The No-Show Book Reading That Went Viral

When Karen De Bonis arrived at her library book reading to find zero attendees, she didn't crumble—she took a photo. That single photo of empty chairs would go viral on Twitter, reaching over a million views and revealing something profound about vulnerability in our success-obsessed world.Behind this viral moment lies a much deeper story. De Bonis spent seven years crafting her memoir "Growth: A Mother, Her Son, and the Brain Tumor They Survived," which chronicles not just her son's medical journey but her own battle with people-pleasing behaviors that delayed crucial medical intervention. As she explains, "It's really not a story about the brain tumor as much as it's a story about my shattered expectations of motherhood."The conversation explores the fascinating collision between medical gaslighting and people-pleasing tendencies that left her son undiagnosed for three years. With remarkable candor, De Bonis reveals her publishing journey—from writing in fits and starts over many years to querying 85 agents without success before finding a home with a university press. Her honest assessment of book marketing realities (that viral million-view post translated to exactly 44 book sales) provides crucial perspective for aspiring authors.Perhaps most compelling is De Bonis' DIY approach to audiobook creation, complete with a closet recording studio lined with egg crate foam and free Audacity software. For writers and readers alike, this conversation offers a masterclass in persistence, authenticity, and the courage to share our imperfect experiences. Send us Fan MailSupport the show📬 JOIN THE NEWSLETTERThe Storyteller Quest is  a weekly letter on writing,publishing, and the business of books.Subscribe, and I'll send you Traditional, Self, or Hybrid? —11 pages on what each publishing path really costs, plus a7-question worksheet that tells you which one is yours.Subscribe here.