Totally Booked with Zibby

Angela Himsel is the author of A River Could Be a Tree, a memoir chronicling Angela’s journey from a conservative Christian upbringing in rural Indiana to life as a practicing Jewish women in Manhattan. Angela and I discussed growing up with ten siblings, the fascinating research that went into the book, and the magical brochure that changed her life.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jennifer Gefsky and Stacey Delo are the coauthors of Your Turn: Careers, Kids, and Comebacks--A Working Mother's Guide. This book is a true roadmap for women making career decisions as their work and motherhood collide. I absolutely loved hearing Jen and Stacey discuss their personal stories of navigating career paths after having children and their passion for helping women gain confidence to jump back into the workplace post baby. Jen is the cofounder and Stacey is the CEO of Apres Group, a website and community dedicated to helping women reenter the workforce with curated job opportunities. This was more like a casual conversation with all three of us sharing things from our past lives! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Nemens is the Editor of The Paris Review and the debut author of The Cactus League. Emily’s novel centers around a small suburb of Phoenix, AZ and the different hopes and aspirations of the community members during baseball spring training. I loved chatting with Emily about her working on a literary quarterly, her deeply rooted love of baseball, and writing on what Emily calls a “4/10” schedule. Emily previously coedited The Southern Review and has been published in Esquire, n+1, The Gettysburg Review, Hobart, and other outlets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caroline de Maigret is the author, with Sophie Mas, of How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are from 2014 and most recently, Older, but Better, but Older. She is an international model, has been a Chanel ambassador since 2013, and a music producer at Bonus Track Records and a fashion video producer. She is also a children's and women's rights activist. She lives in Paris, but we recently got to talk just after she landed in New York. It was a treat to talk about her latest work - a creatively formatted, humorous, honest take on being in your 40s: the good feelings and fears alike!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Mark McConville, PhD, is the author of Failure to Launch: Why Your Twentysomething Hasn't Grown Up...and What to Do About It. He is a clinical psychologist in private practice, and as a senior member of the faculty of the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, he has lectured and taught widely about child development, parenting, and counseling. An expert in adolescent psychology, his book is a brilliant and constructive guide for parents of kids who are facing the challenges of finding their footing in emerging adulthood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zibby Owens: Elizabeth Gerlach is the author of the children's book series Ben's Adventures about a young triplet brother who uses a wheelchair but loves to dream up fun adventures with his family and friends. A former advertising and marketing exec with an MBA in marketing, Elizabeth is now a special needs advocate and fundraiser for the Ben Smiles Memorial Foundation which she founded. She has a very interesting, inspiring, sad, moving, happy, everything story, and I was thrilled to be talking to her about all of it, starting with how she began the series, Ben's Adventures.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I got to sit down with Patricia Marx and Roz Chast on the publication day of their book, You Can Only Yell at Me for One Thing at a Time: Rules for Couples. Roz Chast, the illustrator, is the author of the number-one New York Times best-selling memoir Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, she has been drawing cartoons since she was a child in Brooklyn. She has contributed to The New Yorker regularly and also many other publications. Patty has been a New Yorker contributor since 1989. A former writer for Saturday Night Live and Rugrats, she is the author of several books including Let's Be Less Stupid; Him, Her, Him Again, The End of Him; and Starting From Happy. She was the first woman elected to The Harvard Lampoon. Originally from Philadelphia and a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, she has taught at Princeton, NYU, and Stony Brook University.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There has been a storm of controversy surrounding Jeanine Cummins' novel, AMERICAN DIRT. One big objection is that Jeanine shouldn't have written a story about a Mexican mother and her son trying to flee to the U.S. because she herself isn't Mexican and hasn't had that experience. I wrote this short essay in response to it. I published it on Medium and am reading it here (a 3-minute read!).  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ann Napolitano is the author of Dear Edward, which is a huge sensation. It's a December 2019 Book of the Month Club pick, a January Today Show #ReadWithJenna Pick and the Barnes & Noble January pick among many others. Ann spent 8 years writing this riveting novel, and I got to talk to her about the beautiful storyline, the writing process, her family, and more.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Megan Alexander is an Emmy-nominated national news correspondent on Inside Edition, the number-one syndicated news magazine TV show. She has covered football for CBS, acted in the TV show Nashville, appeared in several films, and executive-produced the feature film Heartbeats. She is the author of Faith in the Spotlight: Thriving in Your Career While Staying True to Your Beliefs, and a new children's book, One More Hug, illustrated by Hiroe Nakata. My kids request to read it over and over again - they love it, and every time I read it out loud, I start crying because it's really about cherishing moments with people you love. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.