Start with Hello: (And Other Simple Ways to Live as Neighbors) - Paperback

by Shannan Martin (Author)

When was the last time you made a new friend? Chatted with a neighbor? Felt connected to your community? Risked being known? There are so many ways, both intentionally and unintentionally, we wall ourselves off from one another, yet we are truly better, healthier, and happier together.

The good news is, if you long to trade loneliness, isolation, and disconnection for the security, camaraderie, and joy found through authentic connection with those around you, you need only Start with Hello. In this practical, compelling book, author Shannan Martin shares simple practices for living as a more open-hearted, empathetic neighbor who sees past what divides us, looks for common ground, and is rewarded with vibrant and enduring friendships. Told from Shannan's street-level vantage point in her diverse, complex neighborhood, we see the path to a more deeply connected life before us. Start with Hello illuminates the way.

Back Jacket

A simple path to a more deeply connected life

You want more. You want to belong to a community that looks out for each other. You believe in your bones we don't have to live detached, distracted, and divided. The question is, How? Shannan Martin invites you into deeper connection through simple resets, such as

- Open Door > Perfect Décor. We invite others in, seeking to connect, not impress.
- Familiar > Fussy. We serve tacos and pizza like the feasts they are, because fancy is overrated.
- Tender > Tough. We greet the world with our hearts exposed and our guards down.

Packed with street-level practices and real-talk storytelling, Start with Hello is your field guide for a life of security, camaraderie, and joy. There is no step too small.


"As it turns out, there is no them but only us, and this is the book we both want and need to help us find our way back to each other."--Emily P. Freeman, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Next Right Thing

"Start with Hello is a love letter to community and a call to action toward radical, realistic hospitality."--Osheta Moore, pastor, speaker, and author of Dear White Peacemakers

"This book will change you in a way you've been craving to change. It makes being a neighbor, not to mention a person, just so beautifully . . . doable."--Kendra Adachi, New York Times bestselling author of The Lazy Genius Way

"This book is lovely, warm, honest. It brims with possibility."--Jen Hatmaker, New York Times bestselling author of Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire

Author Biography

Shannan Martin, author of The Ministry of Ordinary Places and Falling Free, is a speaker and writer who found her voice in the country and her story in the city. Shannan works as a cook at The Window, a local nonprofit dedicated to feeding its community. She, her jail-chaplain husband, and their kids live as grateful neighbors in Goshen, Indiana. Follow her on Instagram @shannanwrites.