Last week the baby and I flew to Chicago for a reading at The Book Stall in Winnetka, an excellent independent store that has been around for forever. Roberta, the owner, is a champion of my book, so I was so happy to meet her and read at her store.

In the last couple weeks, my easy baby has become not so easy. She now cries the second someone else holds her, which means my plan of having her sit on a friendly lap while I read no longer works. So I wore her for half of the reading, before passing her off to my sister-in-law to walk her around. Luckily it was a very friendly crowd full of friends and family, including my husband’s 91-year-old grandmother. I don’t get nervous about reading anymore, thankfully, and I can actually enjoy myself.

My mom’s cousin was a surprise appearance—I hadn’t seen her in close to thirty years—and she brought with her all of this incredible family history she has put together. It turns out I’m descended from William Moody who came here from England in 1634.

The writer Christine Sneed was in attendance. Her story collection, Portraits of a Few of the People I’ve Made Cry, is wonderful. Read it.

And a big highlight of the night was meeting the women behind the blogs Julie Just Reads and Devourer of Books. Julie and Jen were so generous in their reviews of Mothers and Daughters, and it turns out they are just as lovely and warm in person. (I no longer have to imagine them as their Twitter avatars.)

So aside from having to get up at 4:00 am to catch a plane, and leaving my phone in Chicago, the event was a great success. Thank you to everyone who made the effort to get to Winnetka including all of the Darrows, Embrees, and Roberts, my dear friends, the ladies of the Barrington book club, the Book Stall book club, and my sister-in-law Jessica who helped me keep it all together and had a magic touch with the baby. With each stop on the tour, I feel so very lucky.

Up next: A report from Madison.

Related posts:

1. The Tour Rolls On: Thanks, New York
2. The Book Tour
3. The Myth of Balance
4. The Page 69 Test
5. Getting Away