Showing Up

Missives from the Road

Dear Reader,

“We traveled too far too fast, and I waited for my soul to catch up.”

This line is part of an Irish myth about a warrior, and one of my characters says this to another, and tells her the story. This line comes back to me now because even though I’ve traveled too far and often too fast, I feel like my soul is with me because of YOU! You and what I call the art of showing up — an art I try to cultivate in my. life.

For the past four weeks, after 32 events in 30 cities, after countless miles on planes and in rental cars, I am home (for now), and grateful for the knee-deep pile of laundry and the waist-deep pile of mail because it means it was all still here, waiting.

From the moment I left my house a month ago, to the return this week, spring has exploded in my hometown. I am swooning over the glory of my backyard azaleas and dogwoods. The branches were bare when I left, and they are bursting now. Just when you think — this year it might not happen — it does, and with absolute glory.

Being on the road can feel…untethering is the best way to describe it. I’ve been crossing the country meeting readers, talking about THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND, visiting bookstores and libraries, talking at luncheons and in wineries and venues, from book festivals in South Carolina and California (looking at you ReadFreely Fest and Long Beach Literary Women), signing books and generally having the best time ever because this is a dream. This is what I thought about when I imagined being an author — Book Tour! Signings! NYT List!

And here I am doing it.

And you showed up, and I mean really showed up. You brought gifts and food and wine and Advil and goodie bags. You brought me your stories. You hugged me and sometimes we cried. You told me about your mothers, your children, your favorite books, and your life. From in-conversations with authors I love and admire (looking at you Kristy Woodson Harvey, Kristin Harmel, Mary Kay Andrews, Meg Walker, Cate Lineberry, Ariel Lawhon, Mary Beth Whalen, Frances Mayes, Susan Crandall, Mary Alice Monroe, Polly Buxton, and Carla Damron), to an incredible conversation with my audio narrator, Julia Whelan, to two-a-day events where Meg Walker and I raced from one city to the next, you showed up.

You, Friends & Fiction community, showed up from California to South Carolina.

Friends surprised me (again, I cried). You told me how much you loved my work and what it meant to you. You…reader, you!

I am so grateful.

Now this doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard or grueling or that there weren’t nights when all I wanted was my own bed and my house and family and dog. It doesn’t mean that the 4:00AM alarm for the next plane flight didn’t nearly kill me. But it does mean that I am grateful beyond measure because readers are the best people.

Just when I felt like maybe it wasn’t worth it, it was always worth it.

One of the many questions I am asked on the road is “How do you balance it all?” And I’ve thought a lot about that — about balance, about how very unbalanced I am and always have been. I once felt guilty for this, but now I see: it is just part of who I am because I am ALL IN no matter what I am doing. I’m not trying to do anything else but that thing — and for the past month “that thing” has been book tour. I’m not the kind of author who can write on the road or in the hotel room or plane. But then I come home and get back to the page, to life, to my family and friends. And again, I am ALL IN.

You can tag along with some of our adventures (mostly in a Nissan Rogue, which is the rental car I was given every single time) on Instagram. Meg Walker traveled with me for ten days, and then afterward, although the posts get slimmer, the fun did not.

I want to say this: Thank you! More than anything, thank you! It is you, the reader who allows me to say: The Story She Left Behind is a NYT, USA Today, PW, SIBA and Globe and Mail Bestseller. I write the book, but you read it and talk about it and spread the word. It isn’t alive until you open the page.

Now for some of the books that inspired me on the road and what I learned about myself and travel (will I learn my lessons?).

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Stories That Inspired Me On the Road

Audiobooks

Meg and I listened to The Tell by Amy Griffin — what a powerful story of one woman’s search for the truth and her bravery to tell it.

Then when I was alone for the next three weeks, I listened to:

Broken Country by Leslie Hall — I loved living in the English countryside (shocking, I know) for this entire novel. It was such a beautifully written and powerful novel with a twist I didn’t see coming.

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy — So powerfully moving, so evocative and such a love letter to the natural world and a parent’s love.

Television

White Lotus — I binged this third season during more plane delays than can be counted. I have so much to say about it but don’t want to ruin it for anyone! I think the storytelling is extraordinary and all I have to say is this: Rick and Chelsea forever.

Podcasts

Anything by Rick Rubin Tetragrammaton. All of his episodes are about the creative life and I loved his companionship on the road through my ears.

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Things I Learned On the Road

• Cold Brew after 4 PM will keep me awake all night.

• Hotel gyms always have broken equipment.

• Time zones are my kryptonite.

• A good coffee shop is worth its weight in gold and worth added time travel time.

• I will never remember my room number.

• I never pack enough underwear.

• One good friend taking the time to see me is everything.

• We never know how something we write or say might touch another person. Be careful with both.

• A good sound machine on my phone will save my sleep. A sleep mask too!

• Small town roadside diners make the best breakfast and the strongest coffee.

• Always be early — this settles the nerves on a highway.

• When someone says, “Can I help?,” don’t be a hero, say yes.

• And lastly, for now, what we all know — readers and booksellers are the salt of our earth.

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More Tour

And I’m not done! The second leg begins this week and is scattered throughout the summer all the way to Nantucket! Join me in some of these incredible locations!

I’m super excited about our two upcoming Friends & Fiction Live events. The first is on Friday, May 30th in Myrtle Beach to celebrate the launch of Kristy’s Beach House Rules. Come meet all four of us over lunch and lots of laughs!

The second is on Tuesday, June 17th at the Jersey Shore to celebrate the launch of Kristin’s The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau. This is another shot to hang out with all four of us at once and we are so excited!

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Lots of New Original Essays

I wrote a whole slew of essays and did some QA’s for this novel. So, if you’re up for more about The Story She Left Behind, here you go:

Here’s the original essay I wrote at the request of Barnes & Noble about the story behind the story which appears on their website.

For People magazine, I wrote all about why I chose to turn a real woman’s cold case mystery into a fictional novel.

For Reader’s Digest, I wrote a pice about inventing original languages.

PrintFresh has chosen my book as their April Book Club pick and has the most adorable rabbit topiary pajamas to pair witrh my book. So, I sat for an interview with them about the novel.

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Friends & Fiction

Did you catch last week’ LIVE episode of our web show where MKA, Kristin, Kristy and I gathered to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, the multi-million copy New York Times bestselling phenomenon, Jeneva Rose, to discuss our April 2025 Pick of the Month, The Perfect Divorce, the propulsively page-turning and highly-anticipated follow-up to her smash success BookTok sensation, The Perfect Marriage.. If you missed it you can WATCH it or LISTEN to it now.

Tune in this week as MKA & Kristin welcome Jasmine Guillory to discuss her new novel, Flirting Lessons. You can watch this interview on Wed 4/23 on F&F’s Facebook & YouTube or listen on our podcast on Fri 4/25.

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That’s all for now!

With great love,

Patti

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ABOUT PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY

New York Times Bestselling Author and Podcast Host

Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Globe and Mail bestselling author of seventeen novels and a podcast host. Patti is the co-host and co-creator of the popular weekly web show, podcast, and online community, Friends & Fiction.

She lives in Mountain Brook, Alabama with her husband. Her newest novel, THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND will be released on March 18th, 2025.

Be sure to follow Patti on social media and visit her website for the latest updates and announcements!