Prepper's Workbook Getting Closer
My coauthor Scott Finazzo and I just got a PDF file back from our editor last night of the interior design of The Prepper's Workbook. We are both pleased with the hard work the design and layout people have put into this book. Unlike all my previous books, this was no straightforward text layout with a few illustrations. Instead, it is packed with graphics, diagrams, worksheets, interactive checklists and more. This is part of the reason it has taken so long to get ready for press. We're certainly a lot closer now. With the addition of a few final illustrations and final proofing, it should be ready for Ulysses Press to send to the printer soon.Here is the first part of the Introduction:
As the title implies, The Prepper’s Workbook is an interactive workbook and not the kind of book you read passively for entertainment or to glean bits and pieces information that might soon be forgotten. This book is all about you and your family, and is designed to enable you to be better prepared for any kind of disaster or emergency survival situation. And although we use the word “prepper” in the title, this is not just another book for those expecting a major doomsday event or upheaval of society. By definition, a “prepper” is someone who prepares in advance for any change in normal circumstances. Such a change may be as short-lived as an overnight power outage caused by an electrical storm or it could be an extended collapse of the grid caused by major natural or manmade disasters.Disasters typically happen with little or no warning and leave in their wake the ill pre- pared who will inevitably suffer for their lack or readiness or become reliant upon others for their most basic needs and comforts. To avoid becoming such a victim, you must begin the process of preparedness now. The Prepper’s Workbook will help you do that by providing you with worksheets, checklists and activities that you can customize to fit your particular circumstances, including your geographical location and your family’s living situation, whether it is in the city or the country, in an apartment or a house.To get the most out of this book, you will need to actively participate in the exercises suggested and take the time to fill in the blanks on the pages requiring vital information, lists and maps. Doing this properly may take some time, and that’s okay. The important thing is to start. As you go along, you will work your way through the book and have the great satisfaction of knowing that you have taken the first steps towards preparing yourself and your family for safety and survival.
To begin, it is important to go through the exercises in the first chapter of this book. These exercises are all about getting yourself and your home organized, assessing your surroundings and the threats that could affect you and your family and taking stock of what you already have on that may come in handy in an emergency. In this chapter you will also map the vital locations in the nearby area outside of your home, so that everyone in your family will know how to find the nearest emergency services and other critical locations without having to try and look this up under duress.Moving beyond the beginning organizational section, The Prepper’s Workbook takes you step-by-step through preparing to shelter in place in the home. Flowcharts to help you assess the viability of sheltering in place or the necessity to bug out and evacuate are also provided. If you do have to leave your home, the sections on how to build a bug out bag, equip a bug out vehicle and decide where to go will make you much more prepared than those who leave in a panic with no real plan.Beyond these preliminary steps, the remainder of this workbook deals with specific types of threats and how to determine if they may affect you, and if so, how to prepare for them. The final chapter covers the Prepping Top Tens, outlining ten vital survival skills everyone should know and practice in advance of needing them in a real emergency.