Love. Connection. Pain.

Finding the universal in the specific. And beauty in the mundane.

This is but a few of the themes explored today with the woman dubbed ‘the voice of her generation' by Oprah magazine and ‘the poet laureate of the ordinary' by HuffPost.

Meet Kelly Corrigan.

Best known for her insightful, candid takes on the too-often overlooked moments that define our lives, Kelly's writing spills over with warmth, courage, vulnerability and humor — rendering her many books beloved by millions.

A Today Show regular, Kelly has authored a stack of New York Times bestsellers including, The Middle Place,Lift, and Glitter and Glue.Tell Me More, her most recent offering, is a deeply personal and very funny story-driven collection of essays on the twelve powerful phrases we use to sustain our relationships and make love and connection possible.

Named one of the best books of 2019 by Real Simple and Bustle, Tell Me More is both a high-recommend and the backdrop for today's dive into how we can cultivate more meaningful connection and deeper understanding with the people in our lives.

I met Kelly exactly a year ago at The Nantucket Project. In addition to being an extraordinary writer, she serves as the creative director of TNP — the right hand to organization founder Tom Scott, who shared his story on the podcast in April, 2018 (episode #360).

The latest in my series of guests sourced from this extraordinary event, I was immediately taken by her fun and fearless stage presence. Her curiosity. Her unique insights. And her unmistakeable charm. I knew she would make an amazing guest for the show. Today she delivers.

We begin by traversing Kelly's arc as a writer — how she developed her voice — and her role in shaping TNP.

Then we broaden the aperture, exploring her observations and insights into how we relate to the people in our lives — from our loved ones and children, to co-workers and strangers.

This is about finding beauty and poetry in the simple things. And why saying things like, ‘I don't know' or ‘I was wrong' or ‘tell me more' can provide a bedrock for the emotional experiences we seek most, yet too often elude us.

Better understanding. Greater empathy. Deeper intimacy. True connection.

You can watch it all go down on YouTube.

Enjoy!

Rich