Shameless Leadership

605: Ronit Plank: When Your Mom Joins A Cult… And When She Comes Back


Listen Later

Ronit Plank is a writer, teacher, and podcaster whose work has been featured in The Rumpus, The Atlantic, The Iowa Review, Writer’s Digest, The Washington Post, HuffPost, and The New York Times among others. Her stories and essays have been nominated for both the Pushcart Prize and The Best of the Net and she is author of When She Comes Back, a memoir about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation. Her short story collection Home Is A Made-Up Place won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and will be published in 2022.

I met Ronit at an event a couple months ago and had an immediate connection with her.  As I’ve read her book, When She Comes Back, I feel like we are long lost sisters at times.  While we had different experiences growing up, we both had parents who abandoned us, creating this void of confusion in our lives that left us constantly questioning how to take up space. 

If you’ve watched the docuseries Wild, Wild Country, some of Ronit’s story will be familiar, as the cult featured in the docuseries is the cult her mother joined. 

Listen in to hear Ronit share:

  • Her experience of being born on a kibbutz in Israel and living separately from her parents as a baby and toddler
  • The effects of her mom leaving her and her little sister to follow a guru
  • How she maintained a relationship with her mom in spite of being repeatedly abandoning her
  • The challenge and conflicting emotions of having her mom be close to her after her daughter was born
  • What it’s been like for her to mother after not having a mother role model
  • The difference between the vulnerabilities we choose to share and those we must carry
  • How knowing someone’s story creates space for compassion in spaces where compassion might not otherwise exist
  • Links mentioned:

    • Get my newsletter to be notified of our 2022 Plan & Prep Pajama Party
    • Connect with Ronit and get the book: Ronit Plank
    • IG/Twitter: @ronitplank 
    • Thank you to our sponsor:

      • Evite: Head over to Evite to choose from thousands of design options to create and send invitations for free.

      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store

      Shameless LeadershipBy Sara Dean

      • 4.7
      • 4.7
      • 4.7
      • 4.7
      • 4.7

      4.7

      794 ratings


      More shows like Shameless Leadership

      View all
      Happier with Gretchen Rubin by Gretchen Rubin / The Onward Project

      Happier with Gretchen Rubin

      12,912 Listeners

      The Life Coach School Podcast by Brooke Castillo

      The Life Coach School Podcast

      8,793 Listeners

      Good Life Project by Jonathan Fields / Acast

      Good Life Project

      3,369 Listeners

      Edit Your Life | Simplify + Declutter Your Home, Time, and Mental Space by Christine Koh

      Edit Your Life | Simplify + Declutter Your Home, Time, and Mental Space

      517 Listeners

      UnF*ck Your Brain: Feminist Self-Help for Everyone by Kara Loewentheil

      UnF*ck Your Brain: Feminist Self-Help for Everyone

      5,136 Listeners

      The Rachel Hollis Podcast by Three Percent Chance

      The Rachel Hollis Podcast

      16,662 Listeners

      Oprah's Super Soul by Oprah

      Oprah's Super Soul

      31,700 Listeners

      ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka by Tracy Otsuka

      ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka

      43 Listeners

      On Purpose with Jay Shetty by iHeartPodcasts

      On Purpose with Jay Shetty

      27,557 Listeners

      Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel by LinkedIn

      Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel

      1,020 Listeners

      Raising Good Humans by Dear Media, Aliza Pressman

      Raising Good Humans

      1,885 Listeners

      Lisa A Romano Breakdown to Breakthroughs by Lisa A. Romano

      Lisa A Romano Breakdown to Breakthroughs

      775 Listeners

      The Hello Someday Podcast For Sober Curious Women by Casey McGuire Davidson

      The Hello Someday Podcast For Sober Curious Women

      715 Listeners

      Ask Lisa: The Psychology of Raising Tweens & Teens by Dr. Lisa Damour/Reena Ninan

      Ask Lisa: The Psychology of Raising Tweens & Teens

      84 Listeners

      The Mel Robbins Podcast by Mel Robbins

      The Mel Robbins Podcast

      20,290 Listeners