Discover a transformative reframing of intimate relationships with practical steps to build community and combat the loneliness epidemic in this bold and warmhearted blend of memoir and social science in the vein of When You Care and Big Friendship.
Doesn’t it seem like there simply isn’t enough time to take care of ourselves, our families, and our to do lists? Even when we’re partnered and surrounded by friends, we’re often too afraid of burdening others to ask for help. So how do we survive today’s age of overwork and stress, and who can we turn to for the support we need to stay afloat?
Now, writer and cartoonist Sophie Lucido Johnson offers a radical answer to our age of overwhelm in Kin. With richly reported stories and insights from psychology and sociology, Lucido Johnson explores the importance of our closest relationships (beyond the nuclear family) and provides the tools to forge kinship: relationships built on emotional support, physical care, and shared resources. From asking for help on a grocery run, to choosing to have roommates later in life to combat loneliness, to living in modern day “mommunes” of single mothers sharing bills and responsibilities, Kin shows the vast range of kinship structures she and others are thriving in—and how to build your own community of support.
Sophie Lucido Johnson is an award-winning cartoonist and writer in Chicago. She is the author of Many Love and Dear Sophie, Love Sophie. She is a cartoonist for The New Yorker, and has been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, and elsewhere. She has chickens and bees.
Laura Danger is an educator and author of No More Mediocre: A Call to Reimagine Our Relationships and Demand More (Jan 6, 2026). Her cultural critique helps people name and challenge invisible dynamics, like “weaponized incompetence” and the “nag paradox,” that shape our relationships, homes, and communities. A Chicagoan, mother of two, gardener, and audiobook enthusiast, Laura is equally proud of her fairy garden and porch goose.
Accessibility: This event is hosted at the bookstore, which is a wheelchair accessible space. Masks are required. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis. To request ASL interpretation for this event, please email events@womenandchildrenfirst.com by no later than 14 days before the event. For other access needs please email events@womenandchildrenfirst.com.
