School of Communication Digital Media Production alumnus Tommy Hensel published his first book Eating Adverbs in May of this year, after retiring from a 36-year career in theater and performing arts management, including 25 years leading performing arts centers. 

After graduating from Florida State University (FSU) in 1988 with a degree in Digital Media Production, Tommy Hensel built a career in theater, later earning a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Master of Arts in Theater, and working as a director, actor, artistic director, and performing arts administrator. During his time in Chicago, Hensel began to shift from performance administration into writing, inspired by his own experiences living in a new city. He started documenting his experiences with solo dining and travel through a personal blog, Table for One, Please, which grew out of his regular habit of exploring Chicago’s restaurant scene on his own. 

His writing about solo dining later caught the attention of a publisher. It inspired his new book Eating Adverbs which explores the experiences and perceptions surrounding doing things alone.  

While Eating Adverbs was published decades after his time at FSU, many of the book’s foundational experiences took place in Tallahassee. Hensel recounts his first experience dining alone as a sophomore, when a planned group outing fell through, and he nervously asked for a table for one. These moments ultimately became the inspiration for the opening chapter of Eating Adverbs, which explores the personal growth and self-discovery that can come from doing things alone. 

“In chapter one, the very beginning of the book, is the origin story of the very first time that I ever dined by myself, and it happened when I was a sophomore at Florida State”, said Hensel. “I was absolutely terrified that everybody in the restaurant was going to turn around and look at me like, ‘Why is this person by himself?’ Then I got there, and I sat in the booth, and I realized that nobody was paying any attention to me at all. So, it was just all in my head.” 

Hensel highlights FSU for broadening his perspective and helping shape the person he would become. What began as an uncomfortable experience eventually became a defining theme throughout Hensel’s life. In Eating Adverbs, he encourages readers to embrace independence and find confidence in their own company. 

“Suddenly I saw the world in a way that I had never been able to see before,” said Hensel. “Eating Adverbs is about embracing the power of your own company. It’s about loving yourself enough to say, ‘I don’t need permission to do the things I want to do or to go where I want to go.’” 

The book also coincides with a major transition in Hensel’s own life. After retiring from his longtime career in performing arts management in April, he is focusing on writing, speaking, and wine education. 

“Little did I know that I would actually be living out some of the lessons in my own book in real time”, he said. 

As he begins this new chapter, Hensel hopes readers will discover the same confidence and sense of possibility that first emerged during those formative experiences in Tallahassee decades ago.