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[Home Abroad] [a book] [2026]

Before you leave

An essential guide to moving abroad: a hand-curated selection of Substack's best advice on moving abroad.

12 chapters, dozens of Substack writers, and over a year of the most honest writing about leaving home.

Co-edited together. Shipped on Amazon and Gumroad, April 2026.

Then Open House Week: a Substack-wide moment with a giveaway across every contributor post.

It's the book I wish someone had handed me before I packed my first bag.

Kaila Krayewski, in the launch post

The book

We co-authored and edited Before You Leave: The Essential Guide: a 12-chapter, community-built guide drawing on dozens of Substack writers, for anyone seriously thinking about moving abroad but feeling overwhelmed or stuck. It turned real stories and practical steps into a plan readers could act on.

We started on it in November 2025, aiming for a December launch. It ran a little late, and it went out on 11 April 2026: first as a full ebook for Home Abroad's paid members, in a launch post with a giveaway of one paid membership and three copies, then on Amazon KDP and Gumroad.

I contributed to the book's production and content, then edited, designed and shipped it. The book's own editors page put it this way: I led much of the behind-the-scenes work, assembling the manuscript, and polishing the graphics to make it feel clear, beautiful and easy to read.

Who it was for
Anyone dreaming about, planning, or already living a life abroad, and feeling stuck.
What it was
A calm, structured companion for the planning, the packing and the emotional prep.
How it sounded
Like a room full of people who had actually done it, with real reader comments running through the margins.
What it carried
A contributors directory, recommended resources and the Dream Life Abroad Starter Kit.

where it lived

on Amazon → on Gumroad → the launch post →
The Before You Leave guide open on a tablet, on a cream throw beside an orange notebook, a cup of tea and a yellow tulip

From the book

The cover: Before you leave, an essential guide to moving abroadThe contents pageThe preface, a front door and the line "Leaving a place is never just logistics"The preface continued, with a watercolour globeThe preface closing, under a sunset skyHow This Guide WorksChapter one: So, You Are Ready to Leave It All Behind?A chapter page with Practical Steps in the marginA chapter page with reader comments in the marginTransborder Families: a call to actionCommunity Voices, the contributorsThank youThe Dream Life Abroad Starter KitAbout the Book EditorsThe back cover over snowy mountains

The twelve chapters

  1. IRead This First: The Real Beginning
  2. IIThe Moment You Knew
  3. IIIFear: The Quiet Saboteur
  4. IVFantasy vs Reality
  5. VThe Invisible Costs
  6. VIThe Crossing
  7. VIIVisa Reality
  8. VIIIYour Money Runway
  9. IXSystems That Saved Us
  10. XHow We Built This Guide
  11. XIContributors Directory
  12. XIIRecommended Resources

Some of the voices inside

and they were not the only ones: real reader comments ran through the margins, and every contributor's name was on the contributors page.

Open House Week

A coordinated, Substack-wide moment for the launch, with the contributors at the front of it.

Instead of every contributor running their own giveaway on the same post, we turned the launch into one shared week. Each contributor published a short personal piece (300 to 600 words) on one question: what almost stopped you from leaving, and why didn't it? It sat beside what they wrote for the book, so nothing overlapped.

Every piece ended with the same giveaway: a free copy of the guide. Readers entered by commenting, subscribing to the contributor's Substack and to Home Abroad, and restacking for two bonus entries. Winners were picked at the end of the week, and we sent the books.

the posts

4
contributors published (two essays and two Notes)
3
winners picked on 26 May 2026
1
reader bought the book rather than wait for the draw

what I made for it

The askA message inviting each contributor in, with the idea laid out simply, and a follow-up to those who had gone quiet.
The contributor packEverything paste-ready: artwork for a long-form post and for a Note, a suggested title and subtitle, a four-beat structure (what almost stopped you, what you felt, why you went anyway, what you know now), a short blurb about the book, and the giveaway block with its rules.
The Notes versionThe same arc squeezed into 100 to 150 words (a hook, the turn, the book, the giveaway) for contributors who preferred a Note to a post.
The trackersA schedule of who published which day, with status for the essay, the artwork and the post link, and a winners log.