Kerry Docherty Announces New Memoir Selfish: Unlearning, Reclaiming, and Telling the Truth
Out April 21 (Penguin Random House)
“Selfish is a revelation—a brave reminder that choosing yourself isn’t betrayal, it’s truth-telling”
– Kate Baer, #1 New York Times bestselling author
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Thursday, Feb 5 – Kerry Docherty, co-founder of the lifestyle clothing brand Faherty, announces the release of her debut memoir for adults, Selfish: Unlearning, Reclaiming, and Telling the Truth, out April 21, 2026 via Penguin Random House. With incisive observation, biting humor, and searing honesty, Selfish chronicles one woman’s radical decision to put herself first, and the personal reckoning that followed.
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 Docherty 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, and romantic—she began to steal simple moments for herself, replacing her to-do lists with poems, pushing the business toward 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.
Selfish details Docherty’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 attempts 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 a revelation—a brave reminder that choosing yourself isn’t betrayal, it’s truth-telling,” says Kate Baer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of What Kind of Woman: Poems. “Kerry Docherty writes with clarity and grace about what it means to come home to your own life. . . . A must-read.”
As co-founder of Faherty, Docherty built the brand’s impact strategy around community building, sustainability, and creativity - she launched Second Wave, the brand’s resale site designed to keep pre-loved products out of landfills, and founded the Native Initiatives strategy to work with Native artists to end appropriation in fashion. She also leads yearly impact retreats with artists, activists, and thought leaders, helping guide Faherty’s evolution into a certified B Corp that has partnered in donating over a million dollars to Native artists and communities. That work, rooted in care, responsibility, and imagination, led Docherty to write the children’s book Somewhere, Right Now, featuring art by New York Times bestselling illustrator Suzie Mason and selected for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Selfish is both a love letter to the Self and an unapologetic call to action for women everywhere to meet their own needs.
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Photo Credit: Matt Catalano |
ABOUT KERRY DOCHERTY
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 community building, sustainability, and creativity. 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.
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