Lynne Peeples—The Inner Clock: Living in Sync with Our Circadian Rhythms

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Cover of the book The Inner Clock: Living in Sync with Our Circadian Rhythms by Lynne Peeples, with the title and author’s name in white print on a background that fades from blue to orange suggesting the transition from night to day. The “0” in clock has a rim around it that suggests an image of the sun.

The Inner Clock

THE INNER CLOCK:
LIVING IN SYNC WITH OUR CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS
Lynne Peeples
Riverhead Books and Bloomsbury UK, September 24, 2024
Hardcover, $30.00, eBook $15.99, Audiobook, $20.25 Hardcover ISBN: 9780593538906, eBook ASIN: B0CRTQJZXP Audiobook: ASIN: B0CS1SBXPR

Peeples reports:

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I developed an early appreciation for nature—ocean waves, evergreen trees, starry skies. At the top of my affinity list was sunlight. Those rays came in short supply for much of the year. So did my sleep. The first bell at my high school often rang before the sun rose.

Still, it wasn’t until a few years ago, during a media tour of my hometown baseball team’s locker room, that I began to connect the dots. The Seattle Mariners had just installed LED lighting that adjusted in color and intensity. The tech aimed to strengthen the players’ circadian clocks, energize them before games, and relax them after. Yes, a light bulb went on for me.

Portrait photo of Lynne Peeples by John Cornicello.

Lynne Peeples
Photo by John Cornicello

I reported a feature for Undark on the rise of circadian lighting, which led to a feature for Nature on circadian medicine. I saw a vast and growing field worthy of a book. Still, I brushed off the thought: no way could I as a single person living in Seattle afford to write a book! Then along came COVID-19 and the fortune of a MIT KSJ fellowship.

With that generous support, I wrote a proposal, connected with an agent, and earned a book deal. I supplemented the advance with an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation book grant to fund travels from Alaska to Amsterdam—and to spend 50 feet underground in a Cold War-era bunker in Arkansas.

I thrilled in diving deeply into circadian rhythms, interviewing hundreds of people and reading hundreds more scientific studies, articles, and books. It was intense. At times, I felt I was studying for several PhDs. As a topic-driven book, the organization and narrative also posed challenges. I ultimately wove stories, including a few from my own reporting adventures, into chapters that transitioned from the background science to our circadian predicament to emerging solutions.

I would advise aspiring authors to ensure sustainable passion, adequate bandwidth (plus some!), and a disciplined and well-organized balance of research and writing.

Contact info:

NASW members: will your book be published soon? Promote it by submitting your report for Advance Copy.

Tell your fellow NASW members how you came up with the idea for your book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. Include what you wish you had known before you began working on your book, or had done differently.

See https://www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines.

View Advance Copy archives at https://www.nasw.org/member-article/advance-copy.

Thinking of writing a book? If you are a NASW member, you may access a list of more than 200 books and online resources to help you craft your book proposal, find an agent and funding sources, negotiate your contract, learn about self-publishing, publicize and market your book, and more at https://www.nasw.org/article/write-book.

View the recording of an Advance Copy Virtual Business Chat, A Primer for Authors on Book Publicity. NASW member login required.

View the recording of a Virtual Business Chat presented by NASW’s Freelance Committee and Advance Copy column Writing Wikipedia Profiles. NASW member login required.

View the recording of a recent Virtual Skills Chat presented by NASW’s Freelance Committee Using Generative A.I. as Writers and Editors. NASW member login required.

Send book info and questions about book publishing to Lynne Lamberg, NASW book editor, llamberg@nasw.org.

Follow @LynneLamberg and @lynnelamberg.bsky.social for news about NASW authors, science/medical books, and writing.

Banner image adapted from original photo by Lynne Peeples.

NASW invites publishers and publicists to purchase NASW website ads to promote their authors and books via NASW’s self-service purchasing portal.

Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines for information on submitting your report.

Publication of NASW author reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of any publication or the ideas, values, or material contained within or espoused by authors or their books. We hope this column stimulates productive discussions on important topics now and in the future as both science and societies progress. We welcome your discussion in the comments section below.

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