What happens when a team of swimsuit models on a war bond tour take on the Tampa mafia?
ill-behaved?
Yes. Because history is already littered with the untold stories of women.
Ill-Behaved Women is my bi-monthly newsletter where I’ll attempt to put cultural stories in context. The topics will be by, for, and about women and people who identify as such.
I’ll also offer storytelling craft tips as well as book, TV and movie recommendations.
Paid subscribers get access to my live quarterly story craft workshops (for work that’s written and performed) and the archive of replays.
As a grandma with 27 years sober, I’m claiming this title as a lover of good story, and as someone who knows the healing power of a tale well told.
subscribe here
Sign up for Ill-Behaved Women, my bi-monthly newsletter featuring my newest writing, story craft tips, recommended reading and watching, and inspiration that won’t make you gag. Paid subscribers get my free ebook, How to Tell a Story, and access to free quarterly workshops with me! Unsubscribe at any time.
We respect your privacy.
OUT NOW:
BLISSFUL THINKING:
A Memoir of Overcoming the Wellness Revolution
Never give up, especially on yourself
Before my heart-wrenching divorce, I thought I knew from wellness. My parents owned a gym, and I’d spent more than a decade in substance abuse recovery.
Then came the gut-punch.
Fearing a return to my substance addiction if I didn’t make a radical departure from life as I knew it. It wouldn’t have been the first time heartbreak sent me down that shame spiral. I turned toward the only answer I knew, one her sobriety mentor had shared — “the answer is always more spirituality.”
But when is more enough?
My search for nirvana took me from university halls in the Persian Gulf to the streets of Manhattan to a sex cult in India.
Desperate for answers, I tested out every spiritual journey imaginable—yoga, silent meditation retreats, gurus — but I kept returning to toxic relationships. Until I discovered I’d been asking the wrong question.
In a memoir that’s both rapturous and page-turning, Kirchner captures the terrors and joys of searching for radical happiness — and a second date.
BUY HERE
OR ORDER FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDIE BOOKSTORE
AUDIOBOOK
who am I?
I’m a story coach, an award-winning screenwriter and author whose life and work as an expat in Asia became the basis of two memoirs, including the just-released, Blissful Thinking and American Lady Creature.
Author, Pushcart nominee, and award-winning screenwriter, my writing has appeared everywhere from the Washington Post to The Rumpus.
I’m also a live, on-air television host for the Home Shopping Network, and run a monthly storytelling show.
Let’s craft your
next story!
I love helping other writers and storytellers hone their stories, whether to present in writing, in person, or on TV. Work 1-on-1 with me by clicking here.
The pic is me at the book launch for Blissful Thinking with my brand new step-grand in my lap.
I’m also the creator of the Substack Ill-Behaved Women. Click the image for more.
BLISSFUL THINKING:
THE book trailer
Blissful Thinking: WHAT READERS ARE SAYING
“Wonderfully humorous and a little dark, Kirchner’s story offers a refreshingly honest take on what wellness even means.”
— Ophira Eisenberg, author, Screw Everyone
“A moving journey, at turns introspective and hilarious, through one woman's quest to find herself. With richly drawn portraits of the people she met along the way, Kirchner's engaging voice made this a pleasure to read.”
— Erin Khar, author, Strung Out
“L.L. Kirchner’s fluid voice and superb control of the narrative are delightful companions on a journey through America, Qatar, India, the mind, and—most importantly—the heart.”
— Eva Hagberg, author, How to be Loved
“Kirchner boldly goes where few dare to in life and literature—and the result is Blissful Thinking, a brave tale of adventure and recovery. I read it in a single sitting, yet found myself thinking about it long after I turned the last page.”
— Camille Pagán, bestselling author of Good for You
Want to read MY work first?
Sign up for Ill-Behaved Women, my bi-monthly newsletter featuring my newest writing, story craft tips, recommended reading and watching, and inspiration that won’t make you gag. Paid subscribers get my free ebook, How to Tell a Story, and access to free quarterly workshops with me! Unsubscribe at any time.
We respect your privacy.
My first memoir
AMERICAN LADY CREATURE:
THE book trailer
More about American Lady Creature here.