Tell Me More

It can be hard to find the right words to say when life presents us with really tough moments. In Kelly Corrigan’s Book, Stories About the Twelve Hardest Things I’m Learning to Say, she chronicles these events, and what she learned how to say (the hard way). From dealing with a catastrophic mess made by the family dog to untangling the aftermath when she wrongly accused someone of doing something they had no part in, to dealing with serious questions after her father’s cancer diagnosis, Kelly has had her fair share of difficult situations. She reflects on what happened, what it taught her about love and relationships, and what she’s learning to say (or not say) when things get tough. Read on to learn: why offering a solution sometimes isn’t helpful, what to say when you blow it big time, and how to find peace when it feels like everything around you has dissolved into chaos. 

Kelly Corrigan is an American writer and graduate of The University of Richmond. She received a master’s in Literature from San Francisco State University. She is the host of Foreword, a series that focuses on experts such as Walter Isaacson taking on big ideas. Her first book was “The Middle Place” focused on her Irish-American father battle with cancer and his ability to survive. It reached #2 on the nonfiction New York Times bestseller list. 

Her second book, Lift, reached #2 of the New York Times bestseller list. It’s written in the form of a letter of a mom to her children and focuses on risk and parenthood through the lens of three stories. She has written for The Oprah Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Glamour, and other renowned publications. 

She has battled cancer. She launched Circus of Cancer, a how-to website for friends and family of women with the disease. The website includes images of her experiences with the disease as well as writings describing her experience.