Finding Self-Acceptance

Lidia Yuknavitch, a self-proclaimed misfit and an author who's penned acclaimed novels and a memoir, tells her audience that there's no shame in being different in her talk on outsiders.

Wearing a color-blocked floral dress with heavy-duty combat boots, Lidia Yuknavitch presents herself in way that speaks to her message. However, she hasn't always found this easy, which she delves into on her talk on outsiders.

She tells her audience that she had an abusive upbringing, failed marriages, dropped out of college multiple times, attended rehab and even spent time in prison. Although most tragic is the story of her daughter's stillbirth and the time she spent homeless afterwards.

All these factors shaped Lidia Yuknavitch's misfit identity, which she explains by saying, "I missed fitting in to just about every category out there: daughter, wife, mother, scholar." This, she says, is why she had difficulty accepting her talent for writing and the status that came with it, as she was always faced with the possibility of failure that had become all too real throughout her life.

She elaborates on what her experiences taught her, telling her audience that they should never be ashamed of their story and that everyone has the ability to repeatedly reinvent themselves.