From the Author...

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Like most things, this book started with me being wildly competent, aggressively resourceful, and entirely unaware that those qualities come with side effects.

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For a long time, I thought that was what caring looked like.

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What I eventually learned is that overfunctioning isn't love.

Being capable doesn't automatically make me responsible.

And just because a system quietly assigns me a job doesn't mean I have to accept the position.

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This book is a collection of stories, observations, mistakes, lessons, and patterns I've gathered while learning how to stay available without becoming entangled.

How to care without carrying.

How to help without disappearing.

 

And honestly, how did I end up in project management for everyone else's life when some days I can barely provide basic customer service for myself? Am I right??

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If you've ever found yourself exhausted by responsibilities that somehow became yours without your permission, I wrote this for you.

— Melanie