Shot At Love, A Celebrity Photographer's Unfiltered Lens on Dating and Finding Love: Introduction

Have you ever wondered if everything you thought about finding love might be wrong? Kerry Brett's new book "Shot At Love" challenges conventional dating wisdom and offers a fresh perspective based on years of hard-won experience. From growing up in a working-class Boston family where the Brady Bunch and Mr. Rogers shaped her worldview to becoming a dating expert who's made every mistake so you don't have to, Kerry's journey is both entertaining and enlightening.

What started as a desperate search for connection through books, movies, and music evolved into something much more powerful. In 2018, amid social upheaval and personal darkness, Kerry found her calling - helping others avoid the heartbreak she'd experienced. This led to her creating the "Swiping Soiree," a unique blend of education and entertainment she jokingly called her "Tinder Tour." Complete with interpretive dance to Christina Perri's "Jar of Hearts" and entering rooms to the sounds of Aretha Franklin while banging a cowbell, these seminars transformed how middle-aged women approached online dating.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, what many had dismissed as "career suicide" - a podcast about online dating - became Kerry's greatest achievement. Through trial, error, and relentless effort, she emerged as a respected dating coach committed to dismantling the stigma around digital connections. The book reveals how fear becomes our biggest enemy in finding love, causing self-sabotage and missed opportunities. But Kerry's message remains hopeful: love can be found anywhere, from Whole Foods to Tinder, and every misstep offers profound lessons that are part of the journey toward meaningful connection.

This isn't just Kerry's story - it's an invitation to rewrite your own. Whether you're struggling with online dating, recovering from heartbreak, or simply ready for a new approach to finding love, "Shot At Love" offers both practical guidance and emotional support. Grab your copy today on Amazon and join the mailing list at shotatlovebook.com for exclusive updates and information about live singles events. Your next chapter will be amazing - just remember to bring a helmet and enjoy the ride.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Shot at Love
• 1:03 Growing Up with Pop Culture
• 4:59 Birth of the Swiping Soiree
• 7:42 Facing Fear in Online Dating
• 10:22 Your Next Chapter and Call to Action

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:02

I'm Carrie Brett and this is Shot at Love. I just want to take a moment to thank you for tuning into my show and supporting me over the years. It truly means the world. As a thank you, I'm so excited to share something special. Audio release of my brand new book, Shot at Love. If you enjoy it, I'd love for you to rate and review it on Amazon. And please spread the word to anyone who's looking for love or needs a little inspiration. Now, let's get started with the very first chapter. I hope that all of us or none of us are judged by the actions of our worst moments, but rather by the strength we show when and if we are ever given a second chance. Ted Lasso. Introduction. But that's what my stroll through dating hell will do to you. If you picked up this book, I guess you've lived through some version too. And the good news is that I've learned an awful lot, and I can't wait to reveal what I firmly believe. What if I told you most of what you thought worked when dating wasn't true? That love can be found anywhere, even at Whole Foods, Lowe's, the Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons in Boston, or even on Tinder. That every misstep offers a profound lesson and is part of the plan in getting what you want. This isn't just my story, it's your shot at rewriting yours. It's been a long road, and this book has been six years in the making. It's a product of experience and personal growth. In this introduction, I detail the motivation behind Shot at Love, provide a snapshot into these chapters, and establish why I'm qualified to guide you on your journey to find love. Because I've made all the mistakes that you will want to avoid in your search for a loving relationship. That makes this book a must-read for anyone seeking genuine hope for real shot at love. Growing up in a working class Irish Catholic family just outside Boston, pop culture became my source of inspiration, helping me navigate life's challenges through books, movies, and music. I grew up like the Brady Bunch, minus Alice. As a child, I didn't have a lot of material things, but there were plenty of love, and I used my imagination to pull in new experiences and escape my life through television. I only went on vacation when the Brady Bunch went to Hawaii. As I got older and when it came to my personal life, I felt like I was Marcia Brady with many broken noses. Someone ghosted by George Glass, who never existed, cheated on by Dr. Vogel, and left wondering if Sam the Butcher was single. I had no idea that my innocent love of sitcoms and America's favorite family would lead to using a picture on my Tinder profile of Christopher Knight, aka Peter Brady, and me taken at a fundraiser in Boston back in 2009. Unbelievably, years later, I would have him as a guest on my show. When Chris Knight confirmed that he would be on Shot at Love, I performed a dance number in my kitchen to the song Keep on Moving because I was so excited. To me, these actors were directly connected to the hearts of their audience, but in my mind, they were my friends. My best childhood friend and first guru was Mr. Rogers. When I had my tonsils taken out in kindergarten before the doctors knocked me out, I screamed, Call Rogers, he'll come for me. Looking back, if someone actually had Fred Rogers' phone number, he may not have come to save me at children's hospital, but I believe he would have certainly called to check on his neighbor. As I got older, I knew I wasn't like everyone else. I struggled in school and I'm the poster child for ADHD. I disappeared in books such as Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series, Anne of Green Gables, or the Nancy Drew novels. I would later joke that I even dated both Bobsey twins. I looked to the silver screen for a better life, hoping romantic comedies or the Hallmark Channel would point me toward love. Years later, I prayed music artists like Adele or Amy Winehouse would help me navigate pain and mend my broken heart. As I became increasingly desperate, I turned my fears of the unknown over to the power of chanting, Sanskrit mantras, and astrology. All of these references or examples of someone else's life, even a fictional, gave me hope of a better one. Pop culture was always a way for me to communicate and later convey what I was trying to teach someone suffering through what I had already lived through. These references are woven into this book, each holding personal significance. My writing began in 2018, fueled by a desire to make sense of a world marked by social injustice and hardship. It was the beginning of the Me Too movement, and I felt helpless by all I was seeing. Being an artist, I turned to creativity to share insights on relationships and love. At the time, I was in a dark place, and when I looked around, all I could see was collective suffering. I lay in bed at night wondering who needed a friend, while feeling grateful for my friendships, knowing I could support someone else. I drew from one of the lessons from my first teacher, Mr. Rogers. When he was a boy, he would see scary things in the news, and his mother would say, Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping. To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother's words, and I'm comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers, so many caring people in the world, said Fred Rogers. I pondered these thoughts daily. What could I do to help? I couldn't protect people from the world's pain. I wasn't on PBS. I was a photographer. I did what I always did to escape adversities and turn to my creative gifts. In doing so, I realized I could share useful information and help others avoid heartbreak. The first piece of the puzzle was the creation of the Swiping Soiree, a live keynote program. This unique blend of education and entertainment that I originally built to help middle-aged women in suburbia become rock stars on Tinder. In 2019, my Swiping Soiree seminar launched, which I humorously called my Tinder Tour. I gathered names, created mailing lists, sold tickets, and spread the word on social media. I held events at hotels, convention centers, rotary clubs, and my studio. My program was half learning, half Tinder musical, and it was quite the production. I entered the room hitting a cowbell over my head and screaming, We need more cowbell as a sign to cue up the music, You Better Think, by Aretha Franklin. The highlight of the presentation was when I did interpretive dance to the song Jar of Hearts by Christina Perry. The number had extra special meaning to me. I passionately performed dance moves as if I was trying to win a championship game of charades, while at the same time making fun of my past, my charade of a love life, as I sang simultaneously to these words. I hear you're asking all around if I'm anywhere to be found, but I've grown too strong to ever fall back in your arms. The only thing missing from my local off-Broadway production was the artistic direction from Martin Short and Steve Martin in Only Murders in the Building. The swiping soiree led to the launch of the Shot It Love podcast in 2020. Then the pandemic hit, transforming the world. Amidst these societal changes and restrictions, online dating became a lifeline in this new epidemic of loneliness. Before COVID-19, being alone or having to resort to joining Tinder were topics associated with shame. People were confused and often laughed at me when I explained that I was starting a podcast about online dating. In the beginning, before the podcast launch, the feedback was less than favorable. Most opinions others had about my passion project was that I was embarking on career suicide. This little idea of mine became the best thing I've ever done. Through trial and error combined with relentless efforts, I have now become a dating expert and coach committed to helping others. We live in a world that is skeptical of online dating. I challenge stigmas and common misconceptions, presenting online dating as a cutting-edge tool, a viable way, and a catalyst to meaningful connections across all age groups. Do you have to use online dating to find love? No, but statistics show it helps. And my personal experience has led me to believe it will. One thing I've learned when it comes to dating is fear of the unknown reigns supreme, and the ever-present fear is your biggest enemy. Sadly, these fears hold you back when you're looking for love, simultaneously stripping you of your powers and leading you to second-guess your intuition and fueling feelings of anxiety and panic. Fear breeds fear, resulting in self-sabotage. This book contains stories of falling and getting back up and overcoming our painful past. I've had to manage my own insecurities during this writing process. The path to publishing this book had its share of challenges, including personal struggles and a global health crisis. Yet driven by my conviction and belief in my mission, I continued helping everyone I could because I knew the power of love was worth it. This isn't just a collection of stories, chicken soup for the Tinder's user's soul, or a binder full of men. It's a narrative of lessons learned, failures experienced, and laughter ensuing over the past two decades of life. I hope these pages herein serve as your wing girl or jumpstart, pushing you to embark on a new path, a roadmap for your transformative journey, inspiring you to embrace new beginnings, ultimately finding the happiness and love you deserve, or at the very least, finding yourself. The time to start is now. This is your opportunity to move forward positively. Hold on to the things that resonate with you and leave the rest. You have it within yourself to become your own hero and find your person. That's special love. Commit to yourself and commit to helping someone else who is also in the same boat. Love is ever present, universal, and all-inclusive. And we can't do this alone. If your path is difficult, it's because your calling is higher. If you've overcome challenges like I have and persevered through similar hardships, this book is Tailor Fit for You. The goal is to embrace your true potential, while most importantly, creating a genuine life. It's about finding love, self-love, self-acceptance, and empowerment in the unexpected places like a dating app. I truly hope you enjoy my story, and I appreciate you taking the time to read it. Know that you're not alone, you have me. Please know I'm rooting for you, believe in you, and I can't wait to hear your story of finding love. And remember, your next chapter will be amazing. Put on your seatbelt, bring a helmet, and enjoy the ride. Godspeed. With thanks and love, Carrie. Looking for love, my brand new book, Shot at Love, is out now. You can grab your copy today on Amazon. If you'd like to stay connected, get exclusive updates, and be the first to hear about Shot at Love live single events. Join the mailing list at shot at lovebook.com. Don't miss your chance to change the way you see love and yourself.