Last week I was lucky to hear Kelly Corrigan, author of The Middle Place and Glitter and Glue, speak at a luncheon in Darien. I will be reviewing Glitter and Glue at Great New Books in a few weeks so I will not write a review here yet. This is a post about doing things on your own.

I met Kelly a few years ago when she came to New Jersey to support a mutual friend’s charity work. Hearing her speak about and read from The Middle Place was a great experience. I loved Kelly’s speaking style almost as much as her writing. I was thrilled when I learned that a college friend would be hosting one of Kelly’s tour events, an hour away in Darien. I started sending e-mails and posting on Facebook to find people to make the trip on a Wednesday afternoon. I knew it would be a tough sell. I had to ask Rob to work from home in case I didn’t make it home for pick up. It turned out that I wasn’t able to find anyone to come with me so for a few weeks, I decided I wasn’t going to go.

I started reading Glitter and Glue and loved it as much as The Middle Place. In the book, Kelly travels to the far reaches of the world because as she says, “Things happen when you leave the house.” I began to find it ironic that I was not going to the event in Darien as I read a book about the importance of leaving the house. I finally decided that I would go alone. Why not, I figured?

I arrived at the event and walked in behind multiple groups of women, all friends who chatted and exchanged laughs. I lined up behind these groups of women to sign in and collect my book. Then I walked in to a room with hundreds of chairs and sat on my own as I eavesdropped on all the conversations around me. I began to wonder if coming to a ladies luncheon without my ladies was really silly. Fortunately, my friend who was hosting the event came to say hello right as I was doubting myself which was helpful. But then the woman beside me introduced herself and just couldn’t understand why I had come ‘all the way from NJ’ by myself.

Despite the doubt of the woman next to me, I ended up loving the event. I had a chance to hear and meet an amazing author. I caught up with my college friend who I haven’t seen in years. And I did something I wanted to do, even though I had to do it by myself. I don’t go out to eat by myself. I have never gone to the movies alone. I’m not quite sure what made me think that going to this luncheon alone made any sense at all but I did it. And I’m glad I did.

Thank you Kelly for the motivation to leave my house.