Bonnie Garmus was a competitive masters rower for years before an offhand comment during a business meeting prompted her to begin writing her debut novel, "Lessons in Chemistry," which has been adapted into an Apple TV+ series.

Everyone wants to talk with Bonnie about the book’s main character, Elizabeth Zott, but we turned the table to ask Bonnie about the role rowing plays in her life – and her book – which has been on The New York Times bestseller list for nearly 100 weeks.

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QUICK LOOK

00:00 - Episode lead-in and intro

03:04 - The Huddle: Get to know Bonnie Garmus

03:35 - Rowing Week: erging

05:15 - Meeting the Queen 

07:26 - Hot Seat Q&A

08:38 - Cold open water swimming as a kid with her Dad

11:42 - Learning to row at Green Lake Rowing Club in Seattle

15:08 - Feeling a boat pick up and go for the first time

17:34 - Tara explains “the rower life cycle”

19:33 - How rowing effected Bonnie’s life

22:50 - Rowing as a character in "Lessons in Chemistry"

22:46 - Rowing as a hardship for Elizabeth to handle 

29:14 - Was any of the book’s rowing based on Bonnie’s personal experience?

30:11 - What Bonnie really thinks about the Apple TV+ adaptation of "Lessons in Chemistry"

32:34 - Learning to never quit

33:19 - About that other book adapted for screen: "Boys in the Boat"

39:01 - SSN events and initiatives

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To see photos of Bonnie, and get links to the people, clubs, and events mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes on our website.

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This episode was made possible in part by Live2Row Studios, Breakwater Realty, RowSource, and our Patrons.

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This episode was written, produced, hosted, and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.