Ep 212: 10 Questions For Every Room You're In (with Emily P. Freeman)

Ep 212: 10 Questions For Every Room You're In (with Emily P. Freeman)

Emily P. Freeman says, "Our whole life is like a house, and every commitment, community, role, and relationship is like a room." In this conversation, Emily and I continue her room metaphor and she asks 10 Questions from her book that we can use to discern our own sense of belonging, and our choices to stay or leave.

Read More

Ep 209: Best Books Lately (with Sara Hildreth of Fiction Matters)

Ep 209: Best Books Lately (with Sara Hildreth of Fiction Matters)

This conversation starts with a thoughtful discussion about reviewing books on social media (#Bookstagram #BookTok) versus being a literary critic and Sara makes some excellent points about the way we talk about books online these days. And then Sara and I each share four of the best books we've read lately, including a novel I just finished that may be one of my favorites of all time.

Read More

Ep 196: Symposium: Britney Spears's New Memoir

Ep 196: Symposium: Britney Spears's New Memoir

During our monthly Symposium meeting, the Secret Stuff community had smart, thoughtful, and compassionate takes on Britney Spears’s memoir itself and on Britney's place in music history and our pop culture lexicon.

Read More

BONUS: 4 Rules For Sharing Your Story (Especially When It's Hard) with Carmen Rita Wong

BONUS: 4 Rules For Sharing Your Story (Especially When It's Hard) with Carmen Rita Wong

I love memoirs. I love hearing other people's stories in their own words. And, of course, I champion the idea to Share Your Stuff. 

But what if the story you need to tell is really difficult? What if it's hard to do justice to the truth while also protecting (or not protecting) other people? My guest for this conversation is author Carmen Rita Wong and she is sharing her own 4 rules to doing this well. 

Read More

Ep 191: How BookTok and Gen Z Are Changing the Way We Read + Best Books Lately (with Alex Cash)

Ep 191: How BookTok and Gen Z Are Changing the Way We Read + Best Books Lately (with Alex Cash)

Where a 40-something aunt (me) chats with her 20-something niece (Alex) about what we're reading, where we get our book recommendations, and how the algorithm affects both of these things. 

Read More

Ep 187: Book Bans: 5 Things A Librarian Wants You To Know

Ep 187: Book Bans: 5 Things A Librarian Wants You To Know

My life’s greatest passion is reading. Books are my lifeblood. And so you will not be surprised that I have been greatly alarmed by the rise of book bans in America in the last few years. The idea of banning books is so archaic to me, so outdated, so harmful, it’s as if we have learned NOTHING from history.

Read More

BONUS: What Drives You with Kevin Miller

BONUS: What Drives You with Kevin Miller

One of the things I've been working on personally this summer is examining and resetting some of the systems in my life, mostly professionally related, but also personally. Kevin Miller’s book and this conversation came at the perfect time. Identifying what motivates you can be such a key to your success. 

Read More

BONUS: Remaining You While Raising Them with Alli Worthington

BONUS: Remaining You While Raising Them with Alli Worthington

I met author Alli Worthington over a decade ago when we were both in the mommy blogging world, and I've long looked up to her as an entrepreneur and innovator in the online space. And while I was a mommy blogger back then who didn't write much about motherhood, Alli was creating conferences, writing books, and raising FIVE boys and a stepdaughter. 

Read More

Ep 179: Best Books of 2023 (So Far) with Yasmin Dunn and Stephanie Newman-Smith

Ep 179: Best Books of 2023 (So Far) with Yasmin Dunn and Stephanie Newman-Smith

Instead of waiting for the end of the year to talk about our favorite books, my real life book club members Yasmin Dunn and Stephanie Newman-Smith and I decided we should have a mid-year meeting to discuss some of the great things we've read in this first half of 2023. 

Read More

BONUS: Slow Growth Equals Strong Roots (a conversation with Mary Marantz)

BONUS: Slow Growth Equals Strong Roots (a conversation with Mary Marantz)

Mary Marantz and I talk about striving to be the most put together person in the room in the pursuit of perfection and acceptance, feeling like we need to prove that we deserve whatever success or opportunity we have, and how our little girl selves would be so happy with who we have become.

Read More

Ep 168: The Life Council is OUT NOW! (10 things I haven't told you yet about my new book)

Ep 168: The Life Council is OUT NOW! (10 things I haven't told you yet about my new book)

In this episode, I wanted to share with you ten thoughts about the book, the creative process, why I felt like a fraud writing it, and why I believe in its message so deeply. 

Read More

Ep 167: Five Friendship Philosophies (an audiobook excerpt of The Life Council by Laura Tremaine)

Ep 167: Five Friendship Philosophies (an audiobook excerpt of The Life Council by Laura Tremaine)

This episode is an excerpt from the audiobook version of The Life Council, read by me. The sections I'm sharing here are called A Friendship Reckoning and Five Friendship Philosophies.

Read More

Ep 165: Best Books Lately (with Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb of Currently Reading)

Ep 165: Best Books Lately (with Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb of Currently Reading)

My favorite thing in the world to talk about is BOOKS and two of my very favorite people to talk books with are Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb of the Currently Reading podcast

I've been such a fan of these two women and their podcast since it launched and it is always fun to chat with them about the best books we've read lately.

Read More

Ep 153: Best Books of the Year 2022

Ep 153: Best Books of the Year 2022

It's the FIFTH annual Best Books of the Year episode with my real life book club friends Yasmin Dunn and Stephanie Newman-Smith. 

This is one of my very favorite conversations every single December and I do not apologize that it is super sized!

Yasmin, Stephanie, and I share 3-4 of our favorite books of 2022 across all genres. 

As usual, there are some suprises, some curveballs, and LOTS of opinions. 

Read More

Ep 147: Best Books of the Year 2021

Ep 147: Best Books of the Year 2021

My real life book club is BACK with our annual conversation about the Best Books of the Year!

Please welcome my friends Yasmin Dunn and Stephanie Newman-Smith back to the show for our fourth annual Best Books of the Year episode.

Read More

Ep 141: 6 Classic Novels You Should Read (with guest Colleen Powell)

Ep 141: 6 Classic Novels You Should Read (with guest Colleen Powell)

I have a running list of classic novels that I want to re-read as an adult or read for the first time because I missed them in high school English class.

If you have the same literary burden, this episode is meant to help you choose a classic that won't be a total bore.

Read More