The 1996 Fairfield High School graduate scheduled a reading from the book followed by a signing, beginning at 4 p.m. Feb. 22, at Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 2692 Madison Road, in the Rookwood Commons & Pavilion in Norwood.
The journalist and part-time college instructor has been published in The New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, Vogue, National Geographic, Elle, Runner’s World and others.
McCracken gave a TED Talk, “How Longing Keeps Us From Healthy Relationships,” and has a podcast called ”The Longing Lab." Her essays led to interviews with Katie Couric — who suggested she had a “fairy tale syndrome” — the BBC and USA Today. She is also a massage therapist, triathlon coach and runner.
Through the years she has often come back to southwest Ohio to visit family and friends.
“It was so important for me to come back to the area,” said McCracken, 47. “I have friends in the area I wanted to connect with at the reading. My family will be there too.”
Now living in Boulder, Colo. with her 5-year-old daughter and husband, McCracken spent her growing up years in Fairfield where she attended South Elementary School. The first three of her 15-chapter book detail those early years.
Since leaving the region, McCracken has become an expert on limerence — a state of involuntary obsession with another person. It is often characterized as focusing on intense infatuation, intrusive thinking and mood swings based on perceived reciprocation.
Her book tells the story of what she eventually came to realize was an addiction to longing and how she had to break from infatuation, rejection and perfectionism to find authentic love. Each chapter has a different theme.
Among the chapters are “The Imaginary Husband,” “Captain Vacationship,” “Dave the Watchmaker” and “Mr. Maybe.”
The book chronicles her experiences from dating around 100 men before finding her husband, and intermingles similar tales from others along with research.
“My book is really about learning to get out of unhealthy patterns of romantic longing — the state of mind called limerence," McCracken said.
“Me going through these patterns — intense crushing idolizing, putting the person on a pedestal — cycle of crush after crush — is something I think a lot of people can relate to. Writing the book was absolutely therapeutic.”
McCracken had planned a small wedding at Fairfield’s Elisha Morgan Mansion in October 2019. It was moved up a few weeks and happened at the end of September in Mercy Hospital Fairfield, three days before her grandmother’s death.
She followed up with a ceremony at the mansion as planned in October. The couple had a third celebration in Colorado after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted and after their daughter was born.
In her book, McCracken shares her crushes, relationships beginning in her teens and tweens, travel, friendships, hookups, bad dates, wins, losses, early childhood fantasies and her commitment to the purity movement taught by her church.
Some the book is funny, other parts sad, as she learned to break old patterns, choosing healthy, authentic intimacy.
To pre-order the book visit https://shorturl.at/NKpY1.
About the Author