As you survey the landscape of 2017, if you’re anything like me, you’re being faced with a potent mix of conflicting emotions. Some are juicy, and some make your breath constrict. You wouldn’t be alone if you were feeling hopeful and terrified in the same breath. Maybe you’re inspired to get to work, but on the other hand, feeling a little paralysed.

2016 has been an absolutely insane year, with so many unexpected twists and turns. It has felt like walking through a labyrinth, expecting to stumble across the usual dead ends, but instead, some evil villain hits a switch and the floor literally falls out from under you. There have been many instances this year where I wanted to yell, “Hey! Those are not the rules of engagement!”

But guess what? WE HAVE SURVIVED. Holy shit, we have survived. You might be feeling a little battered, a little broken. You might have more grey hairs and a deeper wrinkle or two. But we made it, baby. WE. MADE. IT!

That’s why putting together the 2017 Radical Self Love Almanac felt like a super-important task. As I was creating it, I keep coming back to the question, “What do we need right now to feel empowered to be our best selves?” I didn’t want it to be fluffy or to skim along the surface of what’s going on — I wanted it to be truly useful. Something you could flick through and find an idea that gave you the strength to keep going.

This year, we’ve packed the Almanac with a new year ritual from Veronica Varlow, horoscopes from The AstroTwins, tarotscopes for each sign from Paige Zaferiou, rituals for each season from Tess Whitehurst, and a guide to manifesting with tarot from Biddy Tarot. There are lessons for loving your body from Kitty Cavalier, advice on how to make your bedroom a sensual paradise from Amanda Gibby Peters, and a kickass manifesto from Grace Quantock. And there are lots of ideas from me, too, about how we can make the most of this year, no matter what it throws at us.

That’s the thing: we can’t always control the circumstances that are swirling around us. Sometimes, things just happen. But we CAN control how we respond to them. We can choose defeat and to curl up in a ball, or we can take a deep breath, and raise our heads — and middle fingers — high!

2017 is going to be a really big year. The forecasts from the Almanac have this scrawled all over them, but even without them, it’s clear that life is about to be very different. 2017 is going to be a year where we have to wake up and take charge.

A lot of us have been coasting for a long time, surfing on an apathetic wave, taking what we’re given. That is all changing. Can you feel it too? This is the year that we have to actively go after what we want and pursue it, no matter the cost.

That can be scary. We judge ourselves a lot for wanting what we want, which of course, stops us from ever even considering going after it. That all stops now. This is your one and only life. Do you want to let your own fear of what you are capable of stop you from doing everything you ever dreamed about?! HELL TO THE NO!

If all this talk has you breaking out in a cold sweat, don’t worry. In the immortal words of Michael Jackson: you are not alone, I am here with you. We are — quite literally — all in this together. And it’s time for us to stand up and be absolutely crystal clear about what we will and will not accept. It’s time for us to do the hard work of standing in our power and continually asking ourselves, “Is this the best me I can be?”

No one said it would be easy. But when you take those first delicious steps… When you cross that threshold of feeling uncomfortable… You’ll discover every treasure imaginable. They were inside you all along. All you had to do was take the chance.

Click below to get your own copy of the Almanac! Clocking in at 105 pages, it’s our biggest and best yet. This is a DIGITAL BOOK.