Totally Booked with Zibby

"The more that I achieve, the more I realize that achievements have nothing to do with the value of who you are as a person." Psychiatrist, professor, and writer Adam Stern joins Zibby to talk about his debut memoir, Committed, which combines his medical experience with the story of his cancer diagnosis. The two discuss when Adam realized he had a story that has yet to be told, how psychiatrists approach mental illnesses in their personal lives, and what he's learned from living with 50/50 survival odds. Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3GioJYxBookshop: https://bit.ly/346tlnASubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor and New York Times bestselling writer Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts joins Zibby to talk about her eighteenth book, Black Joy. Tracey shares the traumatic experience of losing her cousin to racialized gun violence, as well as memories of her grandmother that seem to bring her back to life. Zibby and Tracey also discuss how children often bring out a sense of innocence and playfulness in adults, why therapy was essential for Tracey to write this book, and the importance of healing tears and feeling joy. Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3rfWl53Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3IRCDT3Subscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zibby is joined by best-selling writer Tessa Hadley to talk about her latest — and highly anticipated — novel, Free Love, which captures the emotions and consequences of a 1960s affair. The two talk about how Tessa has relaxed into her writing style over the course of her last four books, her journey from a lifelong writer and storyteller to published author in her forties, and what classic works of literature may have been like if authors always had access to the copy and paste feature. Zibby and Tessa also compare the different idiosyncrasies between British and American dialects.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/32MEn0HBookshop: https://bit.ly/3Hk3O8JSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zibby is joined by debut novelist Brendan Slocumb to talk about one of her favorite new releases, The Violin Conspiracy, which is this month's GMA pick! Brendan shares which parts of the book were inspired by his own life story, how this book grew from a failed attempt at a science fiction manuscript in 2007, and what he loves most about teaching music. Brendan also shares how he wrote this novel in two and a half months during the pandemic and why it is so important to bring more people of color into the world of music, especially at the highest echelons. Join Zibby and Brendan for an event with Politics & Prose on 2/9 by registering here!Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/35yk0W0Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3g7vHoISubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Poet and author Zoe Whittall joins Zibby to discuss her latest novel, The Spectacular. Zoe shares how her recent relationships inspired the multigenerational story, as well as how her experience of losing a pregnancy at the start of the pandemic deepened its significance. Zoe and Zibby also talk about the importance of writing commercially for and about the queer community, why grappling with anxiety is a core theme throughout all of her work, and what projects she's working on next.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3rTDaNwBookshop: https://bit.ly/3G9ZOGoSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zibby is joined by Judy Bolton-Fasman to talk about her debut memoir, Asylum, and the different threads throughout her life that led to that title. The two discuss the unique dynamic that existed between Judy's parents and how it fostered a number of secrets she sought to uncover throughout her childhood, as well as the different iterations this project has taken over the sixteen years it took her to write. Judy also openly shares her experience living with panic attacks in the book and in conversation with Zibby because she wants to destigmatize mental illnesses and the different ways we can manage them.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/340bH4SBookshop: https://bit.ly/3u7lYXzSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Executive editor of Electric Literature Halimah Marcus joins Zibby to talk about her new anthology, Horse Girls, which was inspired by her lifelong love of horses. The two discuss the unique dynamic that seems to exist between women and horses, how each essay — penned by an impressive roster of writers — captures a piece of this relationship, and what events in Halimah's personal history have endeared her to loving these animals forever. Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3GbDsEGBookshop: https://bit.ly/32ELIPGSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Screenwriter Jenny Pentland joins Zibby to discuss her first memoir, This Will Be Funny Later, which largely looks at her life following the success of her mother Rosanne Barr's show. The two talk about the different ways seeking control has manifested in their lives, how motherhood often feels like a constant effort to not make the mistakes your parents made, and why it was cathartic to re-evaluate her traumatic childhood from her family's perspective. Jenny also shares how this book began as Tweets written to help calm her mind and the ways in which this project has been transformative for how she copes with her PTSD.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/33SDV1fBookshop: https://bit.ly/3FU6M2pSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zibby is joined by writer and journalist Margarita Gokun Silver to talk about her collection of essays, I Named My Dog Pushkin (And Other Immigrant Tales), which follows her journey from growing up in the Soviet Union to America. The two discuss the role Judaism played in Margarita's upbringing and family history in the USSR, how their time at Yale overlapped by a few years, and what efforts Margarita has made to parent her daughter differently than her parents raised her. Margarita also shares the heartbreaking news of her husband's passing and how this book stands as a testament to his life as well as her own.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3rMpX9fBookshop: https://bit.ly/3G02DK4Subscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Novelist Sarah Hall joins Zibby to discuss her not-quite-pandemic book, Burntcoat, which was just nominated for this year's National Book Critics Circle Awards. Sarah also shares how her role as a single mother inspired elements of this novel, the ways in which writing has allowed her to truly express herself throughout her life, and what notions of identity and relationships she sought to analyze. Sarah also wants readers to know that despite almost being about the pandemic, this book is actually very funny.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/33SAF61Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3u6mxkeSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.