my memoir
BLISSFUL THINKING:
A Memoir of Overcoming the Wellness Revolution
Available everywhere
Never give up, especially on yourself
Before my marriage ended over the telephone — from another country — I thought I knew from wellness. My parents owned a gym, and I’d already spent more than a decade in substance abuse recovery.
After that soul-crushing phone call, I feared 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?
Desperate for answers, I tested out every spiritual journey imaginable—yoga, silent meditation retreats, gurus — but I kept returning to toxic relationships.
Driven to a sex cult where I was finally forced to confront unresolved family dynamics, I discovered I’d been asking the wrong question. Ultimately, I recognized my mother’s lasting gift—hope.
In a memoir that’s both rapturous and page-turning, Kirchner captures the terrors and joys of searching for radical honesty — and a second date.
BUY HERE
OR ORDER FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDIE BOOKSTORE
Blissful Thinking: WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING
“L.L. Kirchner’s Blissful Thinking is told with rich sensory detail. There is much to love and learn from her attempts at spiritual growth, but her healthy skepticism and strong inner voice is what finally brings her home.”
— Debi Lewis, author, Kitchen Medicine
“Raw, honest, and engaging, L.L. Kirchner’s book of resilience and bravery should be on everyone’s reading list.”
— Aileen Weintraub, author, Knocked Down
“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
“It’s not often one finds humor, addiction, grief, & genuine openness tangled into one memoir, but Blissful Thinking does all that. Traversing both the globe and her inner landscape, Kirchner shows readers what it means to search, try, and even hope during life’s most challenging moments.”
— Dr. Rev. Angela Yarber, author, Queering the American Dream
