting readers in their efforts to Flourish Anyway™ in all areas of life, even when everything feels chaotic and out of control.
Our projects invite creativity, rest, curiosity, and hope while embracing artful encounters, soul growth, and community in all its forms for people who know life and circumstances are never perfect.
Thoughtful Books Etc.
Current Book Projects
Take More Retreats: A Solo Retreat Guidebook for Writers, Journalers, and Anyone Who Wants to Flourish Anyway
A compassionate, practical guide for writers, journalers, and seekers ready to design and take meaningful solo retreats and “flourish anyway.” Ten contributors share real-life wisdom, rhythms, rituals, and prompts to help you connect with your creative soul, even through life’s complicated and difficult moments. Learn more at takemoreretreats.com.
The Great Belonging Project
A companion to Charlotte’s first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other, this book provides 30 ways to broaden your belongings. With brief reflective essays, actionable exercises, and Belonging through Art® prompts, it’s your guide for creating more connection to yourself, others, your places, and the divine. Learn more at thegreatbelonging.com.
Companion Workshops
Workshop: Flourish Anyway™
with Rhythms, Rituals, & Retreats
Learn to integrate sustaining rhythms, rituals, and a regular retreat practice to cultivate ongoing flourishing. Perfect for anyone eager to restore and recharge.
Join a focused two-hour experience featuring:
Teaching on Rhythms, Rituals, and Retreat Practices
Guided Journaling and Note-Taking
Contemplative Practices and Creative Exercises
Individual and Community Reflection
Workshop: Flourish Anyway™
with The Great Belonging Project
Discover practices, prompts, and resources for broadening your belongings and decreasing loneliness.
Gather for a two-hour session exploring:
How to Be More Intenional about Belonging in All Areas of Life
The Magical Practice of Layering Encounters and Experiences
Effective Strategies for Belonging to Yourself, Others, Your Places, and the Divine
Individual and Community Reflection
Become a Thoughtful Books Etc. Founders Circle Member
For a limited time, support and celebrate our launch by reserving pre-ordered copies of both new books and both companion workshops for a discounted price of $75 (regular price is $95). Thoughtful Books Etc. Founders Circle Members get early access to book excerpts, behind-the-scenes updates, and special acknowledgments while helping seed a press devoted to curiosity, creativity, flourishing, and connection.
Charlotte Donlon is a writer, spiritual director, and gatherer whose work weaves together themes of belonging, art, and soul exploration. With a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing and a certificate in spiritual direction, Charlotte guides individuals and communities in fostering sanctuaries of acceptance and connection—her approach warmly welcomes people from all backgrounds, regardless of faith tradition or spiritual inclinations.
She is the author of The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other (Broadleaf Books, 2020) and the forthcoming Spiritual Direction for Writers (Eerdmans, September 2026), as well as the founder of initiatives like Flourish Anyway™, Spiritual Direction for Writers®, Belonging through Art™, and Parenting with Art®.
Inspired by her experiences in both traditional publishing and hands-on creative work, Charlotte launched Thoughtful Books Etc. to create a home for special projects that nurture creative flourishing and belonging—without extra gatekeepers—bringing compassionate, practical, and artful resources directly to her main audience.
Sign up for updates, launch announcements, and invitations to workshops and gatherings. Thoughtful Books Etc. is building a space for thoughtful readers. Join us as we reimagine what belonging, creativity, and flourishing can look like together.