There are over 4.7 million people in California caring for a relative or close friend, and many of them are COVID 19 patients. The media is filled with the stories of COVID 19 patients and healthcare workers, but what about the people who are dedicating themselves to taking care of a loved one? Scott and I couldn’t find many of those stories, so we asked AJ to come over and share hers with us.

AJ Johnson is an LA native and mom of two beautiful girls. She’s been a wealth manager for over 28 years. AJ is a world traveler, an avid NFL and UFC fan who loves snow skiing and is engaged to Gregg Garfield, who was a guest on The Only One In The Room not once but twice for our COVID Warrior’s series, once to talk about what it was like to be the first patient with COVID 19 at St. Joseph’s hospital and then we got to follow up with Gregg in late 2020. Be sure to check out both of those episodes.

Instagram: @Megirls21 

Website: Gregggarfield.com

Pitches With Bitches:

Laura Cathcart Robbins and Stefanie Wilder Taylor are conducting a virtual pitching workshop on Oct 23rd from 11-1 pm (PT). We will tell you everything we know about getting your work published online to build up your resume. It will also include an up-to-date list of over 80 places to send your stuff! The class is filling up fast to hold your spot email [email protected]

Special thanks to our sponsors:

Mercato:

Mercato is a grocery delivery service that supports local, independent merchants. Sign up for Mercato Green at https://www.mercato.com/ for unlimited free delivery and use the code THEONLYONE to get $20 off your first order! 

Smile Brilliant:

You could have a dentist make your trays for three, four hundred dollars, or you can head over to www.smilebrilliant.com and use their lab-direct mail process for a fraction of that.  Just head over to www.smilebrilliant.com and use the coupon code ROOM for an exclusive The Only One In The Room discount.

Voyage et Cie:

Voyage et Cie's curator Melanie Apple has cultivated a passion for notable moments using the sense of smell. Voyage et Cie is the ultimate luxury blend of travel, fragrance, and design. Each original fragrance is created by Melanie, 100% organic and natural which will transport you on a journey. Visit https://www.voyageetcie.com/ and enter the code: theonlyone to get your 10% off your purchase!

Cute Booty Lounge is made by women and for women. There’s a cute booty style for everyone! Cute Booty Lounge has you covered...Embrace Your Body, Love Your Booty!

Head to Cutebooty.com or click the link here to order yours, but don't forget to enter the code theonlybooty to get 15% off your first order!

 Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays, Scott Talks on Wednesdays and our brand new series On My Nightstand on Fridays by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Join our Only One In The Room Facebook Group if you'd like to ask a question of any of our upcoming guests for this series. 

Also visit the website www.theonlyonepod.com for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like featured articles and more.

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I think I employed every single one of these twenty phenomenal tips from Zibby Owens while looking to get my memoir published, and it is my absolute pleasure to share them all with you!

Zibby Owens is the creator and host of award-winning podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, one of Oprah.com’s favorite book podcasts two years in a row. The CEO and founder of Moms Don’t Have Time To, Zibby has formed a media company that includes multiple podcasts, publications like Moms Don’t Have Time to Write, and other communities designed to help moms. She is the CEO, Reader-in-Chief, and Co-Founder with Leigh Newman of Zibby Books, a publishing home for fiction and memoir. She is the editor of award-winning anthology Moms Don’t Have Time To: A Quarantine Anthology, the upcoming anthology Moms Don’t Have Time to Have Kids, the upcoming children’s book Princess Charming, and an upcoming memoir. She is a regular contributor to Good Morning America online and also writes for the Washington Post, Parents, Slate, and Medium, where she is a top writer. Zibby regularly recommends books on TV and has been featured on CBS This Morning and Good Morning America. Named “NYC’s Most Powerful Book-fluencer” by New York magazine’s Vulture, Zibby currently lives in New York with her husband and four children. She always has a book nearby.

https://zibbyowens.com/ 

Pitches With Bitches:

Laura Cathcart Robbins and Stefanie Wilder Taylor are conducting a virtual pitching workshop on Oct 23rd from 11-1 pm (PT). We will tell you everything we know about getting your work published online to build up your resume. It will also include an up-to-date list of over 80 places to send your stuff! The class is filling up fast to hold your spot email [email protected]

Special thanks to our sponsors:

Mercato:

Mercato is a grocery delivery service that supports local, independent merchants. Sign up for Mercato Green at https://www.mercato.com/ for unlimited free delivery and use the code THEONLYONE to get $20 off your first order! 

Smile Brilliant:

You could have a dentist make your trays for three, four hundred dollars, or you can head over to www.smilebrilliant.com and use their lab-direct mail process for a fraction of that.  Just head over to www.smilebrilliant.com and use the coupon code ROOM for an exclusive The Only One In The Room discount.

Voyage et Cie:

Voyage et Cie's curator Melanie Apple has cultivated a passion for notable moments using the sense of smell. Voyage et Cie is the ultimate luxury blend of travel, fragrance, and design. Each original fragrance is created by Melanie, 100% organic and natural which will transport you on a journey. Visit https://www.voyageetcie.com/ and enter the code: theonlyone to get your 10% off your purchase!

Cute Booty Lounge:

Cute Booty Lounge is made by women and for women. There’s a cute booty style for everyone! Cute Booty Lounge has you covered...Embrace Your Body, Love Your Booty!

Head to Cutebooty.com or click the link here to order yours, but don't forget to enter the code theonlybooty to get 15% off your first order!

Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays, Scott Talks on Wednesdays & Sunday Edition every Sunday by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. 

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Slaughter co-host and producer of The Only One In The Room has a short and casual, yet deep conversation with our guest Emmylou Diaz right after the show.

Pitches With Bitches:

Laura Cathcart Robbins and Stefanie Wilder Taylor are conducting a virtual pitching workshop on Oct 23rd from 11-1 pm (PT). We will tell you everything we know about getting your work published online to build up your resume. It will also include an up-to-date list of over 80 places to send your stuff! The class is filling up fast to hold your spot email [email protected]

Special thanks to our sponsors:

Mercato:

Mercato is a grocery delivery service that supports local, independent merchants. Sign up for Mercato Green at https://www.mercato.com/ for unlimited free delivery and use the code THEONLYONE to get $20 off your first order! 

Smile Brilliant:

You could have a dentist make your trays for three, four hundred dollars, or you can head over to www.smilebrilliant.com and use their lab-direct mail process for a fraction of that.  Just head over to www.smilebrilliant.com and use the coupon code ROOM for an exclusive The Only One In The Room discount.

Voyage et Cie:

Voyage et Cie's curator Melanie Apple has cultivated a passion for notable moments using the sense of smell. Voyage et Cie is the ultimate luxury blend of travel, fragrance, and design. Each original fragrance is created by Melanie, 100% organic and natural which will transport you on a journey. Visit https://www.voyageetcie.com/ and enter the code: theonlyone to get your 10% off your purchase!

Cute Booty Lounge is made by women and for women. There’s a cute booty style for everyone! Cute Booty Lounge has you covered...Embrace Your Body, Love Your Booty!

Head to Cutebooty.com or click the link here to order yours, but don't forget to enter the code theonlybooty to get 15% off your first order!

Don't miss our new Friday series On My Nightstand.

Be sure to join our Facebook Group for the most up-to-date info on guests, episodes and more.

You can also DM us on Instagram @theonlyoneintheroom or email us via the website at www.theonlyonepod.com

Also visit the website for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like live events, appearances, featured articles and more.

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine getting your MFA in acting at Harvard and then moving to Los Angeles only to find that the parts you're auditioning for were either the Chola or the gangbanger?

Screenwriter, Emmylou Diaz, whose credits include Jane The Virgin and Charmed, decided to take a writing class one day after realizing that she wasn’t being taken seriously as an actress.

But what would you do if you got a job that turned into a new career? A career that gave you the opportunity to write on some of America’s most successful shows? Would you just be grateful for the chance to do something that only one-fourth of one percent of the US population gets to do? Or would you take this opportunity to write the parts you’d hoped for back when you were an actress?

More From Emmylou:

Catch her upcoming show Monarch on Fox

Finding Emmylou:

Instagram & Twitter: @emmyloudiaz

Pitches With Bitches:

Laura Cathcart Robbins and Stefanie Wilder Taylor are conducting a virtual pitching workshop on Oct 23rd from 11-1 pm (PT). We will tell you everything we know about getting your work published online to build up your resume. It will also include an up-to-date list of over 80 places to send your stuff! The class is filling up fast to hold your spot email [email protected]

Special thanks to our sponsors:

Mercato:

Mercato is a grocery delivery service that supports local, independent merchants. Sign up for Mercato Green at https://www.mercato.com/ for unlimited free delivery and use the code THEONLYONE to get $20 off your first order! 

Smile Brilliant:

You could have a dentist make your trays for three, four hundred dollars, or you can head over to www.smilebrilliant.com and use their lab-direct mail process for a fraction of that.  Just head over to www.smilebrilliant.com and use the coupon code ROOM for an exclusive The Only One In The Room discount.

Voyage et Cie:

Voyage et Cie's curator Melanie Apple has cultivated a passion for notable moments using the sense of smell. Voyage et Cie is the ultimate luxury blend of travel, fragrance, and design. Each original fragrance is created by Melanie, 100% organic and natural which will transport you on a journey. Visit https://www.voyageetcie.com/ and enter the code: theonlyone to get your 10% off your purchase!

Cute Booty Lounge is made by women and for women. There’s a cute booty style for everyone! Cute Booty Lounge has you covered...Embrace Your Body, Love Your Booty!

Head to Cutebooty.com or click the link here to order yours, but don't forget to enter the code theonlybooty to get 15% off your first order!

Be sure not to miss Scott Talks on Wednesdays, our Sunday release called Sunday Edition & our brand new series On My Nightstand releasing on Fridays by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Join our Only One In The Room Facebook Group if you'd like to ask a question of any of our upcoming guests for this series. 

Also visit the website www.theonlyonepod.com for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like featured articles and more.

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“It was very early and I was still in bed when I heard someone yelling from my backyard. When I pulled the curtain back and saw a bunch of armed men jumping into my backyard, I first thought I was dreaming. But before I could figure out what was going on, they started shooting at my house. I froze by the window and my heart was coming out of my chest but I gathered all my strength and ran into my parent’s room. My dad jumped out of bed, he was going in the direction of the shots but I grabbed him and begged him to stay. We all gathered in a small windowless space. We were hearing gunshots, the sound of broken glass, and some vague noises.” 

-Azita Alavi

Azita Alavi is a Human Potential Coach, who has dedicated herself to helping People Discover their Greatness and Unlimited Potential through Raising Awareness and Mastering their Neuro-Communication.

Azita Alavi, MA, Youth Branch Lead and Faculty Member

responsable de la branche jeunesse et membre du corps enseignant

Certified Transformational Leadership Coach, & Behavioral Consultant/Coach certifié en leadership transformationnel, et consultant en matière de comportement 

Visit: Her Sacred Sanctuary

Visit: https://thejohnmaxwellteam.fr, https://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/azitaalavi, https://center4youthleadership.com/

LinkedIn: Azita Alavi

YouTube: Azita Alavi

Special thanks to our sponsors:

Best Fiends:

Join us and the millions of Americans who are already playing this game. Download Best Fiends for FREE on The Apple APP store or Google Play. That’s friends without the R, Best Fiends.

Voyage et Cie:

Voyage et Cie's curator Melanie Apple has cultivated a passion for notable moments using the sense of smell. Voyage et Cie is the ultimate luxury blend of travel, fragrance, and design. Each original fragrance is created by Melanie, 100% organic and natural which will transport you on a journey. Visit https://www.voyageetcie.com/ and enter the code: theonlyone to get your 10% off your purchase!

Cute Booty Lounge is made by women and for women. There’s a cute booty style for everyone! Cute Booty Lounge has you covered...Embrace Your Body, Love Your Booty!

Head to Cutebooty.com or click the link here to order yours, but don't forget to enter the code theonlybooty to get 15% off your first order!

 Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays, Scott Talks on Wednesdays and our brand new series On My Nightstand on Fridays by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Join our Only One In The Room Facebook Group if you'd like to ask a question of any of our upcoming guests for this series. 

Also visit the website www.theonlyonepod.com for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like featured articles and more.

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I love this book so much by first-time novelist, Gabriel Bump, that I chose to read not one, but two of its chapters to you today.  

Gabriel Bump grew up in South Shore, Chicago. He received his MFA in fiction from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His debut novel, Everywhere You Don't Belong, was a New York Times Notable Book of 2020 and has won the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, the Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award for Fiction, the Heartland Booksellers Award for Fiction, and the Black Caucus of the American Library Association's First Novelist Award. Bump teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Everywhere You Don't Belong

Special thanks to our sponsors:

Best Fiends:

Join us and the millions of Americans who are already playing this game. Download Best Fiends for FREE on The Apple APP store or Google Play. That’s friends without the R, Best Fiends.

Voyage et Cie:

Voyage et Cie's curator Melanie Apple has cultivated a passion for notable moments using the sense of smell. Voyage et Cie is the ultimate luxury blend of travel, fragrance, and design. Each original fragrance is created by Melanie, 100% organic and natural which will transport you on a journey. Visit https://www.voyageetcie.com/ and enter the code: theonlyone to get your 10% off your purchase!

Cute Booty Lounge is made by women and for women. There’s a cute booty style for everyone! Cute Booty Lounge has you covered...Embrace Your Body, Love Your Booty!

Head to Cutebooty.com or click the link here to order yours, but don't forget to enter the code theonlybooty to get 15% off your first order!

Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays, Scott Talks on Wednesdays & Sunday Edition every Sunday by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. 

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this unique episode of Scott Talks, we feature a special reading created and also read by Jeff Kober. A former The Only One In The Room guest and friend of the show. 

A little about Jeff Kober:

As an actor, Jeff has appeared in many TV series, General Hospital and recently recurring on NCIS: Los Angeles, Shameless, The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, and New Girl, and many others. Film work includes Leave No Trace, Sully, Beauty Mark, and Tank Girl. For the past seven years, he has written a Daily Thought about meditation and consciousness that he sends out to subscribers and which he is in the process of organizing into book form. He is also working on another book, The Mythology of Self: Discovering and Changing the Stories We Tell Ourselves. Jeff also makes wet collodion tintypes and ambrotypes in his studio in Studio City.

https://jeff-kober.com/

Special thanks to our sponsors:

Voyage et Cie:

Voyage et Cie's curator Melanie Apple has cultivated a passion for notable moments using the sense of smell. Voyage et Cie is the ultimate luxury blend of travel, fragrance, and design. Each original fragrance is created by Melanie, 100% organic and natural which will transport you on a journey. Visit https://www.voyageetcie.com/ and enter the code: theonlyone to get your 10% off your purchase!

Cute Booty Lounge is made by women and for women. There’s a cute booty style for everyone! Cute Booty Lounge has you covered...Embrace Your Body, Love Your Booty!

Head to Cutebooty.com or click the link here to order yours, but don't forget to enter the code theonlybooty to get 15% off your first order!

Don't miss our new Friday series On My Nightstand.

Be sure to join our Facebook Group for the most up-to-date info on guests, episodes and more.

You can also DM us on Instagram @theonlyoneintheroom or email us via the website at www.theonlyonepod.com

Also visit the website for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like live events, appearances, featured articles and more.

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once there was a girl who discovered that while period products seemed to be widely available to everyone, there were still many girls and women who were forced to use trash to absorb their menstrual flow every month.

Twenty-Three year-old Harvard graduate, Nadya Okamoto founded PERIOD.org at the age of sixteen and in 2020 she co-founded August, a lifestyle brand working to reimagine periods.  

But what would you do if even after all your work and dedication, 4 in 5 US students were missing classes because of lack of access to period products and periods were still the main reason why girls were missing school in developing countries? Would you move on to a cause that made people feel more comfortable? Or would you start posting your period blood on TikTok and demand that the world starts paying attention?

More From Nadya:

Visit: https://period.org

Visit: https://www.nadyaokamoto.com

Read her book Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement

Check out: August on IG & @periodmovement

Finding Nadya:

Instagram: @nadyaokamoto

Twitter: @nadyaokamoto

LinkedIn: Nadya Okamoto

Special thanks to our sponsors:

Best Fiends:

Join us and the millions of Americans who are already playing this game. Download Best Fiends for FREE on The Apple APP store or Google Play. That’s friends without the R, Best Fiends.

Voyage et Cie:

Voyage et Cie's curator Melanie Apple has cultivated a passion for notable moments using the sense of smell. Voyage et Cie is the ultimate luxury blend of travel, fragrance, and design. Each original fragrance is created by Melanie, 100% organic and natural which will transport you on a journey. Visit https://www.voyageetcie.com/ and enter the code: theonlyone to get your 10% off your purchase!

Cute Booty Lounge is made by women and for women. There’s a cute booty style for everyone! Cute Booty Lounge has you covered...Embrace Your Body, Love Your Booty!

Head to Cutebooty.com or click the link here to order yours, but don't forget to enter the code theonlybooty to get 15% off your first order!

Be sure not to miss Scott Talks on Wednesdays, our Sunday release called Sunday Edition & our brand new series On My Nightstand releasing on Fridays by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Join our Only One In The Room Facebook Group if you'd like to ask a question of any of our upcoming guests for this series. 

Also visit the website www.theonlyonepod.com for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like featured articles and more.

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Right now there are thousands of Haitian immigrants encamped at Del Rio, Texas after entering the U.S. through the Rio Grande who are awaiting either deportation from U.S. authorities or a decision to stay put and seek asylum. Here to speak with us today is M.J. Fievre who grew up in Haiti and now lives in the US. M.J. has authored nine books in French that are widely read in Europe and the French Antilles. She works with underserved populations in need of writing as a form of therapy—even if they don’t realize that they need writing or therapy.   

Visit: https://www.badassblackgirl.com & https://mjfievre.com

Instagram: @badassblackgirlbooks

LinkedIn: M.J. Fievre

Books:

Badass Black Girl book

 Empowered Black Girl book

Raising Confident Black Kids book

Resilient Black Girl

 For those who want to help Haiti, here are two options for two different solid organizations: Ayiti Community Trust and Fokal.

Special thanks to our sponsors:

Voyage et Cie:

Voyage et Cie's curator Melanie Apple has cultivated a passion for notable moments using the sense of smell. Voyage et Cie is the ultimate luxury blend of travel, fragrance, and design. Each original fragrance is created by Melanie, 100% organic and natural which will transport you on a journey. Visit https://www.voyageetcie.com/ and enter the code: theonlyone to get your 10% off your purchase!

Cute Booty Lounge is made by women and for women. There’s a cute booty style for everyone! Cute Booty Lounge has you covered...Embrace Your Body, Love Your Booty!

Head to Cutebooty.com or click the link here to order yours, but don't forget to enter the code theonlybooty to get 15% off your first order!

 Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays, Scott Talks on Wednesdays and our brand new series On My Nightstand on Fridays by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Join our Only One In The Room Facebook Group if you'd like to ask a question of any of our upcoming guests for this series. 

Also visit the website www.theonlyonepod.com for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like featured articles and more.

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m excited to share this personal essay with you (my 17th published HuffPost essay). I’ve received so many uplifting comments and direct messages from people who have said, “This is exactly how I feel, thank you.”

Laura Cathcart Robbins is an author, freelance culture writer, and host of the popular podcast, The Only One In The Room, living in Studio City, California. She has been active for many years as a speaker and school trustee and is credited for creating The Buckley School’s nationally recognized committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Her recent articles in Huffpo and The Temper on the subjects of race, recovery, and divorce have garnered her worldwide acclaim. She is a 2018 LA Moth StorySlam winner and currently sits on the advisory board for the San Diego Writer’s Festival and the Outliers HQ podcast Festival. Laura is also a founding member of Moving Forewords, the first national memoirist collective of its kind. Find out more about her on her website, or you can look for her on Facebook, on Instagram, and follow her on Twitter.

A White Woman Told Me She Doesn't 'Think Of' Me As Black. Here's How I Reacted.

Special thanks to our sponsors:

Voyage et Cie:

Voyage et Cie's curator Melanie Apple has cultivated a passion for notable moments using the sense of smell. Voyage et Cie is the ultimate luxury blend of travel, fragrance, and design. Each original fragrance is created by Melanie, 100% organic and natural which will transport you on a journey. Visit https://www.voyageetcie.com/ and enter the code: theonlyone to get your 10% off your purchase!

Cute Booty Lounge is made by women and for women. There’s a cute booty style for everyone! Cute Booty Lounge has you covered...Embrace Your Body, Love Your Booty!

Head to Cutebooty.com or click the link here to order yours, but don't forget to enter the code theonlybooty to get 15% off your first order!

Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays, Scott Talks on Wednesdays & Sunday Edition every Sunday by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. 

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices