Promoting her second memoir hasn’t come easy to Brianna Madia.

The New York Times bestselling author bares her soul in “Never Leave the Dogs Behind,” an account about forging a new path in the Southwest desert with only the company of her four dogs — Bucket, Dagwood, Birdie and Banjo.

On Tuesday, Madia marks the official release of “Never Leave the Dogs Behind” with a launch event at Bend’s Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in partnership with Roundabout Books.

Memoir’s ‘ugly stuff’ relatable 

The memoir recounts Madia’s ongoing online harassment and the aftermath of her public divorce as she purchases and builds a new life on a nine-acre plot of undeveloped land near Moab, Utah.

It’s the “ugly stuff” in the second book that makes it deeply relatable, Madia said. She added that she’s not afraid to hold back because she received tenfold from her readers what she put out into the world with her debut memoir, “Nowhere for Very Long.”

“At the core of (the second memoir) is just a person going through the worst time in their whole entire life. And if that makes people feel like they can survive theirs — I mean, that’s why I wrote it,” Madia said. “It validates my experience and then creates a shared experience, which is the best feeling in the world.”

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Madia said her transparency has made the load easier to carry. It’s also invited others to divulge their own truths, resulting in an exchange of sorts between the author and the reader, or some cases, among readers themselves.

At a previous book event, a group of approximately six women who attended the event individually got to know each other while waiting in line. As Madia drove away from the event, she said she noticed the group lingering on a restaurant patio, enjoying drinks.

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A life lived in the limelight

The author and van-life influencer has lived her life openly and publicly on Instagram @briannamadia, in many ways blurring the line between social media and her personal world. Living her life in the public eye has led to challenges, such as a lack of balance between the online platform and her life, she said.

However, it is also social media that has allowed Madia to connect with her readers.

“Like that was the point. That’s what social media was for. That’s what writing and sharing stories was for — so that other people can come together,” Madia said.

Connection is what Madia intends to cultivate on Tuesday at the book launch event, where she plans to meet and hug as many people as possible who have read her first memoir, she said.

Madia will read a chapter from the new book, followed by a Q&A and a signing line in which she’ll end up in deep conversation with many of her readers and likely ask to see a picture of their dogs.

If You Go

What: Book launch for “Never Leave the Dogs Behind” by Brianna Madia

When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 61980 Skyline Ranch Road, Bend

Cost: $10

Contact: roundaboutbookshop.com, 541-306-6564

“At the core of it is just a person going through the worst time in their whole entire life. And if that makes people feel like they can survive theirs — I mean, that’s why I wrote it.”