She Wants to Get Drunk with Oprah

It’s okay if you haven’t heard of Stephanie Klein because I’m certain you have a friend just like her. Brutally honest. So funny you could snort. Sometimes whiny but able to snap out of a funk when necessary. Self-aware while also friend-aware. The person you call after you run into your ex with a hot new girlfriend. 

This well-rounded character is what drives Stephanie’s universal popularity among the web savvy elite. That, and her courage to expose everything in her writing—from the most embarrassing moments to the most beautifully intimate moments. Her list of successes is long: she’s overcome a bitter divorce, given her heart to a new man, given birth to twins, written and published two books with major publishing houses, and her blog, Greek Tragedy, is one of the top ten most visited female blogs in the U.S. I was excited to speak with Stephanie this week about her obsession with writing and her unique ability to always stay true to her authentic self.

Weeks: I enjoy how you share your life story with honesty and irreverence. You’ve said that blogging gives you a feeling of liberation. Would you encourage every woman to start blogging?

Klein: That’s tough. There’s a difference between writing in a journal that no one will see and putting yourself out there for all to see. It’s nice to get thoughts down in a diary, however if you want true liberation you should post online. But be careful at the beginning if you’re afraid of criticism, you might not want to turn on the comments function right away. Or if you don’t want to manage a blog, you can find other outlets that let you get your feet wet, like on DivineCaroline.

Weeks: Are you ever scared about revealing so much of yourself?

Klein: Yes. Anything that we’re insecure about it is hard to write about because we think we’ll be attacked for it. But when you let go and write about something embarrassing or scary, it actually feels good. The fear disperses. Writing and publishing are the ultimate vehicles. We can show our bad moments and our best moments. We can share about parenting, having a career, whatever. Readers like to see the variety. During some of my emergencies, like with my son, people were very supportive. It was therapeutic to have them commenting with words of encouragement and it made me feel less alone.