(MENAFN- EIN Presswire) EINPresswire/ -- Renowned author, historian, and cultural leader Rachel J. Lithgow hosted a book signing event on Monday, November 17th, 2025, at Blue Door Books in Cedarhurst, New York to celebrate the release of her highly anticipated debut memoir, My Year of Really Bad Dates. During the event, Lithgow read chapters from her book and engaged in discussions with attendees. The event was open to the public and copies of My Year of Really Bad Dates were available for purchase and signing at the venue. The evening also included a Q&A session, champagne, and conversation with the author.

Following the signing, guests were invited to an intimate celebratory reception and cocktail party at Beginnings Restaurant in Atlantic Beach, New York. The reception featured delicious passed hors d'oeuvres and specialty platters, includingeggplant meatballs with vodka sauce and burrata, Bouchon wings, whipped ricotta toasts, four-cheese quesadillas, Mediterranean mezze with grape leaves, chicken satay, and vegetarian egg rolls. As guests connected with the author and other attendees, they relaxed in the cozy ambiance and sipped specialty signature cocktails, including the infamous Red Flag, made with bourbon, pomegranate liqueur, and lime - shaken up sweet and smooth.

The entertaining evening showcased Lithgow's memoir, My Year of Really Bad Dates, a fearless and funny deep dive into life after divorce. With her signature wit and unfiltered honesty, Lithgow chronicles the highs and cringe-worthy lows of reentering the dating world after leaving a high-profile Hollywood marriage. Both heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny, the book offers a candid look at personal reinvention and the chaos of modern relationships -a must-read for anyone who has ever swiped right in search of a fresh start. The audiobook adds an extra layer of nostalgia and pop-culture appeal, narrated and brought to life by actress Jodie Sweetin, best known for her role as Stephanie Tanner on Full House and Fuller House.

About Rachel J. Lithgow:
A New York–born mother of two now based on Long Island, Rachel J. Lithgow has spent more than three decades leading some of the world's most prominent cultural institutions. A respected historian and former executive, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Time, The Huffington Post, and The Jerusalem Post, among others. With her debut memoir, Lithgow embarks on a bold new chapter in a career defined by transformation, leadership, and an unwavering commitment to truth and storytelling.

As a celebrated writer, Rachel brings a unique perspective to her dating memoir: she is the former daughter-in-law of iconic actor John Lithgow and writes with a voice that is both self-aware and refreshingly unguarded. Her perspective offers a rare quality within the dating-memoir genre - honesty without self-pity and wit without detachment.

“When I got to LA, I was a pretty naive kid from Buffalo, New York. Before I got to college, Chi Chi's was my idea of 5-star cuisine. Suddenly, I'm working at the Shoah Foundation, where Steven Spielberg was referred to as "Steven" on the backlot of Universal Studios. My boyfriend Ian was a dashing, talented actor on one of the hottest sitcoms of the 90's, Third Rock from the Sun, which was right down the road at CBS Radford, and I was going to have dinner with him on the set when he was working with his father, John, with whom he had a lot of tension. It was like going from Little League to the Show the first time I had dinner at their home, and they offered me Port (which I honestly thought was old Manischewitz. Same color, same flavor). Needless to say, I did not fit in."

“The book deals with all these issues and experiences in a series of flashbacks and episodes that shaped the trauma both of us had already experienced as children. I'm really proud of where we came from and where both Ian and I are today, both separately and together as co-parents of two spectacular (almost grown) people.”

“I'm overwhelmed by the response I've received so far,” Lithgow shared.“The reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly have been so positive and encouraging. I'm truly stunned as a first-time author. Readers appreciate the humor, but they also recognize the deeper layers of pain and vulnerability that went into the work.”

To Purchase My Year of Really Bad Dates:

Instagram - @iamrachellithgow

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