What Happens When We Dare to Share an Unpretty Truth

I had the privilege of attending a virtual book party for MIT professor Sherry Turkle (pictured above) hosted by MG50 #1 Startup Coach in the World, Alisa Cohn.

Kudos to Alisa and Sherry for a fascinating hour that took us behind the scenes of what it takes to produce a book that is a run-away critical and commercial success.

I had an opportunity to ask Sherry a question I had learned was truly important from the memoirists who graced our stage at Maui Writers Conference.

 “Many authors feel there is one thing they can’t possibly put in their book. Yet if they summon up the courage to say what they think they can't say, that is what ends up resonating most with readers. What was that for you, and how have people responded to it?”

Sherry had an instant answer to the question. (Most authors do.)

She had said something to her mother once that was cruel that she deeply regretted.

Sherry put that deeply personal revelation in - and took it out - of The Empathy Diaries, several times. In the end. she dared to share that “unpretty” truth.

As a result, her raw honesty and vulnerability elevated her book to the next level.

In fact, it might even have been one of the factors that persuaded the notoriously curmudgeon-y New York Times to give her book such a glowing review, calling it "An instant classic of the genre."

Sherry’s “I’ll go first” confession also created trust with her readers.

When an author dares to share something they regret or are ashamed of, it sets a precedent that gives us permission to do the same.

That’s when we decide it’s safe to “go there,” to self-reflect, acknowledge and admit our own “unpretty” truth.

And that’s when books transcend their form.

Even though books are simply black ink and letters on a page or a screen, they become a living, breathing force for good.

Kudos to Sherry for having the courage to model the theme of her work …empathy for ourselves and others is our connective human tissue. It is what brings us, and bonds us, together. And someone has to have the sensitivity and courage to go first.

(Be sure to get Sherry’s book to find out what it was said, why, and how Sherry ultimately made peace with her mother, years after her mom had passed.)