The 2020 Election Survival Guide: 102 Reflections & Activities That Stem The Urge to Throttle Anyone Including Yourself

By Ann American

Hot button issues?
Rhetoric?
Advice on who to vote for?
Save it for those other books.
The 2020 Election Survival Guide is about you, the American voter, trapezing your way through the election cycle, o’er the mountains, through the valleys, without colliding into a relationship meltdown or being hit by a social med

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jasmine St. Press
• Release date: Dec 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9780984813438

Ann American

Ann American is your shorter-than-average American writer dedicated to promoting unity during the 2020 election. She has no interest in persuading any voter toward a particular candidate or issue. Rather, she crafted this guide to help her fellow Americans walk the 2020 red, white, and blue line with grace, compassion, and not jump off a cliff. Ann's primary focus remains fiction with nearly two decades of experience. She has been an editor at a small press, and is a member of multiple writing organizations including Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

I

t’s November 2019 and the color-drenched leaves and hot apple cider can no longer protect me. The countdown to the 2020 election has begun. Whatever your political stance, social agenda, or beliefs, I’d wager there’s one emotion the majority of us feel on some level after the 2016 circus: dread.

No, I don’t refer to the election results, or merely the presidential race. Rather, the absurdity, chaos, or all-out nastiness some folks succumbed to before Santa put us all on the naughty list. People unleashed words (or worse) they couldn’t take back, leaving others hurt or confused. Neighbors accused, friendships were lost, even some families felt divided.

In frank terms, people lost their shit.

Okay. If we accept—as a nation—we now share a wary anticipation of Decision or Death 2020 we’re ahead. How’s that for progress? On the first page of this book, we can agree on something. Unity!

So, how do we deal with the election tsunami as we wade through news, debates, and water cooler chats that involve phrases like: "I’m not saying you’re that like, I just don’t understand how anyone can vote for . . ." How do we remain focused, productive, and maintain an inner peace regardless of who wins? Should we explore options through reflection and contemplation? Sure. But humor is just as important.

This journal attempts to address both.

Tips to Get the Most Out of this Experience

Consider this guide your anti social media. It’s made of pages for you to touch and turn, complete in any order or add to over time. (If you have the digital version, recycle unused pages from a journal or notebook when necessary.) A canvas of self-expression or an avenue for a laugh. Embrace the experience of your pen marking the page. Of stapling the image of your most despised candidate’s mouth shut or rereading a thoughtful response. Embellish, alter, destroy at will, but keep it for your eyes, and those in your most trusted circle, only. Otherwise, if you’re journaling to wow your online friends or followers, you’re not really doing it for you.

For some exercises, try to erase who the candidates are from your mind. Whoa. Isn’t that what an election is about—the candidates? What they stand for? (Don’t we wish elections were only about that!) Yes, a lot of dread relates to the candidates, but this book isn’t about them, it’s about you. Your ability to walk the red, white, and blue line with grace, compassion, and not jump off a