Sisters Cracking Up

Dry January is here! Are you partaking...or maybe finding the challenge a little too, well, challenging? Lucky for all of us, Clare Pooley, author of The Sober Diaries, has joined us just in time for this episode of Sisters Cracking Up.

Clare Pooley discovered that her personal journey to sobriety really didn't differ all that much from the hundreds of thousands of people who logged on to read her blog, Mummy was a Secret Drinker, which has had nearly three million hits. The difference for Clare was that she became a beacon of light, love, and support for so many slogging the same, difficult path.

Her memoir, The Sober Diaries, was published in 2017 to critical acclaim. With a delicate mix of humor, encouragement, self-revelation, and hard truths, her book about becoming sober stands out as one that highlights that life after sobriety is one not be afraid of but, rather, to get really excited about.

Now eight years sober and healthy, Clare also discusses her breast cancer diagnosis in the midst of her newfound sobriety and how being sober helped her immensely with facing her health challenges.

Abby and Julie discuss their addictions to kick off the episode.

Hey, Sisters. Most of us know there's no time like the holidays to highlight all the good (and not-so-good) parts of being in a family.

Although Hallmark (and its minions) would like us to believe that all of our close family relationships are intact, this is indeed not the case.

Author Fern Schumer Chapman (Brothers, Sisters, Strangers: Sibling Estrangement and the Road to Reconciliation) is on Sisters Cracking Up talking about her amazing book and her own road to reconciliation and healing with her brother.

Family rifts are beyond painful for everyone involved and more common than you think. You are not alone if you have a sibling relationship that causes you strife, stress, and anxiety.

The good news is this book can help. The better news is you can listen to this episode right now to jumpstart managing and healing from your own estranged relationships.

Critically acclaimed Chicago-based writer Fern Schumer Chapman has written several award-winning books. She writes a blog on psychologytoday.com called "Brothers, Sisters, Strangers," and she co-hosts a podcast by the same name. Some of her blog posts are compiled in her most recent work, The Sibling Estrangement Journal: A Guided Exploration of Your Experience through Writing.

Abby and Julie also discuss their journey through and after their mom's passing (yes, they're still processing it). Also, Abby suggests a new name for their podcast which Julie wholly and immediately rejects.

Trae Bodge is your best friend this holiday season. If anyone knows shopping, it's Trae. If anyone can actually be a shopping "guru," it's also Trae. (It's no wonder she's made over a thousand TV appearances to talk about the tricks of the trade.)

The holidays are fraught with so many decisions and gift-giving is one of the big ones. It's a fact that most of us need to be mindful of what we're spending and on whom. But who knew there was an almost-science to making the whole process just a bit more palatable?

Join us as we practically interrogate Trae about where to shop, how to shop, and when to shop to get the best and smartest deals for the holidays.

Black Friday? Cyber Monday? Small Business Saturday? No wonder our heads spin at this time of year -- and too many of us go into credit card debt as we turn the calendar page. Don't do it, Sisters! Listen in to Trae's invaluable words of wisdom in order to save yourself some money and your sanity.

Abby and Julie also discuss their upcoming holiday plans and ponder the important questions to ask around the Thanksgiving table.

The title of Dr. Ellen Albertson's book, Rock Your Midlife, tells you just what you need to know about what's inside. But it doesn't stop there. The subtitle is, 7 Steps to Transform Yourself and Make your Next Chapter Your Best Chapter.

Of course, we were intrigued since we're all about midlife at Sisters Cracking Up -- and all about making it the best it can be.

Dr. Ellen Albertson is a force of energy, light, and healing. She has grabbed midlife by the chin hairs -- and she shows you how to do the same. We loved this book for its honesty and straightforward advice and we knew we had to have her on the show. With chapters like, Befriend Yourself: From Self-Loathing to Self-Love and Empower Yourself: From Helpless to In Charge, there's something here for everyone who's wondering how to live the years we have left with integrity and passion.

If your next steps are unclear, or you can see them but can't figure out how to take them, you won't want to miss this episode.

Abby and Julie also discuss (okay, sing) a possible theme song for Julie's TV show if the opportunity might ever arise. They also talk (okay, whine) about the amount of time and work it takes to keep a podcast going, and how Abby's early motherhood years were largely spent in her efforts not to have a complete breakdown.

Are you Shaman-curious? Does the idea that there's more to the Universe than what you can see, feel, and touch intrigue you?

In the spirit of opening our minds (and yours!), we invited Shaman Brad Little Frog to be our guest on Sisters Cracking Up.

Join us as we delve into how a shaman can help heal your mind, spirit, body -- and even help you sell your house -- as Abby found out when she worked with Brad Little Frog to sell hers. The house was sold -- and so was she!

Little Frog talks about life after death and what it really means, what we're put on this Earth to do, and how we can connect with the two angels who are assigned to each of us in our lifetimes.

Intrigued? We thought so.

Brad Little Frog is a well known shaman, healer, teacher, and life coach based in the greater Boston area. Little Frog works with clients all over the world to heal them and remove malevolent attachments. He is also the published author of three books about depossession, vision quests, and the true nature of our Universe -- all available on Amazon. His specialties are depossession and house clearing. He can be reached at [email protected] or on his website www.littlefroghealing.com.

Abby and Julie discuss decluttering in the wake of their mom's passing, buying sequined leggings, and how their days of wearing fancy clothes seem to have disappeared into thin air.

Anxiety, anyone? Yep, we thought so.

That's why we invited The Anxiety Sisters (Abbe Greenberg and Maggie Sarachek) to come on Sisters Cracking Up and teach us a thing or two about living with and managing anxiety.

Their book, The Anxiety Sisters' Survival Guide: How You Can Become More Hopeful, Connected, and Happy, is a veritable handbook to better understanding and managing panic, worry, grief, stress, or phobias.

Or, if you just want to pause the endless spin cycle in your head, you'll find real-world, research-based techniques, exercises, and insights—without the clinical, confusing, one-size-fits-all approach that isn't so helpful when your mind is racing and your triggers are in overdrive.

We can't say enough about the value of their book and of THEM (they're amazing!) in the all-too-common struggle so many of us have with anxiety. This is life-changing, Sisters.

If you struggle with any of these issues -- or you care about someone who does -- don't miss this episode.

Abby and Julie also discuss their own struggles with anxiety. As sisters do.

Does the thought of getting older make you anxious? Are you in your 30s, 40s or 50s and wonder if you've already hit your peak? Do not despair, Sisters. There is good news. Very good news.

In his book, The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50, Jonathan Rauch does the extraordinary. He's gathered all the cutting-edge research about aging and happiness and his conclusion is this: Life gets better and we get happier as we age. The midlife slump is just that; a temporary slump that seems to disappear as we get older...and happier.

Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington and is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, published in 2021 by the Brookings Press, is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, a spirited and deep-diving account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order. In 2018, he published The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50, a lauded account of the surprising relationship between aging and happiness. And, of course, we couldn't wait to have him on to share his findings.

Abby and Julie also discuss the Adam Levine scandal. As sisters do.

Welcome back, Sisters! We're so happy to be back for Season 3 of Sisters Cracking Up!

We have some incredible guests lined up for you this season and we're kicking it off with Dr. Laurie Mintz, author of the bestseller, "Becoming Cliterate: Why Orgasm Equality Matters and How to Get It."

Dr. Mintz is a feminist author, therapist, and tenured professor (University of Florida) whose life's work has been committed to helping people live more authentic, meaningful, and sexually satisfying lives.

Tune in as we dig into everything orgasm:

--Who's most likely to have them and with whom?

--What women can do to increase their chances of achieving the Big O

--The lies society has taught both women and men about orgasmic sex

...and so much more!

Whether you're happily single, partnered, or simply "hooking up," this episode has got you covered no matter what your status or age.

Join Sisters Cracking Up, as we interview Gabrielle Glaser on her groundbreaking, bestselling book, "Her Best-Kept Secret: Why Women Drink -- and How They Can Regain Control." If you've ever struggled with alcohol addiction (or if someone you love has) OR if you've ever simply questioned your own relationship with alcohol (pandemic drinking, anyone?), this episode is a must listen.

From how women process alcohol, to how they feel about themselves when they drink, to what makes women drink...it's all here in this episode. (HINT: They're all very different from men's experience with booze.)

And if you're a woman considering AA, Glaser's findings and research on women and AA may surprise (shock!) you.

Join sisters Abby Rodman and Julie Howard for an in-depth interview with Gabrielle Glaser on her acclaimed book.

Gabrielle Glaser is the author, most recently, of "American Baby: A Mother, A Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption," which tells the shocking truth about postwar adoption in America through the bittersweet story of one teenager, the son she was forced to relinquish, and their lifelong search to find each other. The New York Times, the Washington Post, and NPR named it a best book of 2021.

Gabrielle's 2013 book examining women's drinking and the American rehab industry, "Her Best-Kept Secret: Why Women Drink -- and How They Can Regain Control" was a New York Times bestseller. She has covered the intersection of health, medicine, and culture for The New York Times and many other publications, including The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and Scientific American, and is the mother of three grown daughters.

Have you ever been made to doubt what you know to be true by a partner, a friend, a sibling, or a parent? If so, there's a good chance you've been gaslighted. Thanks to Dr. Robin Stern, "gaslighting" -- the term she coined to describe the experience of being manipulated into doubting one's own truth or sanity -- has been brought to the collective forefront of what we now understand is a form of psychological abuse.

Her book, The Gaslight Effect: How to Spot and Survive the Hidden Manipulation Others Use to Control Your Life is the gold standard in the psychology field for those who've been the victims of this insidious and soul-destructing form of control -- and for mental health providers who need to know how it may be effecting the lives of their clients.

Why do some people gaslight others? Why are others more susceptible to being gaslit? And, if you are being gaslighted, what can you do about it?

Join Sisters Cracking Up hosts Abby Rodman and Julie Howard as they interview Dr. Robin Stern about gaslighting and her bestselling book.

You don't want to miss this one, Sisters!

Robin Stern, Ph.D., is the co-founder and associate director for the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and an associate research scientist at the Child Study Center at Yale. She is a licensed psychoanalyst with 30 years of experience treating individuals, couples and families. Robin is the co-developer of RULER (an acronym for the five key emotion skills of recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing, and regulating emotions) an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning that has been adopted by over 1,500 public, charter, and private pre-school to high schools across the United States and in other countries. Robin regularly consults with schools nationally and across the globe. She also consults with large companies, including Facebook and Google on best practices for integrating the principles of emotional intelligence into training and product design. With Facebook, she has co-developed a number of products, including a social resolution tools to help adults and youth resolve online conflict and the bullying prevention hub to support educators, families, and teens.

Robin is the co-founder of Star Factor Coaching, a model of leadership coaching anchored in the skills of emotional intelligence and was a founding member of the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, where she spent 15 years creating and facilitating professional development programs for aspiring women leaders. In 2014-15 Robin was a fellow in the Yale Public Voices Fellowship, and her work is frequently published in popular media outlets, such as Psychology Today, The Huffington Post, Time.com, The Washington Post, The Hill, Harvard Business Review. She has been a guest on many local and national radio shows and has traveled widely to lecture on emotional intelligence, women in leadership and on relational bullying.