Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books™️

Sarah Addison Allen’s book Paper Ghosts was, quite fittingly, haunting. We discussed grief, loss, fiction, writing, and more. I left feeling like I had a new friend. 

Jonah Platt and I both have TV shows on the JBS network which is how we connected for this episode. I’d been dying to interview Jonah about his Jewish advocacy and what he’d learned from interviewing so many leaders in the field. What he answered surprised me. I also learned about how he’s raising his children and more. 

Beth Ricanati, MD, and I made challah together in my kitchen in L.A. eight years ago — and filmed it. Since then, our lives continue to intersect from the podcast to the bookstore to her being part of the On Being Jewish Now anthology. In this conversation recorded at Zibby’s Bookshop, we covered health benefits to baking, her suggestions as a physician for how to live more healthfully, and the windy path to her second book. (If you want to watch our original film, click here!) 

Laurie Notaro makes me laugh. A bestselling humorist, Laurie writes about whatever life stage she’s in with wit and bluntness. We talked about her hilarious parents and how her dad often says he’s glad Laurie didn’t have a twin, how we regress as soon as we go “home,” the indignities of aging, and the free cosmetic procedure she tried and had her skin burned off. 

Today’s episode features female founders of two communities: Jennifer Shoop, Magpie, and Aly Wente and Niki Wente, The Wine Sisters Book Club. Both groups have prioritized books — in addition to birds, wine, and more interests and avenues. Jennifer Shoop’s book, Small Wonders: A Field Guide to Life’s Quiet Joys, was absolutely beautiful. 

Pain psychologist Dr. Rachel Zoffness sits down with Zibby Owens to discuss her new book, Tell Me Where It Hurts: The New Science of Pain and How to Heal. Prompted by one parent’s powerful question and the transformative experience of working with teenagers, Rachel reflects on her personal and professional experiences with pain and her goal of sharing the true science with the world. They dive deep into overcoming imposter syndrome, how to identify the ingredients of a bad pain day, the genetics of highly sensitive people, and Rachel’s own struggles with chronic pain. Learn more about Dr. Rachel Zoffness here: https://www.zoffness.com/ or follow her on Instagram @therealdoczoff. Hosted by Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sara Goodman Confino’s high school journalism teacher was the first person who told her “you can do better than this.” And she did. Sara joins Zibby Owens for an intimate talk about her new novel Off The Record, a fun, thrilling, and mysterious romantic comedy set in 1962 about 22-year-old Judy Greenberg looking to be the next big reporter as a young Jewish woman in a male-dominated field. Sara opens up about the challenges she faced as a female teacher with male administrators, the long road from writing to becoming a published author, and how a single mentor can change the trajectory of a life. Visit Sara’s website here: https://saraconfino.com/ or follow her on Instagram @saraconfino. Hosted by Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Midlife desperately needs a rebrand. Dr. Margie Lachman is doing just that with her research at the Lifespan Lab at Brandeis University where she teaches psychology. She has pioneered the lifespan psychology approach to midlife. We talked about the joys midlife can bring and why her academic approach is so essential. 

Tokyo-born Lisa Katayama took her parenting techniques with her to Northern California and found that what Japanese culture had to offer was quite useful when it came to raising kids. We discussed the pain points of parenting, how she puts her ideas into practice, and how she pulled off writing a book in the midst of all of it.