Totally Booked with Zibby

Today I'm talking with Deborah Burns who’s the author of memoir Saturday’s Child: A Daughter’s Memoir. A former media chief innovation officer and brand leader for top publications, Deborah has helped many brands and execs reinvent themselves. She also founded Skirting the Rules, a firm that helps other women find meaningful futures. Her memoir is a very moving mother-daughter story through a reflection on her relationship with her unconventional, beautiful, larger-than-life mother.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leslie Anne Bruce, a five-time New York Times best-selling coauthor and an award-winning entertainment journalist formally of US Weekly and The Hollywood Reporter, is AMAZING. She's the founder of Unpacified, an online community for modern women to discuss motherhood through an unfiltered, judgment-free lens of honesty and humor. Her latest book, You Are A F*cking Awesome Mom, puts a different lens on parenting - so much of preparing for becoming a mom is baby-centric, and this shifts the focus to support women in their transition into the journey of motherhood. And it reminds moms like me that I'm not alone!!!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I am very, very excited to be interviewing Steve Schwarzman today who is..... my dad!!! He's also the chairman, CEO, and cofounder of Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms, and the founder of the Schwarzman Scholars program in China. He's an active philanthropist with a focus on education, culture, and the arts. My dad wrote What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence, to pass on what he has learned to people working in organizations, who start organizations, and run organizations so that they can do a better job, so they can be more successful, so that they can have fuller lives, and so the world can be a better place. Plus his book is full of life advice of all kinds!! Please listen to our special conversation, which even includes his tips on parenting!!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm here today with Danielle Ganek, who is a self-proclaimed book-a-holic, former magazine editor, and the author of two novels, Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him and The Summer We Read Gatsby. She talks about her ideas for her novels, how her personal experiences inform her writing, and artistic expression. Listen in!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I lost my college roommate and best friend, Stacey Sanders, on 9/11. I didn’t just lose her. We all did. We all lost someone or something. I’ve written often about Stace and how her loss affected my life and continues to do so now, 18 years later. I'm releasing a dedicated podcast episode today of me reading three essays I’ve written about Stacey, starting with one I wrote just two weeks after she died for my business school newspaper, the Harbus, one from Redbook magazine in 2013, and one that Modern Loss published today.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I am so excited about my conversation with Rex Ogle, a former children's book editor in New York City and author of Free Lunch. Free Lunch is essentially a typical middle-grade story - it has to do with wanting to be on the football team, and trying to figure out where to sit, and the transferring-to-a-new-school jitters, but it also has to do with his experience of poverty and domestic violence and how that affected his life. His writing and advice about hope is incredibly powerful.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Claire Dederer is the author of two critically acclaimed memoirs, Love and Trouble: A Midlife Reckoning and Poser: My Life in Twenty-three Yoga Poses, which was a New York Times best seller and has been optioned for TV and adapted for the stage. We talked about her books and inspiration, the relationship between reader and writer, the importance of memoir from and for women and how to be a good interviewer! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jennifer Blecher is the author of OUT OF PLACE, the story of a twelve-year-old girl named Cove who lives on Martha’s Vineyard with her mom. She has never left the island once in her entire life...which was fine with her until the day that her best friend Nina comes and tells Cove that she's moving to New York City with her two fathers. In that moment, Cove’s entire life feels like it is falling apart and she has no idea how to make it better. Her solution is creative, fashionable and highly entertaining! OUT OF PLACE is a story about friendship and mistakes and big acts of courage. Listen to Jennifer talk about her experience with #meangirls, writing, middle school, parenting and so much more!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I'm interviewing Michele Filgate, the editor of the anthology What My Mother and I Don't Talk About: Fifteen Writers Break the Silence. The collection is based on her essay published by Longreads in October 2017, right after the Harvey Weinstein story broke and the #MeToo movement took off. She started writing this essay when she was an undergraduate. What started as her trying to work through her stepfather's abuse culminated in this impactful piece she says is a really an essay about a daughter longing for a stronger and better relationship with her mother. She then recruited many others to tell their own stories. The collection is amazing. I loved talking to Michele about her own experiences, how she structured this book, her time in the literary world and how she made peace with her past.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lisa Perry is an internationally renowned fashion designer. Assouline recently released her new book Lisa Perry: Fashion - Homes - Design. The forward was written by Hillary Clinton and the text and photography are by Robyn Lea. Lisa always wanted to have a book. She says that to have twenty years of design projects under one cover was a dream. Her story, success, and advice is so colorful, just like her clothes and placemats!! Listen in.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.