MY self: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SURVIVAL, RECOVERY, & EMPOWERMENT Paperback – March 16, 2026

About the AuthorKelley Kitley, LCSW is a Chicago native and has been practicing social work for the past twenty-five years. She owns Serendipitous Psychotherapy where she specializes in treating women, using a cognitive behavioral therapy approach. She's a highly sought after international mental health and wellness expert known in the media as America's Social Worker. Kitley has appeared in over seven hundred TV segments on platforms such as Access Live, Dr. Oz, TODAY, Good Morning America, Live with Kelly and Mark, The Drew Barrymore Show, Tamron Hall Show, CNN, News Nation, MSNOW (formerly MSNBC) and regularly on NBC News Daily and ABC News Live. Kelley has been married to her husband Ryan for twenty-one years and they are parents to four eclectic teenagers.About the BookBy 2025, approximately 1 in 4 adults in the U.S.—60 million—experienced a mental health disorder in a given year that interfered with or limited one or more major life activities. Left untreated, the resulting symptoms range from alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder, to incarcerations, homelessness, and suicide. Despite these statistics, nearly 30 million adults with a mental health disorder didn’t receive treatment. The majority of those are women because they are twice as likely than men, to experience anxiety and mood disorders.In MY self, Kelley Kitley, a twenty-five year social worker shares a near mythical Phoenix rising tale of triumph against easily considered insurmountable odds, such as an eating disorder, sexual assault and alcohol abuse that plunged her deeper into the abyss. Far from another crash and burn autobiography of grief, MY self lays bare the vulnerability and isolation unique to Kitley, and to women in general, while revealing the transformation of loss into a surplus of riches beyond even the very author's wildest imagination.In this Second Edition, Kitley outlines her role as a pioneer in the sober curious movement after releasing the First Edition of MY self, nine years ago. Colleagues warned her, sharing her personal story instead of writing a book as an expert could ruin her career. She put her blinders on and trekked forward, not listening to the naysayers. MY self became an Amazon best seller after Kitley appeared on a segment of the Today Show about the "Dangers of Mommy Burnout." She received hundreds of notes from women who related to her story, saying "me too." This is when she recognized the power of storytelling to save lives.Since writing the original book Kitley has appeared in over seven hundred TV segments on every major platform as America's Social Worker. She's educated about the risks of alcohol use and suggests different paths to looking at alcohol use along a spectrum, especially with the increase of alcohol use for women, during the COVID-19 pandemic.After being estranged from her father for years, she was notified of the unexpected turn of his health after a stroke and immediately went to his bedside with her siblings and mom, until his death. In an ever evolving discussion as a trending topic 'No Contact Families,' Kitley shares her experience of the most beautiful goodbye of a complicated relationship.MY self is a powerful story of resilience, pain, love, longing, courage, and above all family. It's a deeply human look at life with a complicated father, a mother who dares to ask for more, and siblings, friends, and strangers who sear themselves into Kelley's conscience and shape her into the brave, authentic person she is today. Many readers will see themselves in her story and grow stronger from her telling it. Read more