Happy Anniversary: My Fighting Family Turns Two

Just a quick note to celebrate another lap around the sun for My Fighting Family: Borders and Bloodlines and The Battles That Made Us, which officially hit bookstore shelves two years ago today.

Technically, my memoir’s been out there for two years plus one day. Followers with sharp memories will recall that 24 hours ahead of pub day I sat in a room at Ajax Pickering Hospital, regrouping after losing a 12-round slugfest against a stomach virus, scrolling through LinkedIn when a DM popped up from my boy Vikram. His pre-ordered copy had arrived a day early, making him the first paying customer to lay hands on My Fighting Family in the wild.

But the official anniversary is January 23, and I’m grateful for every moment as a published author. Book business has taken me from here to Vancouver to Hamilton to Cleveland to Brampton, and I’m not done introducing My Fighting Family to new cities and new readers.

The market has slept on my book even though awards juries loved it, so please don’t check my Am@z0n stats. Those seven figures next to the title represent my ranking, and they’re inversely proportional to the number of units I’ve moved on that platform. I only check that page when I need humbling.

Still, the last two years have been a thrill, an honour, an adventure, and, above all, an education. I want to say that a lot of what I’ve learned about the book business, I’ve learned too late, but that’s a lie. It’s never too late.

Case in point #1: paperback pub day is June 2, 2026. We moved it back from January to give the new format the marketing push it deserves, and to keep anybody attending my re-launch party from freezing in the effort to get there. June is also Black Music month, which, if you’ve read my book, you know is a no-brainer. And if you haven’t read my book, you should pick it up soon.

Case in point #2: I’m still out here hustling with the hardcover. If you’re thinking of coming out, just do it. I’ll bring my purple sharpie so you can leave with a signed copy.

I’ll write about some of these events in more detail in the coming weeks, but for now update your calendars

• Jan 30, Scarborough, ON: VOICES OF STRENGTH REUNION… Public event but an intimate venue. If you’re coming, make sure you REGISTER HERE, but if you register, make sure you come.
• Feb 7, Mississauga, ON: BOOK SIGNING AT INDIGO ERIN MILLS, 5015 Glen Erin Drive, 11am-4pm… This one is free and open to the public. I’ll be there all day, helping the staff commemorate Black History Month, and introducing shoppers to their Next Favourite Book
• Feb 25, Brampton, ON: FOLD BRAMPTON AUTHOR TALK SERIES, Cyril Clark Theatre, 20 Loafers Lake Lane, 7-8:15pm… This one is free and open to the public, too, and I’m always thrilled to return to Peel Region and do a presentation with the FOLD folks. Just as above, REGISTER HERE if you’re coming, but if you register you better come.

More updates are on the way, but you all knew that already.

Either way, I’m happy to have you with me as we start another year with My Fighting Family.

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