Kerry Docherty at Explore Books: Selfish

Join writer, mother, wife, and brand founder Kerry Docherty and environmental psychologist and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Dr Lindsay Branham for an invigorating conversation about finding one's way back to oneself.

What does it mean to be good? What are the consequences of doing what we want? Who determines what is selfish?

These are the questions that haunted Kerry Docherty—the co-founder of Faherty brand, mother of two, and wife—as she realized she was giving away too much of herself: to a marriage with her college sweetheart, to the fast-paced family startup, and to a growing household that demanded attention she didn’t always want to give. Determined to feel seen—as an artist, activist, poet, romantic—she began to steal simple moments for herself, replacing her to-do lists with poems, pushing the business towards the things she cared about, and widening her circle of creative friends. However, as she leaned more deeply into her passions and purpose, she found herself veering into an ambiguous relationship with a musician, a potentially destructive direction that would seriously test her marriage.

With incisive observation, biting humor, and searing honesty, Selfish details Kerry’s twisting, sometimes conflicted journey to self-understanding. It chronicles her efforts to reconcile capitalism with her own heart’s desire, her complicated family dynamics, her struggles with motherhood, and her efforts to rediscover parts of herself buried under other people’s expectations. Her example invites us to demand to be seen, do what we need to do, and dare to put ourselves first—and shows how doing so can actually be a gift to others. Selfish is both a love letter to the Self, and an unapologetic call to action for women everywhere to meet their own needs.

Kerry Docherty cofounded the lifestyle clothing brand Faherty with her husband and his identical twin. A graduate of Yale University and Pepperdine Law School, she is passionate about using creativity and community to cultivate joy. Kerry is also the author of the children’s book Somewhere, Right Now, featuring art by New York Times bestselling illustrator Suzie Mason. She lives with her husband and two children on the New Jersey shore, where she is constantly looking for sea glass.

Lindsay Branham, PhD, is an environmental psychologist, Emmy-nominated film director and eco-doula exploring embodied and erotic ecology. She is the founder of NOVO, and for two decades she has directed collaborative film-based interventions to address human rights and ecological crises. She holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Cambridge and has been featured by the New York Times, BBC, CNN, and National Geographic. She is a regular columnist for The Aspen Times. She lives in Los Angeles, California and Colorado.