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JSJACKIE SHAW Get my copy
A safety library for women on their own

Everything 33 years on the job taught me about women who live alone. Written down at last.

(The Hardest House on the Block)

What to say at the door, on the phone and in the parking lot, so yours is the house they skip. Three large-print books and a printable toolkit, written the way I teach the women on my block: plain, a little bossy, and most of it free.

The cover of Talk Through the Door, Volume 1
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Volume 1, Talk Through the Door: 65 large-print pages, plus the printable toolkit
Or all three books for . Sale prices end when your clock runs out.
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See real pages from the books first · It's a PDF: nothing is mailed to you.

How it works
1
You pay

Through a secure checkout, the same kind big stores use. I never see your card number.

2
The books open

On the very next screen, about thirty seconds later. Phone, tablet or computer.

3
They're yours to keep

Save them and open them any time. Lose them? Write to me and I'll send the link again.

Nothing ships, there's no account to make, and nothing renews.

Where you probably are

You live on your own now. He can tell from the curb.

I sat at the kitchen tables of the women they picked, the morning after. Most of them hadn't done anything foolish. They answered a nice voice at the door, a scared grandson on the phone, or left the porch light on at noon. A man who picks houses reads yours in about twelve seconds: the one car, the "Mrs." on the packages, the quiet when he knocks.

When my husband Frankie died, the scam calls started within a week, and I nearly fell for one. Me. So I wrote down what I'd tell you at your own kitchen table, before anybody knocks.

The knock

Most of us stand very still and wait for him to go away. That silence is exactly the answer he came for.

The call

The grandchild in trouble, your bank's "fraud department", Medicare, the IRS. They sound real, and they're in a hurry.

The house that talks

One car, "Mrs." on every package, bare windows after dark. Your house tells him a woman lives alone.

The honest math

Most money goes on the things that protect you least.

Here's a typical first year, priced the way it really happens.

The worried way
Monitored alarm contractabout $40 a month
Cameras bought in a panic, plus app fees$400 and up
Gadgets that end up in a drawer$300, give or take
That alarm contract againevery year, forever
Year one$1,180 and up
The Hardest House way
3-inch screws and a heavy strike plateabout $25
Slider stick, window pins, a real door guardabout $25
Two solar motion lightsabout $60
The habits, the phone card, the neighborsfree
One timeabout $110, plus this library

This whole library costs less than one month of a monitoring contract, and you keep it.

Your numbers will differ. Deterrent methods and burglar behavior are drawn from U.S. Department of Justice burglary data and research interviewing convicted burglars. Prices are illustrative ranges as of 2026 and vary by home and region; check current costs yourself.

What the books are

Three short books and a toolkit, in the order it happens.

It nearly always starts at the door, so that's where Volume 1 starts. Then the house, then the phone, the parking lot and the plan. Every chapter ends with what to say, what to do, and what it costs, and most of it costs nothing.

Talk Through the Door
Volume 1

Talk Through the Door

The door and the threshold, where it nearly always starts

  • The one rule: talk through the door
  • The 15 sentences, and what you say back
  • The nice neighbor with a lot of questions
  • Hiring help without letting in trouble
  • The Saturday door check
8 chapters · 65 pages
What Your House Says
Volume 2

What Your House Says

The curb, the windows, the camera and the bedroom

  • The "she lives alone" signals
  • Take away the dark: light, bushes and the yard
  • Windows that stay shut
  • The camera on your door
  • If it happens anyway: the first 48 hours
9 chapters · 71 pages
The Woman on Her Own
Volume 3

The Woman on Her Own

Scams, the parking lot, the people who get close, and the plan

  • The calls, the texts and the knocks
  • The scams that are new this year
  • Lock down your phone and email
  • Out on your own
  • The plan for the night
9 chapters · 77 pages
By the Phone, By the Door
The toolkit

By the Phone, By the Door

Every card, checklist and form, ready to print

  • The By the Phone and By the Door cards
  • The Saturday Door Check
  • The Kitchen Drawer File
  • If I've been scammed
  • My 30-day plan
35 pages · comes with every purchase

The toolkit comes with every book, because all three books send you to it.

What you'll find inside

The words to say, for every knock and every call.

A few of the things inside, with the book and the page they're on:

And that's a fraction of it.

248pages, in large print
3large-print books
26short chapters
35pages of cards and forms to print
1rule that stops most of it
One idea from the books

Answer every knock. Through the shut door.

The bell rings, you're not expecting anybody, so you stand very still and wait for him to go away. I used to do it too. Hon, that silence is exactly the answer he came for.

Most burglaries happen in the daytime, in an empty house, and the knock is how he finds the empty ones. In 2012, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte asked more than 400 men in prison for burglary how they picked a house. Most said they check whether anybody's home first, and the easy way to check is to knock.

Jackie's rule

Talk through the door. Make the call yourself. Never step out.

What he's measuring at your door

He can get all 4 in about 10 seconds.

  1. Are you home in the daytime?
  2. Are you alone?
  3. Will you open?
  4. What does it look like past your shoulder?
What to say

"Can I help you?"

From Volume 1, chapter 2. Four words through a solid door: he learns somebody's home, and she doesn't open.

Look inside

Real pages from the books.

This is exactly what opens on your phone. The type is set big on purpose. Tap any page to see it larger.

Show me the books
Is it for you

Written for one kind of reader.

It's for you if

  • You're a woman on your own, or about to be, and you want to know what to say before anybody knocks.
  • You'd rather learn the words for the door and the phone than buy another gadget.
  • You own your house or rent an apartment. The door, the phone and the scams apply to everyone, and the books point out the fixes renters can do.
  • You want most of it free. The habits cost nothing, and the fixes need a screwdriver and an afternoon.

It isn't for you if

  • You want a printed book in the mail. These are PDFs you read on a screen, though you can print any page.
  • You want self-defense moves. Everything here is about not being picked in the first place: avoid, lock, leave and call.
  • You want gadgets or a monitoring contract sold to you. I won't sell you gadgets or fear.
  • You need legal, financial or professional security advice. This is general safety information.
The cover of Talk Through the Door
Get your copy

Talk Through the Door

Volume 1 of The Hardest House on the Block

  • 65 pages in large print: the door, where it nearly always starts
  • The 15 things strangers say at your door, and the words you say back
  • The nice neighbor with a lot of questions, and the safe answers
  • The Saturday door check: one screwdriver, one afternoon
  • Hiring a contractor or an aide: the license check, the reference call and the 3-day rule
  • Plus the printable toolkit: the cards for the phone and the door, the 30-day plan, and the Kitchen Drawer File for your medicines, accounts and papers
  • Instant PDF, on your phone about thirty seconds after you pay
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Goes with it
What Your House Says and The Woman on Her Own

71 + 77 more pages: the house, the phone and the parking lot, the scams that are new this year, and what to do after a break-in. The toolkit comes with it either way.

All three books
Don't want all three? Buy any book on its own →
One book at a time
Talk Through the DoorVolume 1 · 65 pages + toolkit
Buy
What Your House SaysVolume 2 · 71 pages + toolkit
Buy
The Woman on Her OwnVolume 3 · 77 pages + toolkit
Buy
🔒 Secure checkoutOne payment, no subscription days, money back, and you keep the books

Please read this before you buy. What you get here is a set of files you read on a screen: a phone, a tablet or a computer. No book is posted to you. Nothing arrives in the mail. You're welcome to print any page, as many copies as your own family needs.

The -day promise

Read them. If they don't help you, email me within days and you get your money back. No questions, and you keep the books.

Jackie Shaw at her kitchen table
Who wrote it

Jackie Shaw

I tended bar for eight years, then spent thirty-three on the job: break-ins first, then fraud. I sat at the kitchen tables of the women they picked, the morning after, and I learned how the men who pick houses think. When my husband Frankie died, the scam calls started within a week, and I nearly fell for one. Me.

So I'll teach you the way I teach the women on my block: plain, a little bossy, with the why behind every step, and most of it free.

I won't sell you gadgets or fear.
Jackie
Questions

Before you buy.

Is this a printed book you mail me?

No, and I want you to know that before you spend a dime. Each book is a PDF, and the printable toolkit comes with it: files you open on your phone, your tablet or your computer the moment you pay. Nothing arrives in the mail. You can print any page at home or at the library, and the toolkit is made to be printed and taped by the phone and the door.

Is the type big enough to read?

Yes. It's set in large print with short paragraphs, and the cards and checklists are made to be read from across the kitchen.

I'm not good with computers.

You don't need to be, hon. You press one button and the books open like a photo opens: no account, no password. If it doesn't open, write to me and I'll walk you through it myself, or give your money back.

Is this about fighting back?

No. There are no self-defense moves in it. Everything in it is about not being picked in the first place, what to say, and what to do instead: avoid, lock, leave and call.

Do I need tools or a handyman?

Mostly no. The habits are free. The few fixes need a screwdriver and an afternoon, and the books tell you when it's worth asking a son, a nephew or a neighbor to help.

I rent an apartment. Is it still for me?

Yes. The door, the phone, the scams, the parking lot and the plan apply to everyone, and the books point out the fixes renters can do without drilling or asking the landlord.

Is this a subscription? Will you charge my card again?

No. You pay once. No subscription, no app, nothing to renew. When I update the books, you get the new edition free.

Can I buy just one book?

Yes. Each book is on its own. Start with Volume 1, the door, because that's where it nearly always starts. If you want the house and the phone too, all three are together, so the other two come out cheaper than buying them one at a time.

I'm buying this for my mother.

Good. That's how a lot of these end up on the fridge. Buy it, print the cards, and go through the door check together one Saturday.

What if it doesn't help me?

Email me within days and you get your money back. No questions, and you keep the books.

Questions before you buy?

Ask me.

Not sure which book you need? Write, and I'll answer by email.

Rather write an email?

It comes straight to us.

Send your question to and you'll get an answer from a person, not a robot.

The same address helps if your download link ever goes missing: tell us the email you paid with and we'll send it again.

Start tonight

Start with the door. It's where it nearly always starts.

Volume 1 on its own, or all three books for less. The toolkit comes with either. Instant PDF, on your phone about thirty seconds after you pay. Nothing ships.

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