Author Julie Fingersh came on the pod and shared with Rachel a picture of a dragonfly which is a sign of her younger brother Danny and part of a much larger, intimate, moving and powerful story. It all gets to the story behind Julie's debut memoir, STAY. Julie and Rachel covered a lot in this episode: family and family secrets, trauma, empty nesting, career choices, writing, letting go and staying.

Julie Fingersh is a writer, freelance journalist and author. Her personal essays, editorials, and reporting cover culture, wellness, parenting adult children, cooking, and how to lead a more sane and meaningful life. Julie's work has appeared in The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Huffington Post  and more. Her blog is a midlife sequel of an award-winning humorist column she wrote in New York City in her twenties for Billboard Publications.

Check out Julie's website for her essays and other work

Follow Julie on Instagram

Order Julie's debut memoir, STAY

Watch Julie's Talk The Cost of Family Secrets

Connect with Life's Accessories and Rachel

• Follow Life's Accessories on Instagram
• Join the Life's Accessories Facebook Group
• Sign up for the Life's Accessories newsletter on Substack

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily McDowell, the founder of Emily McDowell Studios brought along a treasured scarf which she purchased in 2013 just as her business was launching and her greeting cards were going incredibly viral. She told Rachel about her journey from starting an Etsy Shop to CEO of Em and Friends to advisor, thought partner and coach to entrepreneurs. Emily explains on air how she learned so much more about herself from the the things she quitted vs. the things she started, why she defines herself as a recovering CEO and also how she got her money's worth out of a scarf that she wasn't sure she should purchase over a decade ago.

Check out Emily's Newsletter Subject to Change

Learn More About Emily at EmilyOnLife

Follow Emily McDowell on Instagram

Connect with Life's Accessories and Rachel

• Follow Life's Accessories on Instagram
• Join the Life's Accessories Facebook Group
• Sign up for the Life's Accessories newsletter on Substack

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jessica Saunders, lawyer, author and lifelong super reader (she was the kid with the flashlight reading way too late at night as a kid) joined Rachel on the pod and brought along her Kindle. The Kindle has allowed Jessica to read countless books over the years as she wondered if she could write a book. She in fact did just that! LOVE, ME is Jessica's first novel. It was released earlier this year and is a super fun and engaging read. Rachel stayed up late to finish it in two nights. No need for flashlights under the covers now with the Kindle. Listen in and find out how Jess came up with the idea for the book, how she gets it all done and what she is reading and loving now.

Follow Jessica Saunders on Instagram

Purchase Jessica's book Love, Me

Connect with Life's Accessories and Rachel

• Follow Life's Accessories on Instagram
• Join the Life's Accessories Facebook Group
• Sign up for the Life's Accessories newsletter on Substack

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Myra Sack, a writer, coach and activist came on Life's Accessories along with her very own ice cream bowl and special spoon because, as she explains to Rachel on air, "eating ice cream is a spiritual practice." It so is!! Myra is the author of 57 FRIDAYS: Losing our Daughter, Finding Our Way, an inspiring, heartbreaking and also hopeful memoir. She knows a thing or two about spiritual practices, rituals and keeping memory very much alive.

Myra has a BA from Dartmouth College, an MBA in Social Impact from Boston University and is trained as a Certified Compassionate Bereavement Care provider. She serves on the Board of the Courageous Parents Network and is the Founder of E-Motion, Inc., a non-profit organization with a mission to ensure community is a right for all grieving people.

Purchase Myra's Book 57 Fridays

Follow Myra Sack on Instagram

Learn more about e-motion and JScreen

Connect with Life's Accessories and Rachel

• Follow Life's Accessories on Instagram
• Join the Life's Accessories Facebook Group
• Sign up for the Life's Accessories newsletter on Substack

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lee Ann Jones, the designer behind the Lee Jones Collection, joined Rachel and brought along her fairy dust bracelet, a piece from her very first collection, which symbolizes the women who work tirelessly behind the scenes, orchestrating the magic in their families, workplaces and communities determined to make the world a little better and brighter. And that is exactly what Lee Ann is doing each and every day. She left her 20 year career as a lawyer after taking a metal smithing class as a hobby. When friends were asking Lee Ann to buy the jewelry off of her neck, she thought she might just have a business. Lee Ann and Rachel talk all things jewelry and styling plus how to inject some of that fairy dust into our lives.

Check out the Lee Jones Collection

Follow Lee Jones Collection on Instagram

Connect with Life's Accessories and Rachel

• Follow Life's Accessories on Instagram
• Join the Life's Accessories Facebook Group
• Sign up for the Life's Accessories newsletter on Substack

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christie Tate shares her childhood baby doll, Blue Baby with Rachel on this episode of Life's Accessories. Blue Baby is well loved and that is evident in her tattered appearance. Christie and Rachel discuss why we love things and people so hard even after we believe them to be ruined. Christie tells the stories that inspired her to write GROUP and B.F.F. revealing how and why she can be so open and vulnerable in her writing.

Christie Tate is a Chicago-based writer and essayist. Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Pithead Chapel, McSweeney’s, Motherwell, Entropy Magazine, A Perfect Wedding, Together.com, Brain, Child and others. Her debut memoir, Group, published in October 2020 was a Reese’s Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller.

Follow Christie on Instagram

Check out Christie's Writing

Order GROUP, a Reese's book club pick and instant NYT bestseller

Order BFF

Connect with Life's Accessories and Rachel

• Follow Life's Accessories on Instagram
• Join the Life's Accessories Facebook Group
• Sign up for the Life's Accessories newsletter on Substack

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jennifer Cramer Miller has been living with an incurable kidney autoimmune disease for over 30 years. She's also been living with incurable optimism. Perhaps this is why when her wedding ring was stolen from her on the first night of her honeymoon, she did not let it get to her. Jennifer shares with Rachel the second wedding ring (a replica of the first one) on this episode of Life's Accessories as well as her journey (because it is A JOURNEY!) through four kidney transplants, living a life she could have never imagined or planned for and so many lessons learned along the way. Jennifer is an author and speaker focusing on hope. Her book, Incurable Optimist received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly. Jennifer serves as a board chair for the Minnesota National Kidney Foundation and as a Donate Life Ambassador.

Follow Jennifer on Instagram and Facebook

Order Jennifer's book, Incurable Optimist

Learn more about Jennifer

Connect with Life's Accessories and Rachel

• Follow Life's Accessories on Instagram
• Join the Life's Accessories Facebook Group
• Sign up for the Life's Accessories newsletter on Substack

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamie Banks has designed for iconic brands including Kate Spade, Shoshanna and Milly. She founded Change of Scenery, a women’s luxury, sustainable Resortwear brand which has been featured in WWD, Vogue, Oprah, InStyle, and more. Jamie brought on the pod a needlepoint piece that her mom gave her back when she was a teenager and was first learning how to sew. She keeps this very special accessory with her when designing new collections and lines and Jamie recognizes her mom as her biggest supporter and fan. Jamie and Rachel covered a lot in this episode — the preppy/Gossip Girl era of Kate Spade, how 80s movies taught them a lot, why they are big fans of bikini tops and bottoms sold separately, the old mom bathing suits with the skirts and more.

Follow Change of Scenery on Instagram

Shop Change of Scenery online. Use code Accessory15 at checkout for 15% off site wide available through the end of August 2024.

Connect with Life's Accessories and Rachel

• Follow Life's Accessories on Instagram
• Join the Life's Accessories Facebook Group
• Sign up for the Life's Accessories newsletter on Substack

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Linda Levy wore her mother's charm necklace on this episode of Life's Accessories. It's a necklace that may have never come to be. Tune in to hear the crazy (in a good way!) story about how Linda found said necklace. Linda is the co-author of two health cookbooks that have a sense of humor, and she is the author of A Kingdom of Madness, a dark-but-hopeful, not-funny novel. Most recently, Linda has been writing Getting On, her weekly column on Substack for people who find themselves older than they used to be. Linda offers wonderful insights, advice and more.

Subscribe to Linda Levy's Substack, Getting On

Check out Linda's Novel, A Kingdom of Madness

And her cookbooks, Low-Fat Living for Real People and The Best Diet on Earth

Connect with Life's Accessories and Rachel

• Follow Life's Accessories on Instagram
• Join the Life's Accessories Facebook Group
• Sign up for the Life's Accessories newsletter on Substack

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this crossover episode of Life's Accessories and Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship, Rachel is joined by Nina Badzin, podcast host, writer, writer instructor, friendship and seasoned blazer enthusiast. Nina wore a blazer for this recording, and she has a lot to say about blazers, jackets and of course friendship. Rachel shares a story of a friendship meet cute with a life long BFF that has to do with...a jacket. It always comes back to the outfit! Rachel and Nina go deep on friendship meet cutes plus Nina offers tips on how to start a new friendship, take it to the next level and how and why friendships may change over time. Tune in for all of this and more.

Follow Dear Nina Friendship on Instagram

Join Dear Nina: The Group on Facebook

Check out the podcast, Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship

Subscribe to Nina's Substack

Connect with Life's Accessories and Rachel

• Follow Life's Accessories on Instagram
• Join the Life's Accessories Facebook Group
• Sign up for the Life's Accessories newsletter on Substack

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.