Nora McInerny is a writer, storyteller, and creator. A reluctant grief expert, she miscarried her second baby, lost her father to cancer, and lost her husband, Aaron, to a brain tumor within six weeks in 2014. Known for bringing heart and humor to tough topics, McInerny wrote the critically acclaimed memoirs It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool Too) and No Happy Endings; she writes essays for Elle, Cosmopolitan, TIME, Slate, and Vox. McInerny created the Hot Young Widows Club, hosts the award-winning podcast “Terrible, Thanks for Asking,” founded the nonprofit Still Kickin, and spoke on TED’s mainstage. She was voted Most Humorous by the Annunciation Catholic School Class of 1998.
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The question is commonplace, the answer routine. Just about every day, someone will ask, “How are you?” And your rote response is almost sure to be, “Fine, thanks” — even if y...