#40 - Go to Another Book Signing.

So... I MET STEPHANIE IZARD.

I mean, I met Stephanie Izard.

You know, first woman to win Top Chef. Winner of Season 4.

Iron Chef.

Opened the Chicago restaurants Girl and the Goat, Little Goat, and Duck Duck Goat.

And also, a fellow Wolverine ('98).

And she was super chill.

The event wasn't super organized. Walking in, I thought I was in the wrong place. but after asking around, I found Stephanie just chillin the back, giving some feedback to a guy making, what I assume was, the green goddess chicken salad in her new cookbook.

So a few of us hung around until they brought out books. Stephanie apologized for not going a demo, which I wasn't expecting anyways. Then, took us one by one, signed her new book, invited us to take some snacks, and took pictures and such.

I'm terrible at small talk but was able to ask if she could write "Go Blue" as I am a fellow wolverine, and she did, and she was just chill and great.

I was fangirling so hard.

Go Blue.

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I should also give credit to Robin Heggum for including me to go see a conversation with Roxanne Gay facilitated by Megan Stielstra. Roxanne Gay was... beautiful. I cannot get enough of her dry honesty and the way she is unapologetic to her fans and critics. I need to read more of her books because I think they'll help me be more honest in my own writing. I'd never heard of Megan Stielstra but I am so excited to read her work as well. It was really fun to see someone so intelligent and accomplished in her own work facilitating a conversation that was both honored Gay and treated her as a friend and fellow human. I loved it.

I didn't count this at first because we didn't met either author nor get our books signed, but I suppose the main purpose of this item on my list was to join in community in celebration of the power of the written word and the authors who choose a difficult profession and to share their work with their readers. I find it very powerful to be in those spaces, knowing everyone there has been moved by someone's words enough to show up and hear more.