Introduction to "Advocacy Made Easy: How to Turn Civic Frustration Into Powerful Action"

The following words are the full introduction from my book, “Advocacy Made Easy: How to Turn Civic Frustration Into Powerful Action,” released in October 2025. If you know anything about the publishing business (or even if you don’t), you can figure out that I had to submit it well before any pages made it off a press. I was writing for a moment and also sending a message into the future. I wrote it before Medicaid and SNAP funding cuts paid for tax benefits for the wealthy. It was a time before senior officials left the CDC and the Department of Justice to maintain their principles. It was certainly well before ICE agents killed Americans and kidnapped children on camera. I didn’t know what was to come, but I knew Americans have been feeling powerless for a long time. It didn’t take a crystal ball to predict things were going to get worse before they got better.

When I re-read my own words now, I feel like it’s my past self speaking to my present self. Present-me is tired, as you likely are. But I am not beaten. I want to share these words with you, hoping they can move us all forward, even when we feel like sitting down. Share them with anyone you know who needs to be inspired to engage in advocacy actions or stay in action. And as I wrote before, “Let’s see what we can achieve together.”

I know it can seem like we are powerless. I know you disagree

with some, or all, of the people elected to run your city, your

state, and your country. The situation is bleak. Real people suffer

because of policies that keep families in poverty, withhold medical

care from those in need, damage the environment, deny rights

to vulnerable people, and more. It feels like there’s never enough

good news to make up for the bad.

It doesn’t look like we have a choice in what’s happening to

us. Do we have to live this way? What’s the alternative?

The alternative is speaking out to decision-makers, empowering

ourselves, and working with movements to change the world.

This is the good stuff rarely taught in high school government

classes! As a volunteer advocate, I feel alive and full of purpose

when I help an idea become a law or prevent a harmful bill from

passing.

We have buckets full of reasons that we don’t speak up. I

know we’re all short on time and it’s just easier not to express

opinions to strangers. I also know most of our hesitation comes

from a fear of the unknown. I’m offering you a shortcut through

the fear that can lock us into inaction. With the clear and friendly

instructions in this handbook, you’ll quickly learn the basics of

seven important advocacy actions. You’ll feel more confident and

less worried when you try something new in your activism.

Advocating will take persistence and courage. We’ll do it for

ourselves, and we’ll do it for the people we are trying to protect.

You will achieve more than you thought you could. Most importantly,

you’ll be able to say, “I did my part. I didn’t just give up.”

Can I guarantee that if you take the actions outlined in this

book, your elected officials will listen to you and change their

minds? No. But there is a 100 percent chance you won’t change

anything if you only vent your frustrations with your friends

behind closed doors. I guarantee you will feel better than you do

as an anxious bystander, hoping someone else will save us.

Advocacy Made Easy is about making activism accessible,

friendly, and doable for everyone. I’m asking you to put aside the

fear that keeps you from moving forward into a more powerful

state of living.

Wouldn’t you like to trade old, familiar feelings of desperation

and frustration for the satisfaction and knowledge that you

stood up at a certain time in history when you were needed? And,

by the way, that “time in history” is any time you’re reading this

book. Because this is the moment when you’re on the earth. This

is the only time you get to make the world better.

Step out of your comfort zone. Do what makes you nervous.

Let’s see what we can achieve together.

My first book, “From Changing Diapers to Changing the World: Why Moms Make Great Advocates and How to Get Started,” is a warm and witty guidebook helping moms to make a better world for all of us. It provides inspirational stories and “how-to” instructions for new and experienced activists to get more involved in advocacy.

My second book, “Advocacy Made Easy: How to Turn Civic Frustration Into Powerful Action,” is a practical handbook designed to demystify the advocacy process for everyone. It offers a convenient, step-by-step guide to making your voice heard in the halls of power—no political experience required.

• Buy an autographed copy from my website at www.changyit.com/books.

• Order online at bookshop.org or Barnes & Noble.

• Order from any independent bookstore near you!