If you liked The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, you're going to love Gail Brenner Nastasia's memoir, The Fruit You'll Never See.

Now a criminal defense attorney in Massachusetts, Nastasia grew up in the fishing town of Gloucester, Mass. where she was introduced at a very young age to the underbelly of adult addictions and perversions.

Growing up in a family riddled by mental illness and drug addiction, Gail experienced her childhood trauma as "normal" -- as it was all she knew. In exquisitely honest detail, Gail shares her history of abuse without anger or blame. In fact, she refuses to see the people who subjected her to abuse as bad. They are, she believes, also the victims of their circumstances.

Please take a listen to this episode, sisters. For one thing, it's a master class in forgiveness, hope, healing, and moving on.

For another, it is, sadly, the very last episode of Sisters Cracking Up.

We have spent the last 5 years joyfully interviewing the most incredible of guests who have taught us so much. And we will miss you, our wonderful sisters, who listened in and helped make Sisters Cracking Up the success it is.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. A million times over. 

Signing off with love,  Abby and Julie

Sisters, if you've ever wondered if you might be a perfectionist, chances are you may be. And, according to author Katherine Morgan Schafler, that's more than okay.

Schafler, author of The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control: A Path ot Peace and Power, encourages us to look at perfectionism in a more positive light and to discard the pathologizing of it. You can be a perfectionist and, yes, you can be happy!

Schafler explains there isn't just one way to be a perfectionist and identifies 5 different types: Intense, Classic, Parisian, Procrastinator, and Messy. (Both Abby and Julie admit to being the Messy Type!)

In Schafler's own words, "Perfectionism invites a deep, unending exploration of who you are and what you most desire from this life." We couldn't agree more.

As the youngest daughter of crime boss Vincent "Chin" Gigante, Rita Gigante has a unique perspective on mob life. Her dad was the notorious leader of the Genovese crime clan and head of all five New York mob families for decades. Chin Gigante is often remembered for strolling the streets of New York City in his bathrobe, feigning mental illness in an attempt to distract the FBI from his underworld activities.

In our interview, Rita (the author of The Godfather's Daughter: An Unlikely Story of Love, Healing, and Redemption), talks openly, painfully, and lovingly about growing up in a family steeped in secrets and lies.

Whether you're interested in mafia life, organized crime, Vincent Gigante and his legacy, or simply in what it means to have grown up in a family like hers, our interview wtih Rita Gigante will not disappoint.

This is, most importantly, Rita's story: how she went from a family of origin that lived in darkness to a healer who lives in the light of acceptance, redemption and forgiveness. 

Hey, Sisters. Ever wondered what it might be like to parent an Olympic gold medal champion? 

On this episode, we interview Olympic mom Allison Douglass. Allison's daughter, swimmer Kate Douglass, won two gold, two silver, and one bronze medal in last summer's Paris Olympics.

Allison talks frankly about their family's journey, culminating in Kate's impressive showing at the 2024 Summer Olympics. 

If you're anything like us, you may believe that parents of elite athletes push their children mercilessly and sacrifice all to get them to the pinnacle of their sports careers. Allison and her husband chose a different path; allowing Kate to make the decisions and commitments necessary to reach such athletic heights -- while balancing their commitments to family stability and their other children.

If you think you might be parenting a future elite athlete, or you're simply interested in how one family parented theirs, you won't want to miss this episode.

Dr. Kerry McAvoy was a busy mom, wife, and psychologist when her world was devasted by the death of her first husand.

When she was finally able to come up for air, she met a new man who was everything she wanted in a partner. 

Just months after the wedding, she woke up to a text from a woman she didn't know: “I guess the joke is not just on me but on you, too. I’ve been dating your husband.” 

Her world was shattered. Still in love with her new husband, she chose not to leave. Instead, she spent the next two years fruitlessly and desperately trying to fix what was broken.

Despite being a psychologist, Kerry had never heard the term "narcissistic abuse." She didn't realize she'd been love-bombed, and was now being manipulated and gaslighted.

Married to a man whose personality vacillated between good guy and monster, Kerry was left strung out and confused. She became so desperate that she briefly considered ending her life. 

When her son became ill, Kerry saw her chance to leave her marriage and escape the hellscape she'd been living in. 

Kerry's goal now is to help others gain clarity and heal after narcissistic abuse. She wrote a book, Love You More, and took to TikTok where she created a 29-part video series on her experience of marriage to a malignant narcissist. This series, as well as her other videos about toxic relationships, have garnered over 18 million likes.

Sisters, let's talk booze. Most of us have some relationship with it whether it's front and center in our lives, on the periphery, or even in the rearview. But there's no escaping alcohol's prevalence in our society. Happy? Celebrating? Grab a glass or two or five. Sad? Grieving? Lonely? Do exactly the same.

Shockingly, alcohol use disorder in women has increased 87% in the last 30 years. Yup, you read that right. And however you do the math, that's a concerning number. If nothing else, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that in some countries, alcohol is the number one risk factor for breast cancer.

Enter Sarah Rusbatch, author of Beyond Booze: How to Create a Life You Love, Alcohol-Free. Sarah, a multi-award winning health and well-being coach, focuses on women who struggle with "gray-area drinking" -- defined as those that are not yet dependent on or addicted to alcohol in a clinical sense, but whose drinking could become problematic if they don't do something about it.

After developing what she describes as 'a dysfunctional relationship with alcohol', Sarah made the decision to remove alcohol from her life in early 2019 and has never looked back. She now works with thousands of women across the globe, guiding them into from feeling lost, stuck and out of control (something she fully understands herself), to a healthier and happier way of living.

She’s the host of the online community, The Women's Wellbeing Collective, which offers a safe space where women feel seen and understood. She equips women with the tools they need to break the cycle of unhealthy habits and coping mechanisms. Her experience, knowledge, and passion has transformed lives. 

Sisters, if you have any interest in Tarot, you've gotta take a listen to this episode. If you have any interest in Tarot explained by a witch, go no further. Why? Because we have Rebecca Auman on the show today and she's the GOAT. 

In Rebecca's own words: 

"For as long as I can remember, I’ve been able to read energy and vibration. Sometimes it was just a sparkle surrounding something to which I should pay extra attention. Other times I could see words come out of peoples’ foreheads. I felt these were messages from the universe. Messages with meaning."

Rebecca uses Tarot to answer the pressing questions we all ask ourselves: Am I making the right decisions? Am I going in the wrong direction? Am I swimming against the tide? Tarot helps you explore the messages you need to receive and helps you dig deeper. Tarot with Rebecca Auman is a special event because, as a witch, she brings her "extra" gifts to every reading.

Rebecca's podcast, Voices in the River, helps women reclaim their power and become leaders of their own destiny. Need we say more?

Abby and Julie open the episode discussing their witch-y mom and Abby's personal reading with Rebecca.

Hey, Sisters. Seems wherever we turn these days, we're being told to cut ties with the people in our lives who no longer serve us in a healthy way. In some families, this means that adult children are choosing to cut off communcation with their parents.

Sheri McGregor, author of Done With The Crying: Help and Healing for Mothers of Estranged Adult Children, is not only an expert on this topic, she is also one of millions of parents whose adult child made this painful and heartbreaking choice: When one of Sheri's sons was in his twenties, he made the decision to exclude her and the rest of their family from his life.

As part of her own healing journey, Sheri made the decision to help other parents through this. Already a writer, she used her literary skills to interview thousands of parents affected by estrangement and to craft a book which would help other parents heal, accept, and ultimately create meaningful lives in the aftermath.

With thousands of 5-star reviews on Amazon, this book -- and Sheri's wisdom -- is invaluable in helping parents understand -- and live with -- this shattering decision.

Abby and Julie open the episode discussing the the difficult task of cleaning out a parent's home and Abby's desire to start a TikTok channel which Julie will obviously manage.

Hey, Sisters. Dangerous personalities like narcissists and sociopaths are all around us. Some estimates show that up to 5% of the population exhibits traits of these deviant disorders. That's 5 out of every 100 people, people! Luckily, we have FBI profiler Joe Navarro on the pod to shed more light on who these people are and how to identify them.

Personally approached at the tender age of 23 to join the FBI, Joe Navarro became one of the youngest agents ever to join the renowned investigative agency. He went on to spend the next 25 years at the FBI, working both as an agent and supervisor in the areas of counterintelligence and counterterrorism. Through his work he was able to study, refine and apply the science of nonverbal communications. His acumen in this field and his success as a spy-catcher, led Joe to train FBI agents and the intelligence community.

Retiring from the FBI in 2003, and meeting overwhelming demand for his notable insights into human behavior, Joe has dedicated himself to speaking and consulting with major corporations worldwide.

Today Joe is recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on the application and use of nonverbal communications in business.

Through his experience working with CEOs and senior leaders of major global organizations, he is highly sought out for his expertise on leadership, influence, and the behavioral qualities that drive more effective leaders and in turn happier, more productive workforces.

Joe has been writing articles and books for the past 30 years. Today, he has 14 published books available in 29 languages. He has also written regular monthly columns for a variety of publications.

Abby and Julie open the episode discussing Abby's experiences with saving a stranger's puppy and finding and returning another stranger's cell phone -- and the surprising ways in which these people reacted to her efforts. 

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It's summah, Sisters! Time for some straight talk...and a good laugh or 20. Luckily, we've got veteran comic Jackie Kashian on the show to help with both.

Jackie Kashian is a stand-up comedian who has been seen on After Midnight, Conan, Corden, HBO, Netflix, and Comedy Central. She’s been heard on NPR and Audible. Touring 45 weeks a year, the tour is just called her career. Her 5 comedy albums and specials have been number one on Amazon and Apple and #3 on Billboard. In addition to two podcasts, “The Jackie and Laurie Show” and “The Dork Forest,” you can also read her writing in “The Comedy Film Nerds Guide to Movies” and the comic book “Comics Comics Quarterly”. Currently, she has a new TINY comedy special "LOOKING BACK" shot from the camera of a Mazda 6 in reverse.

Abby and Julie open the episode celebrating/lamenting the self-care machinations, time, travel, and clothing purchases it takes to prepare for wedding season redux -- the time of life when your kids, nieces and nephews, and friends' kids start to get married.