BUT I'M BORED Is Now Available for Preorder

And your pre-order matters

My book But I’m Bored is officially open for pre-order... And I need your help.

I know I should be entering this launch like a confident boss, full of energy, clarity, and authority. But the truth?

I’m a mom. A wife. A creator. And I’m not even sure I’ve ever called myself a writer before.

But I wrote a book. And it’s good. And I know it will help so many families turn down the noise around boredom, independent play, screen time, and how to show up in motherhood when you’re not sure how to manage it all.

Last month, I read the entire thing out loud in a recording studio, the full audiobook- Director, producer, sound booth, the works. I was terrified. Truly.

In the week leading up to the audiobook recording, I was a mess. Cranky, short with my husband and kids, way too hard on myself. Even the dogs felt it.

But then I did it. I read the book. Out loud. And you know what? It felt really good. Because I finally realized: this book is going to help people. Even if only a few people read it, I know those people will feel seen. I know it will deeply empower them.

And as I read it, I remembered why I wrote it: so parents could pick it up and actually use it, in whatever season they’re in. They can come back to it when life shifts, and their kids grow, and they’re wondering again, “what now?”

Because I know, with my whole heart, that play changes lives, and making room for play will give today’s kids back a childhood they deserve. And giving children back their childhood might just be the thing that our world needs right now to move forward in a positive trajectory.

Last week, I flew to Michigan to watch my oldest son, Nate, run in the Big Ten Cross Country Championship. He’s a freshman at Purdue, and wow, I miss him. The kind of miss that aches deeply in my chest.

I stood in the crisp Michigan fall air, leaves falling around me, music blaring, feeling so beyond proud. Not just of the athlete he’s become, but of the person he is. Confident, calm, focused, warm, and kind in his every interaction. And I know that ease comes, in part, from the years he spent in deep, unstructured play.

We tried team sports when he was younger. Soccer, baseball, we gave it an honest try. But it didn’t light him up like building airports out of unit blocks and Legos did. It didn’t pull him in the way dismantling bikes in the garage and putting them back together did. So we let him quit. And that felt dicey, like maybe we were “doing it wrong.”

But we followed his lead. We chose play over team sports and after-school enrichments.

He spent most afternoons exploring, building, imagining, and playing with his sisters in the woods and in the playroom. No club schedules. No drills. No hustle. Just freedom to be a kid.

On his eleventh birthday, we gifted him the one thing he wanted more than anything in the world- a flight lesson. He sat on a phone book to reach the controls, the instructor by his side, amused by this precocious little guy spouting off flight facts and airplane terminology.

Turns out, airplanes weren’t a passing phase. At eighteen, he’s a licensed private pilot. He’s studying aviation at one of the top schools in the country, and running Cross Country and Track and Field for a D1 Big Ten team.

The funny part is that he didn’t start running until three years ago, after we moved, and he wanted to meet people. But the grit, the adaptability, the confidence to try something new that came from play. From years of learning how to figure things out, fail, and try again.

And here’s the thing: most of the kids who spent their afternoons in structured activities and rushed routines? They’re not all playing competitive college sports now, because the grind doesn’t guarantee greatness. But trusting your kid, giving them space to figure out who they are and what they love, that can change everything.

I wrote But I’m Bored for every parent who’s ever questioned the hustle. Who’s looked at the endless enrichment options and wondered, “Is this really what my kid needs?”

This book is for you if you’ve ever thought:
What if we just… slowed down? What if play is the thing that builds everything else?

Maybe you’re wondering: ‘This sounds great, but how do I actually get my kids to play when I’m drowning in emails, my kid is begging for screens, and everyone else’s kid is in three activities?’ That’s exactly why I wrote this book. It’s not about adding more to your plate; it’s about taking things off.

In But I’m Bored, I walk you through how to actually do this. How to set up your home so play can happen, how to handle the “I’m bored” whine without jumping in to fix it, how to quiet the voice that says you’re not doing enough. There are frameworks for different ages and stages, scripts for talking to worried grandparents and judgmental friends, and practical tools to make it real in your actual life. This book gives you language for what you already know in your gut, and permission to trust yourself when everyone else is hustling.

And now, I need your help.

My book is open for preorder, and strong preorders really matter. They tell bookstores this book is worth stocking. They help land podcast spots and media coverage. They show the world that this message is needed and that parents are ready for something different.

This community enabled me to write this book, and I want to thank you in the most meaningful way I can.

If you preorder But I’m Bored and forward your receipt to ButImBored@penguinrandomhouse.com, I’ll gift you six free months of my paid Substack, Something Playful by The Workspace for Children.

This means six months of deeper support, practical tools, and behind-the-scenes insight, completely free, just for helping me bring this book into the world.

If you’re ready for a more connected and less pressured way to parent, preorder But I’m Bored today.

This book will help you make space for play and bring more ease, more connection, and a lot less pressure into your parenting.

If you believe we’re allowed to slow down and tune into what really matters, your preorder MATTERS. To me, and to the movement. Because play matters. Play matters more now than ever before.

Thank you. For being here, for caring about play, and for showing up for the children in your life.

x.Lizzie