Let’s Talk Memoir

Lily Dunn joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the impact her father leaving to follow the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had on her childhood, when she knew it was time to write her memoir Sins of the Father, stepping into her role as reflective narrator, creating tension, family members in our work, and understanding as a means to healing.

Also in this episode:

-writing to find answers

-our early experiences as shadows in our lives

-staying true to your purpose 

Books mentioned in this episode:

Educated by Tara Westover

Whip Smart by Meliss Febos

Your Voice in My Head by Emma Forrest

Busy Being Free by Emma Forrst

Lily Dunn writes fiction and nonfiction. Her literary memoir, Sins of My Father: A Daughter, A Cult, A Wild Unravelling is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson (March 2022), and her novel, Shadowing the Sun, by Portobello Books (2007). She has personal essays in Granta, Litro, Hinterland, MIRonline and The Real Story, and is a regular writer for Aeon magazine. She is co-editor of A Wild and Precious Life: Recovery Anthology, with Zoe Gilbert (Unbound 2021). She teaches creative writing at Bath Spa University in the UK and co-runs London Lit Lab. 

Connect with Lily:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lilydunnwriter

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilydunnwriting/

Website: lilydunn.co.uk

London Lit Lab: londonlitlab.co.uk

UK Book Link: https://smarturl.it/SinsOfMyFatherHB

US Book Link: https://geni.us/SinsOfMyFatherUS

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Ronit is a teacher and speaker whose essays, creative nonfiction, and fiction have been featured in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named a 2021 Best True Crime Book by Book Riot and was a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards, the Housatonic Book Awards, and the Book of the Year Awards. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and will be published in 2023. She is creative nonfiction editor at The Citron Review and lives in Seattle with her family where she is working on her next book.

More about WHEN SHE COMES BACK, a memoir: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

https://twitter.com/RonitPlank

https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank

Background photo: Canva Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne

Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll’s Fingers

Sonya Huber joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about structure and time in memoir, the challenge of getting to the core of who we are and facing ourselves on the page, how her perspective on “voice” has changed over time and why that drove her to write her new book Voice First: A Writer’s Manifesto.

Also in this episode:

-the power of shame to silence us

-how “authentic” voice might not mean what we think

-a writing exercise to help jumpstart your work

Books mentioned in this episode:

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

The Mezzanine by Nicholas Baker

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by Jjames Agee

Writers: Andrew Monson and Peter Elbow

Sonya Huber is the author of seven books, including the new guide, Voice First: A Writer’s Manifesto, and the award-winning essay collection on chronic pain, Pain Woman Takes Your Keys and Other Essays from a Nervous System. Her other books include Supremely Tiny Acts: A Memoir in a Day, Opa Nobody, Cover Me: A Health Insurance Memoir, and The Backwards Research Guide for Writers. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Brevity, Creative Nonfiction, and other outlets. She teaches at Fairfield University and in the Fairfield low-residency MFA program.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sonyahuber

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sonya.huber/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonyahuber/

Website: www.sonyahuber.com

Sonya's books: https://bookshop.org/lists/sonya-huber-s-books

--

Ronit is a teacher and speaker whose essays, creative nonfiction, and fiction have been featured in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named a 2021 Best True Crime Book by Book Riot and was a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards, the Housatonic Book Awards, and the Book of the Year Awards. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and will be published in 2023. She is creative nonfiction editor at The Citron Review and lives in Seattle with her family where she is working on her next book.

More about WHEN SHE COMES BACK, a memoir: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

https://twitter.com/RonitPlank

https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank

Background photo: Canva Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll’s Fingers

Season 2 of Let’s Talk Memoir is almost here!

I’m incredibly excited to bring you all of the interviews I’ve been working on. These episodes cover voice, sharing family secrets, braided memoir, nonlinear memoir, what it’s like to move from other creative disciplines to memoir, advocating for our work, and lots more. 

Season 2 of Let’s Talk Memoir will launch November 15th, that’s Tuesday, November 15th and new episodes will come out weekly.

If you have questions about memoir or about how memoirists craft their narratives, or anything at all that you would like covered on the show, there’s still time to send me a note with your question or topic suggestion. 

You can find me on Instagram, Twitter,  LinkedIn, and Facebook @RonitPlank and you can also message me on my website ronitplank.com.

It’s been a lot of fun to read your reviews and messages about season 1 and makes creating this podcast that much more rewarding. If you haven’t yet left a review on Apple podcasts or Spotify it’s not too late. Every review helps others find the show.

And if you know a writer or a memoir aficionado who would appreciate this podcast, please share it. Podcasts really depend on word of mouth and listener enthusiasm.

Thank you so much for being here and I just can’t wait to drop episode one on Tuesday, November 15th!

Ronit is a teacher and speaker whose essays, creative nonfiction, and fiction have been featured in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named a 2021 Best True Crime Book by Book Riot and was a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards, the Housatonic Book Awards, and the Book of the Year Awards. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and will be published in 2023. She is creative nonfiction editor at The Citron Review and lives in Seattle with her family where she is working on her next book.

https://twitter.com/RonitPlank

https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank

Background photo: Canva

Dr. Ginger Campbell joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the nature of memory and how that affects memoir writing, the phenomenon of false memories, cognitive dissonance, the slipperiness of what we can remember and how each time we do we actually recreate the memory, and why this is all good news for memoirists.

Dr. Ginger Campbell started podcasting in 2006 and was recently inducted into the Podcast Hall of Fame. Her shows include Brain Science, Books and Ideas, and Graying Rainbows: Coming Out LGBT+ Later in Life. Her most well-known show Brain Science explores how recent discoveries in neuroscience are unraveling the mystery of how our brain makes us human.

Dr. Campbell is also the author of Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty and she practices Palliative Medicine in Alabama.

Main links:

https://virginiacampbellmd.com

https://brainsciencepodcast.com

@docartemis on most social media

-Visit the Let's Talk Memoir Merch store: https://www.zazzle.com/store/letstalkmemoir

--

Ronit’s essays and fiction have been featured in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in both the 2021 Best Book Awards and the 2021 Book of the Year Award and a 2021 Best True Crime Book by Book Riot. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and will be published in 2022. She is host and producer of the podcasts And Then Everything Changed and The Body Myth.

More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com

More about WHEN SHE COMES BACK, a memoir: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Sign up for monthly podcast and writing updates: https://bit.ly/33nyTKd

Follow Ronit:

https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

https://twitter.com/RonitPlank

https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank

Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography

Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll’s Fingers

Phillip Lopate, a central figure in the revival of the American essay joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the integral role the divided self plays in memoir, striking the balance between telling and showing, how knowing your own flaws and defects helps build trust with the reader, why the intelligent narrator must be present from page one, and why having an interesting take on your story is as if not more important than the story itself.

Also in this episode:

-why memoirs aren’t for getting even

-turning yourself into a character

-narcissistic parents in memoir

Memoirs mentioned in this episode:

Borrowed Finery by Paula Fox

Memoirs of a Catholic Girlhood by Mary McCarthy

My Father Myself by J.R. Ackerly

My Dog Tulip by J.R. Ackerly

Phillip Lopate is a central figure in the revival of the American essay, both through his ubiquitous edited anthology, Art of the Personal Essay, and his own essay collections, Bachelorhood, Against Joie de Vivre, Portrait of My Body and Portrait Inside My Head.  He is also the author of such book-length nonfiction works as To Show and to Tell, Being with Children, Waterfront, Notes on Sontag, Rudy Burckhardt: Photographer and A Mother’s Tale.  Additionally, he has written books of fiction (Confessions of Summer, The Rug Merchant, Two Marriages) and poetry (At the End of the Day).  Finally, he has edited other anthologies (Writing New York and American Movie Critics), and is currently completing a three-volume historical anthology of the American essay.  A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a winner of Guggenheim, New York Public Library and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, he is on the faculty of Columbia University’s Graduate Writing Program, School of the Arts. 

https://philliplopate.com

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Ronit’s essays and fiction have been featured in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in both the 2021 Best Book Awards and the 2021 Book of the Year Award and a 2021 Best True Crime Book by Book Riot. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and will be published in 2022. She is host and producer of the podcasts And Then Everything Changed and The Body Myth.

More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com

More about WHEN SHE COMES BACK, a memoir: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Sign up for monthly podcast and writing updates: https://bit.ly/33nyTKd

Follow Ronit:

https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

https://twitter.com/RonitPlank

https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank

Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography

Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll’s Fingers

Judy Bolton-Fasman joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation on how writing about complicated relationships with generosity creates stories and characters that stay with readers, the case for speculative nonfiction, the impact fellowships have had on her writing,  negotiating family members who appear in memoir, and don’t-miss-encouragement for all artists.

Also in this episode:

-how seeds of her memoir began in fiction

-what blew her work open

-Ronit mispronounces illustrative

Memoirs mentioned in this episode:

Knocked Down by AIleen Weintraub

Priestdaddy: A Memoir by Patricia Lockwood

How to Forget: A Daughter's Memoir by Kate Mulgrew

Bio: Judy Bolton-Fasman is the author of ASYLUM: A Memoir of Family Secrets from Mandel Vilar Press. Her essays and reviews have appeared in major newspapers including the New York Times and Boston Globe, essay anthologies, and literary magazines. She is the recipient of numerous writing fellowships, including the Alonzo G. Davis Fellowship for Latinx writers at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts.  She is a four-time winner of the Rockower Award from the American Jewish Press Association and a two-time Pushcart Prize and Best of the  Net nominee. She recently received an honorable mention in Tiferet’s Creative Nonfiction Essay Writing Contest.

Website: judyboltonfasman.com 

Ronit’s essays and fiction have been featured in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in both the 2021 Best Book Awards and the 2021 Book of the Year Award and a 2021 Best True Crime Book by Book Riot. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and will be published in 2022. She is host and producer of the podcasts And Then Everything Changed and The Body Myth.

More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com

More about WHEN SHE COMES BACK, a memoir: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Sign up for monthly podcast and writing updates: https://bit.ly/33nyTKd

Follow Ronit:

https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

https://twitter.com/RonitPlank

https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank

Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography

Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll’s Fingers

Laura Davis joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about creating tension, writing for ourselves versus an audience, moving from the personal to the universal, trusting your reader, and the gift of self-discovery on the page.

Also in this episode:

-self-care when writing about trauma

-using correspondence in manuscripts

-the power of beta readers

Memoirs mentioned in this episode: 

Expecting Adam by Martha Beck

Half the House by Richard Hoffman

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls 

Laura Davis is the author of The Burning Light of Two Stars, the riveting memoir about her tumultuous yet loving relationship with her mother, and six other non-fiction books, including The Courage to Heal, Allies in Healing, I Thought We‘d Never Speak Again, and Becoming the Parent You Want to Be. Her groundbreaking books have been translated into 11 languages and sold 1.8 million copies. In addition to writing books that inspire and change people’s lives, the work of Laura’s heart is to teach. For more than twenty years, she’s helped people find their voices, tell their stories, and hone their craft. Laura loves creating supportive, intimate writing communities online, in person, and internationally. You can learn about Laura’s books and workshops, read the first five chapters of her memoir, and receive a free ebook: Writing Through Courage: A 30-Day Practice at www.lauradavis.net. 

For Let’s Talk Memoir Listeners:

You can also read the opening chapters for free here: http://www.lauradavis.net/chapters

Direct links to buy The Burning Light of Two Stars:

Audiobook version of The Burning Light of Two Stars (Laura is the narrator):

On Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Burning-Light-of-Two-Stars-Audiobook/B09G8WJQP7

And on Libro.fm for independent stores: https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781950144471

Independent Bookstores:

Get Signed Copies Through Bookshop Santa Cruz:

 https://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/burning-light-two-stars-get-it-signed)

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/books/the-burning-light-of-two-stars-a-mother-daughter-story-9781954854161/9781954854161

Amazon:  

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1954854161

amzn.com/B08XZMFH46

Want to Order Internationally with Free Worldwide Delivery? 

https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Burning-Light-of-Two-Stars-Laura-Davis/9781954854161

Attention Writers:

If you’re a writer or want to use writing as a tool for healing or self-discovery, you can learn about Laura’s online writing workshops and in-person domestic and international retreats here: www.lauradavis.net 

And if you want to go on a magical creative vacation to Tuscany with Laura in June of 2022, check out some serious eye candy here!

Social media links:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/thewritersjourney

IG: https://www.instagram.com/laurasaridavis

Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurasaridavis

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/laurasaridavis/

--

Ronit’s essays and fiction have been featured in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in both the 2021 Best Book Awards and the 2021 Book of the Year Award and a 2021 Best True Crime Book by Book Riot. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and will be published in 2022. She is host and producer of the podcasts And Then Everything Changed and The Body Myth.

More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com

More about WHEN SHE COMES BACK, a memoir: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Sign up for monthly podcast and writing updates: https://bit.ly/33nyTKd

Follow Ronit:

https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

https://twitter.com/RonitPlank

https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank

Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography

Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll’s Fingers

Paulette Perhach joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about why it’s okay to see writing as a business, balancing both grace and accountability in our work, the importance of a writing community, overcoming imposter syndrome, nurturing ourselves, and what happened when her essay “The F*ck Off Fund" went super viral.

Also in this episode:

-balancing both pay and appeal in writing jobs

-getting paid well for memoir essays

-financial safety for writers 

Memoirs mentioned in this episode:

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

Crying in the H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Night by Elie Wiesel

“A Story of a F*ck Off Fund” by Paulette Perhach https://www.thebillfold.com/2019/02/classic-billfold-a-story-of-a-fuck-off-fund/

Paulette Perhach’s writing has been published in the New York Times, Elle, Slate, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Yoga Journal, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and Vice. She’s worked for Health and Coastal Living magazines, as well as various newspapers. Hugo House, a nationally recognized writing center in Seattle, awarded her the Made at Hugo House fellowship in 2013. In 2016, she was nominated for the BlogHer Voices of the Year award for her essay, “A Story of a Fuck Off Fund,” which is anthologized in The Future is Feminist from Chronicle Books, along with work by Roxane Gay, Mindy Kaling, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Caitlin Moran, and Audre Lorde.

She became interested in adult education while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in South America, and in 2015 she created the Writer’s Welcome Kit, an online course for writers that includes a 55,000-word workbook. Her book, inspired by the course, was published in August 2018 by Sasquatch Books, part of the Penguin Random House publishing family. Welcome to the Writer's Life was selected as one of Poets & Writers' Best Books for Writers. She blogs about a writer’s craft, business, personal finance, and joy at welcometothewriterslife.com and keeps a casual podcast called Can We Talk About Money?

http://www.pauletteperhach.com

https://welcometothewriterslife.com

Twitter:

Instagram:

Facebook:

LinkedIn:

Ronit’s essays and fiction have been featured in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in both the 2021 Best Book Awards and the 2021 Book of the Year Award and a 2021 Best True Crime Book by Book Riot. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and will be published in 2022. She is host and producer of the podcasts And Then Everything Changed and The Body Myth.

More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com

More about WHEN SHE COMES BACK, a memoir: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Sign up for monthly podcast and writing updates: https://bit.ly/33nyTKd

Follow Ronit:

https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

https://twitter.com/RonitPlank

https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank

Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography

Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll’s Fingers

Kelly Sundberg joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about sharing her story of domestic violence with the world, depicting trauma and triggering events in memoir, the alchemical value of PTSD, navigating the privacy of others, and incorporating essays in manuscripts.

Also in this episode:

-using direct address in memoir

-the publisher’s vision vs. the writer’s

-lyric essays and poetry for memoirists

Books and articles mentioned in this episode:

Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford

The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch

A Fortune for your Disaster by Hanif Abdurraqub 

Bluets by Maggie Nelson

“It Will Look Like a Sunset” ​​https://www.guernicamag.com/it-will-look-like-a-sunset/

“Ritchie County Mall” https://gay.medium.com/ritchie-county-mall-7b30b96731f6

“Every Line is a Scream” https://gay.medium.com/every-line-is-a-scream-3ed54c727619

Kelly Sundberg's memoir, Goodbye, Sweet Girl, was published by HarperCollins in 2018. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times Modern Love, Alaska Quarterly Review, Guernica, Gulf Coast, The Rumpus, Denver Quarterly, Slice, and many other literary and commercial magazines. Her essay “It Will Look Like a Sunset” was selected for inclusion in The Best American Essays 2015, and other essays have been listed as notables in The Best American Essays 2013, 2016, and 2018. She has a PhD in creative nonfiction from Ohio University and has been the recipient of fellowships or grants from Vermont Studio Center, A Room of Her Own Foundation, Dickinson House, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She was recently awarded a 2021 Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council, and she is an Assistant Professor of English at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. 

Links: https://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Sweet-Girl-Domestic-Violence/dp/0062497685/ref=sr_1_1?crid=TOX8R2VUN9S2&keywords=goodbye%2C+sweet+girl&qid=1648689563&sprefix=goodbye%2C+sweet+girl%2Caps%2C95&sr=8-1

https://kellysundberg.com/

https://twitter.com/K_O_Sundberg

https://www.instagram.com/ksundber/

Ronit’s essays and fiction have been featured in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in both the 2021 Best Book Awards and the 2021 Book of the Year Award and a 2021 Best True Crime Book by Book Riot. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and will be published in 2022. She is host and producer of the podcasts And Then Everything Changed and The Body Myth.

More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com

More about WHEN SHE COMES BACK, a memoir: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Sign up for monthly podcast and writing updates: https://bit.ly/33nyTKd

Follow Ronit:

https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

https://twitter.com/RonitPlank

https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank

Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography

Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll’s Fingers

Debi Lewis joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation on best practices for writing about our children, navigating the medical memoir, positioning books to make them appealing to publishers, and how she broke into The New York Times and sold her book during a global pandemic.

Also in this episode:

-rewriting drafts from scratch

-using texts and messages as manuscript material

-discovering a memoir’s structuring principle

Memoirs mentioned in this episode: 

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan

Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After by Heather Harphan

BIO: Debi Lewis is the author of Kitchen Medicine: How I Fed My Daughter out of Failure to Thrive and has written for outlets including The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Huffington Post, Romper, Wired, and more. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and two teenaged daughters. You can learn more about her at http://www.debilewis.com and follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @growthesunshine.

PURCHASE LINKS FOR KITCHEN MEDICINE: 

BOOKSHOP.ORG: https://bookshop.org/books/kitchen-medicine-how-i-fed-my-daughter-out-of-failure-to-thrive/9781538156650

AMAZON.COM: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1538156652/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_583S4P8V9N7BXANH6SGE 

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD: 

https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538156667/Kitchen-Medicine-How-I-Fed-My-Daughter-out-of-Failure-to-Thrive 

Instagram and Twitter @growthesunshine

Ronit’s essays and fiction have been featured in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in both the 2021 Best Book Awards and the 2021 Book of the Year Award and a 2021 Best True Crime Book by Book Riot. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and will be published in 2022. She is host and producer of the podcasts And Then Everything Changed and The Body Myth.

More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com

More about WHEN SHE COMES BACK, a memoir: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Sign up for monthly podcast and writing updates: https://bit.ly/33nyTKd

Follow Ronit:

https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

https://twitter.com/RonitPlank

https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank

Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography

Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll’s Fingers