Today, Kaitlin is joined by poet, author, and longtime friend Nancy Reddy - a connection that has spanned the lifetime of Kaitlin’s youngest child. Funny how parenthood reshapes our sense of time and friendship.

Nancy first appeared on the podcast back in Season 1, Episode 12, when she and her co-editor Emily Perez discussed their anthology The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood. Since then, Nancy’s work has only expanded. She’s a writing professor at Stockton University in New Jersey, the author of three books of poetry, and, most recently, the author of her first narrative nonfiction book, The Good Mother Myth: Unlearning Our Bad Ideas About How to Be a Good Mom, published by St. Martin’s Press in January of this year.

Nancy’s writing also spans a wide range of essays on motherhood, identity, and culture. She has written for Slate, Romper, and Electric Literature, tackling topics like the damaging mythology of the "golden hour" after birth, the challenges of making mom friends, the whiteness of the motherhood memoir, and the inherently political nature of mothering.

In this conversation — recorded in person during the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) Conference in Los Angeles — Kaitlin and Nancy dive deep into how modern American myths about motherhood have shaped Nancy’s personal and creative life. They also explore Nancy’s transition from poetry to research-driven nonfiction and the evolving intersection of writing, teaching, and living motherhood.

Tune in for a heartfelt, thought-provoking conversation about storytelling, identity, and the truths we inherit and reshape.

More of Nancy’s work:

• Pocket Universe
• Double Jinx
• Acadiana

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