Table for 51 : Lessons Learned from Sharing Meals Across America

As seen on PEOPLE.COM, US WEEKLY, NATIONAL ENQUIRER, POPSUGAR, BUSTLE, and MORE!

A Journey of Resilience, Reinvention, and Belonging—One Meal, One Story, One Connection at a Time.

Author Shari Leid—abandoned in a cardboard box with no identifying information in Seoul, South Korea, and adopted by Japanese American parents—embarks on a remarkable journey across the U.S. to challenge her father’s fears of being unwelcome because of their Asian faces.

In Table for 51, Shari meets strangers and reconnects with people from her own past, sharing a meal in every state. From bustling city cafés to peaceful countryside tables, each encounter reveals the power of human connection.

Through these fifty heartfelt conversations, Shari discovers the magic of belonging and the courage to embrace change, ultimately ending her turbulent twenty-six-year marriage.

Shari Leid is a former litigator turned reinvention coach, author and speaker. She is the driving force behind An Imperfectly Perfect Life, LLC.

As a recognized friendship expert and national speaker, Shari’s influence extends well beyond her coaching sessions. She has been featured on major media outlets, including ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and CTV, and was profiled on the TODAY show in April 2023. Her expertise has been shared in leading publications such as HuffPost, Real Simple, PureWow, AARP, Woman’s World, TIME, and Shondaland.

Shari hosts the podcast An Imperfectly Perfect Life – Life Unscripted, where she inspires listeners with candid conversations about navigating life’s ups and downs.

She is also the author of The Friendship Series, which includes The 50/50 Friendship Flow (2020), Make Your Mess Your Message (2021), and Ask Yourself This (2022). Her highly anticipated fourth book, Table for 51, is set for release in February 2025, chronicling her remarkable journey across all 50 states in 2023, where she connected with 50 women over shared meals.

In February 2025, Shari will take the stage as a TEDxEustis speaker, sharing her insights and inspiring others to create meaningful, connected lives.