Author and psychotherapist Chelsea Harvey Garner talks about her debut book, A Pity Party is Still a Party, a feel-good guide to feeling bad, that shows us not only how to tolerate uncomfortable feelings, but why and how we should embrace them if we are to find our way to mental health. Garner shares experiences and insights from her own family trauma and from her clinical practice that inform the book, and why, ultimately, it is a book about love.

Garner is a writer, practicing psychotherapist, and founding director of Big Feels Lab: a nonprofit promoting collective mental health. A lifelong outcast, she specializes in helping misfits, survivors, and unconventional families turn pain into purpose and connect with each other more deeply. Her debut book is released in July of ’23 from HarperCollins. When not working, she can be found starting dance parties in public and hosting cuddle puddles at her home in NYC.