Why I’m Finally Writing My Memoir

The Next Chapter of Grumble Farm

Hello, Grumble Fam! 💙❤️🧡

Happy 2025! It’s a fresh new year, and with it comes a fresh chapter new in the ongoing saga that is, and will forever be, Grumble Farm 🐾

Whether you’ve been following along for many years, or you’ve just discovered this little corner of the internet recently—welcome!

Today, I wanted to share a bit of a personal update with some exciting news:

I’m Finally Writing My First Book, and it’s Going to Be a Memoir!

Throughout the past 14+ years, I have been openly sharing about the ups and downs of my own life with the pugs through social media, email newsletters, and YouTube.

Grumble Farm’s followers and Patrons have stood by me through some of my darkest moments, offering unwavering support as I navigated some of my life’s biggest challenges!

You guys have also celebrated with me in the light of some of my greatest victories 💙

And now, it’s finally time to synthesize all of the fragmented Instagram posts and YouTube videos to deliver a complete narrative in a way that’s not influenced by algorithms or social media trends, but instead, a story to be enjoyed from cover to cover.

A Divine Message Led Me Here

If you watched my previous video, you might remember me sharing a powerful, channeled message I received that set me on this path.

To briefly recap: this message encouraged me to trust the process of my life, to reflect on everything I’ve been through so far, and to embrace the timing of my journey.

It reminded me that Jonas’s arrival in 2011 was the start of a transformative period in my life—and that all of the challenges I faced since were leading me to this very moment!

I was reassured that I am now ready to share this story, that my needs would be met as I did the work, and that I would continue to be supported by my ✨heavenly Grumble✨—Jonas, Chloe, and Newman—through every step of this pursuit. Their spirits are guiding me as I write this book, and it’s truly an amazing feeling!

How I Realized It Was Time for a Memoir

At first, I thought the message meant I should focus on making more long-form videos for Grumble Farm’s YouTube channel, where I’m allowed a little more time and space to use my voice. I even deleted Instagram to shift my energy here, but as I started planning out my stories, I had a revelation: I wasn’t simply outlining video content, I was actually outlining my memoir!

It then became clear that everything I’ve been sharing over the years wasn’t meant to remain scattered in bits and pieces across multiple platforms online. It was meant to be beautifully and intentionally woven into a full, cohesive book with the ability to stands on its own. And that’s exactly what I’m going to create 🙂

Overcoming the Obstacles to Writing My Memoir

So, why has it taken me so long to finally commit to this? Well, any fellow aspiring memoirists or novelists might be able to relate to the things that have held me back from doing the work.

Since 2020, I’ve struggled with feelings of inadequacy, especially when comparing myself to other content creators who seemed to be achieving success and recognition online much faster as they adapted to the sudden rise of creating trending short form content online. I kept thinking, “Who am I to write a book? I can’t even seem to get this story heard online anymore amidst the noise!” I even had a literary agent once tell me that story wasn’t worth telling in a memoir, simply because I didn’t have a big enough following who would care enough to result in an adequate number of book sales (she had actually wanted me to write a doggy treat cookbook, but only if I was willing to collaborate with a larger creator for marketing purposes). I hated this conversation, and I ended up internalizing that criticism for a long time, equating the value of what I had to offer with the number of followers I had.

Another big challenge was that, for a long time, I struggled with the belief that my story wasn’t worth sharing because I still hadn’t “figured it all out” yet. But I’ve come to realize that life doesn’t have to have one singular “happy ending” to be meaningful. I don’t need to wait to have everything together to begin telling the story of everything I’ve overcome so far, as those lessons are valuable in and of themselves.

The last obstacle I continuously came up against has been time. Between running Grumble Farm, supporting Jesse through his health challenges, and grieving the loss of Jonas, I always felt like I was doing everything I could to simply survive. It seemed that there was never a realistic time to commit to a big project like this… until now 🙂

The Memoir Journey Begins

In 2020, while recovering from a very significant surgery, I intuitively started putting the pieces of this memoir together. I created a binder and titled it Grit, Grace, and a Grumble of Pugs—a rough draft filled with memories, stories, quotes, and and photos compiled from over the course of the previous6 or 7 years. The illustration I included had actually become Grumble Farm’s very first logo, created by my very talented friend, tattoo artists, and fellow Grumble mama, Shae Motz. But, the next chapter of this journey swept me up much quicker than I could have ever anticipated, and I ended up throwing the binder in a storage box where it remained, untouched, for the next five years.

Where it all began: in 2019 at my little writing desk in my tiny little apartment in Calgary, Alberta

Not gunna lie, I had some pretty adorable company at the time!

“The most beautiful stories always start with wreckage.” ~Jack London

Now, I’m ready to dive back in. And this time, I’m not alone. I’ve recently embraced the help of AI writing and productivity tools like ChatGPT to help pick up where I left off by helping to organize my thoughts, structure my story, articulate my experiences and uncover all of the key themes throughout. It’s been incredibly helpful in getting me back on track and helping me realize that the memoir and the videos I was creating for YouTube were always meant to go hand in hand.

So, What’s Next for Grumble Farm in 2025?

Now that I’ve committed to writing my memoir, here’s what you can expect from Grumble Farm moving forward:

💙 Behind-the-scenes updates: I’ll be sharing progress on my memoir-writing journey—expect lots of raw, real moments as I face inevitable challenges and breakthroughs along the way.

❤️ Content aligned with memoir themes: You’ll get videos that align with the themes that are being weaved throughout the memoir writing process including things like navigating and healing from grief, cultivating the resilience to overcome life’s challenges with grace, and the profound spiritual bond between us and our dogs that helps us through it all.

🧡 More about Fern and Ivy: I’ll continue sharing updates on the Girlie Goo’s senior years through vlogs and sweet photos and videos that celebrate and honour their sweet little lives and all of their quirky antics!

So whether you’re here for the memoir updates, to follow along with Fern and Ivy, or for absolutely all of it - there’s plenty to look forward to as we head into the 2025 year 🌿

Thank You for Your Support

I can’t thank you enough for being part of this journey. Your support has meant the world to me over the years, and I’m so excited to take the next step in this process with all of you beauties by my side!

Stay tuned for more updates, and thank you again for believing in me and this story 💙❤️🧡

Forever & ever,

P.S. If you’re interested in getting a more personal, behind-the-scenes look at my memoir announcement, be sure to check out the YouTube video version when you have the time! I trekked out to the forest to film it, and it includes a bonus mini-vlog and some funny bloopers at the end that I think you’ll get a laugh out of. Plus, every view, like, and comment helps support my journey. You can watch it right here or by scrolling back to the very top of this post and hitting play 🎥✨🌿