DO THE HEART WORK: Volume 1

Back and front

It’s here.

A dream that began as a simple guide shared with my small but big-hearted community has found its way into print. 96 pages of beauty, depth, and heart.

Introducing Do The Heart Work: Volume 1 – WRITE AGAIN. A 21-day journaling journey designed to help you reflect, reset, and reconnect.

In December 2024, I released this guide to my followers. My hope was that this would be something simple to help us journal through the festive season, which can be equal parts joy and overwhelm. I didn’t expect much. But within days, thousands of people had downloaded it. Messages poured in, from South Africa, Australia, Zimbabwe, the US, and the UK.
People were writing. Processing. Breathing again. The response reminded me why I do this work. This isn’t just another notebook. It’s a companion. A soft place to land in the middle of it all.

Each of the 21 days includes a thoughtfully crafted prompt, paired with a personal story, reflection, or gentle encouragement from my own journals and journey. There’s space on every page to write. To pause. To come reevaluate your heart and your life.

It’s been beautifully designed by the talented team at Little Bird, using 99% of my own photographs, most of which were taken during our years living in the KZN Midlands. (The cover photo? A personal favourite: my children in what was once our backyard, beside the dam where we spent many a slow afternoon drifting into evening.)

Whether you’re a seasoned journaler, someone who used to journal and longs to return, or you're holding your pen again with a bit of hesitation, this is for you.

There’s no rush. No rules. You can move through the prompts day by day, or dip in and out as you like. Because doing the heart work doesn’t follow a formula. It follows your own rhythm.

I created this because I believe in the power of pen to paper. Of words becoming worlds.
I’ve witnessed in workshops, retreats, and in ordinary moments at my own kitchen table, how journaling softens us, strengthens us, and anchors us.

This is Volume 1. A beginning. An invitation.

To write again.
To feel again.
To live from the inside out.

And yes, it would make the most beautiful gift. For yourself. For a friend. For anyone who’s ready to do the heart work.

Thank you for walking this journey with me.

With love,
Antoinette McDonald
Do The Heart Work