Dear Readers: This time of year, my inbox fills with the same quiet sentence written a hundred different ways: “I’m tired of being the reasonable one.”

It comes from the woman hosting Sunday dinner who gets criticized no matter what she serves. The man who keeps lending money to a sibling who never pays it back. The adult child who answers every call from a parent, then spends the rest of the night feeling guilty, angry and sad all at once. And it comes from people who love deeply, try hard, forgive often and still find themselves shrinking to fit someone else’s comfort.

If that’s you, I want to tell you about something close to my heart: my new book, “Out of Bounds.”

I wrote it because boundaries are one of the most misunderstood — and most necessary — forms of love. We tend to think a boundary is a wall, or a slam of the door, or a dramatic speech that ends in a family feud. We worry it will make us look cold. We fear it will start a fight. We tell ourselves it’s not worth the trouble.

But here’s what I’ve learned after years of listening to your letters: What’s NOT worth it is the slow erosion of self-respect that happens when you keep saying yes while your whole body is begging for a no.

“Out of Bounds” is for the people who don’t want to cut anyone off — they just want to stop being walked on. It’s for the readers who love their families, value loyalty and know in their bones that something has to change. It’s for anyone who has ever wondered, “How do I stand up for myself without becoming someone I don’t recognize?”

Inside the book, we talk about the everyday moments where boundaries matter most: the backhanded jokes, the “small” comments that sting, the constant favors that aren’t returned, the relatives who treat your time like it’s theirs to spend. We talk about how guilt hooks you, how old family roles keep you stuck and why “keeping the peace” often means you’re the only one paying for it.

Most of all, we talk about what boundaries really are. They are not punishments. They are not revenge. They are the clearest form of honesty. A boundary simply says, “This is what I can do. This is what I can’t. This is what I will accept. This is what I won’t.”

And yes, it can be that plain.

You’ll find practical language in these pages — words you can borrow when your emotions are loud and your courage feels small. You’ll find reminders for the moments you’re tempted to backtrack (“Maybe I overreacted,” “Maybe I should just let it go”). You’ll find gentle, steady encouragement to stop negotiating yourself down.

Because here’s the truth I want every reader to carry: You can be kind and still be firm. You can forgive and still protect yourself. You can love someone and still insist on being treated with respect.

If you’ve been living out of bounds — overgiving, overexplaining, overextending — I hope this book feels like a hand on your shoulder and a light at the end of the hallway, not telling you to burn bridges but showing you how to stop lighting yourself on fire to keep other people warm.

“Out of Bounds” is now available on Amazon. I hope it helps you all feel less alone.

“Out of Bounds: Estrangement, Boundaries and the Search for Forgiveness” is out now! Annie Lane’s third anthology is for anyone who has lived with anger, estrangement or the deep ache of being wronged — because forgiveness isn’t for them. It’s for you. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Follow Annie Lane on Instagram at @dearannieofficial. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie

@creators.com.