Solace and the City

This week I am SO happy to be sharing my conversation with Nash Jenkins! Nash is a fellow alum of Johns Hopkins and as in the Writing Seminars program. Although we only overlapped briefly, I was so excited to hear the news that he had published his debut novel Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos.

"When Foster Dade arrives at Kennedy, an elite boarding school in New Jersey, the year is 2008. Barack Obama begins his first term as president. Kanye West’s “Graduation” bumps from the newly debuted iPhone; teenagers share confidences and rumors over BlackBerry Messenger and iChat. The internet as we know it today is slowly emerging from its cocoon. So, too, is Foster emerging—a transfer student and lonely young man, Foster is stumbling through adolescence in the wake of his parents’ scandalous divorce and his own budding anxiety disorders. But Foster soon finds himself in the company of Annabeth Whittaker and Jack Albright, the twin centers of Kennedy’s social gravity, who take him under their wing to navigate the cliques and politics of the carelessly entitled.

Eighteen months later, Foster will be expelled, following a tragic scandal that leaves Kennedy and its students irreparably changed. But when a nameless student inherits Foster’s old dorm room, he begins an epic years long investigation into what exactly happened. Through Foster’s blog posts, playlists, text archives, and interviews with former classmates, and the narrator’s own obsessive imagination, a story unfurls—Foster’s, yes, but also one that asks us who owns our personal narratives, and how we shape ourselves to be the heroes or villains of our own stories.

Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos is about privilege and power, the pitfalls of masculinity and its expectations, and, most distinctly, how we create the mythologies that give meaning to our lives. With his debut novel, Nash Jenkins brilliantly captures the emotional intensities of adolescence in the dizzying early years of the twenty-first century."

Like myself, Nash as a new sophomore at a prestigious boarding school in New Jersey, and his time at Lawrenceville made an incredible impact on his life and his writing. In this podcast interview, Nash and I talk about the unique and complex nature of the boarding school experience, as well as the perfect and painful process of being a teenager with little sense of direction. I can honestly say that Foster Dade is one of the most beautiful and powerful books I have read in a very long time (and I have been reading a lot). To learn more about Nash and to buy his new book, you can visit: http://www.nashjenkins.com/ and follow him on Instagram @pnashjenkins.

This week I am so excited to share my conversation with Leo Massey! Leo is also pursuing his Master's in Social Work at Columbia University, and we bonded over our shared fascination of psychoanalyzing our families. In this episode, Leo and I talk about the role that culture plays when it comes to mental health and the stigma surrounding it. Furthermore, because Leo previously worked in the entertainment industry, we discuss the power that the media has in representation of all forms. You can follow Leo and his journey towards become a licensed therapyt on Instagram @msw_leo.

This week I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to sit down with Brooke Siem, award-winning chef, writer, and author of the memoir May Cause Side Effects.

Brooke Siem was among the first generation of minors to be prescribed antidepressants. Initially diagnosed and treated in the wake of her father’s sudden death, this psychiatric intervention sent a message that something was pathologically wrong with her and that the only “fix” was medication. As a teenager, she stepped into the hazy world of antidepressants just at the time when she was forming the foundation of her identity. For the following fifteen years, every situation she faced was seen through the lens of brokenness.  A decade and a half later, still on the same cocktail of drugs, Brooke found herself hanging halfway out her Manhattan high-rise window, calculating the time it would take to hit the ground. As she looked for breaks in the pedestrian traffic patterns, a thought dawned on her: “I’ve spent half my life—and my entire adult life—on antidepressants. Who might I be without them?”

Unfurled against a global backdrop, May Cause Side Effects is the gripping story of what happened when, after fifteen years and 32,760 pills, Brooke was faced with a profound choice that plunged her into a year of excruciating antidepressant withdrawal and forced her to rebuild her entire life.

My conversation with Brooke truly opened my eyes to the many issues with our medicated society and the perilous influence of Big Pharma. I would encourage everyone to take a listen to this podcast episode and to read Brooke's memoir. If you are considering waning of prescription medication, be sure to consult with your doctor. To learn more about Brooke, you can follow her on @brookesiem and check out her website: https://www.brookesiem.com/

This week I have the pleasure of sharing a conversation with my amazing friend and fellow podcaster, Stella Stephanopoulos. My friendship with Stella was kismet, and I feel so incredibly lucky to have her in my life. Stella's unparalleled maturity is deceiving, because she is actually four years younger than I am (and five the wiser). For this reason, Stella and I decided to record an episode where we could discuss the lessons I would give to my 23-year-old self. The topics we covered stemmed from our opinions on love, life, success, and friendship. To learn more about Stella and listen to her podcast, you can follow @stellastephanopoulos and @everydayendorphins on Instagram!

This week I sat down with Makena Sage to talk about friendships. Makena is a life coach, business strategist, and "reinvention catalyst" who helps women step into who they are meant to be so they can live lives beyond their wildest dreams.

Makena has been broke & hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. She's made millions through her businesses. She's gone from crippling anxiety, panic attacks and burnout to living a life of pleasure, prosperity and fulfillment. She is on a mission to help women everywhere break free of the burnout cycle, make more money than they know what to do with, and create epic lives that are a 10 out of 10 in every area.

I met Makena back in early February when I returned to Austin after a two month hiatus. We immediately hit it off after sharing our own stories about friendship fallouts and experiencing "mean girl mentality" while in our twenties. In this podcast episode, Makena explains how "mean girl mentality" manifests and provides advice for anyone going through a breakup with a friend. To anyone who is currently struggling with an experience like the one that Makena and I experienced, please know that you are not alone.

To learn more about Makena, you can follow her on Instagram @makenasage or, if you would like to work with her in a coaching capacity, check out her website: https://www.followyouraliveness.com/

This week I spoke with Dr. Sarah Church, the founder and executive director of Wholeview Wellness. Dr. Church is a clinical psychologist who has more than 20 years of experience in research, program development and treatment of patients with substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders. Before starting Wholeview Wellness, Dr. Church served as the Executive Director of the Division of Substance Abuse at Montefiore Medical Center and as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine for 16 years.

She completed a predoctoral fellowship in addiction at the Yale University School of Medicine and a postdoctoral year at the Substance Treatment and Research Service (STARS) at Columbia University Medical Center after graduating from Fordham University with a doctorate in clinical psychology and from Columbia University with an AB in psychology.

Dr. Church was appointed by Mayors Bloomberg and De Blasio to the NYC-DOHMH Community Services Board and serves on the Board of the Coalition of Medication Assisted Treatment Providers and Advocates (COMPA). She is a Past President for the Division of Substance Abuse at the New York State Psychological Association (NYSPA). Internationally, she has provided consultation to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for both Vietnam and Afghanistan as they develop medication assisted treatment centers in their countries.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found the following within American adults over the last year:

Nearly 67% drank alcohol within the last month;

28.6 million Americans were living with alcohol dependence; and

Less than 10% of people with past-year alcohol dependence receive any treatment.

National Alcohol Screening Day is April 6, a chance for to rethink your relationship with alcohol and its effects on your physical and mental well-being. Now is the time to dive in and help your audience learn more about the consequences of heavy drinking, screening tools available, and treatments available for those seeking help.

Today I am officially 100 days sober! I seriously can't even believe that I have this huge milestone to celebrate. It seems like just yesterday that I was hitting the three-week mark. I've been wanting to record this episode for a while now, because there are truly so many things I've learned about alcohol (and sobriety for that matter) since I stopped drinking. If any of this resonates with you, maybe consider taking a month, week, or even a day without consuming alcohol. If you choose to do so, let me know how it goes!

When I first stopped drinking, I re-downloaded the app "I Am Sober" to start tracking my sobriety journey and ensure that I had something to hold myself accountable. Each day when you make a pledge to refrain from alcohol, the app gives you a fun little quote for motivation. On January 1st, the prompt I received was, "Not all storms come to disrupt your life. Some come to clear your path." That quote has stuck with me over the past 100 days. I truly feel that the chaotic shit storm that was New Year Eve cleared a path to a new chapter of life. I'll be honest, whenever I used to hear my sober friends talking about how quitting drinking was the best choice they ever made, I used to think they were exaggerating. Now, I can confidently tell you that, if they feel the same way I do, they were 100% serious. I truly feel that I am a better friend, daughter, sister, and person without alcohol. Without a doubt, quitting drinking was the best decision I ever made for myself.

This week we're going back to basics with my friend and mentor, Ariella Grosse! I first met Ariella when I was looking into graduate schools for social work and was in desperate need of assistance in navigating the application process. At the time, Ariella was a first-year MSW student at the Columbia School of Social Work, and she was instrumental in my decision to apply and ultimately be accepted into this program! Now Ariella is a full-time psychotherapist at Prescott Psychotherapy and Wellness. Associates in New York City. In this episode, Ariella walks through the best way to find a therapist and explains the nuances between different types of mental health professionals (LCSWs, LMHCs, LPCs, LMSWs, etc.) as well as the various therapeutic modalities (CBT, DBT, ACT, etc.) She also provides advice on the best questions you should be asking your prospective therapist on that initial (FREE!) phone call consultation! If you're interested in learning more about Ariella and possibly working with her directly, you can follow her on Instagram @ariellagrosselmsw.

Today I am so excited to share my conversation with Annie Grace, who is the author of This Naked Mind,  a science-based and compassion-led approach to reinvent your relationship with alcohol.

At 26, Annie Grace was the youngest Vice President in a multinational company’s history, and her drinking career began in earnest; by 35, she was in a global C-level marketing role, responsible for 28 countries. Drinking close to two bottles of wine a night became a ritual. Annie Grace’s professional success came at a personal price she no longer wanted to pay. She knew alcohol was no longer serving her. Yet, she didn’t want to suffer through life in a daily battle for sobriety, feeling deprived and constantly trying to avoid temptation.

Annie Grace revamped her own relationship with alcohol — she stripped it of its power and changed her beliefs about booze being a reward — and today she helps others across the globe do the same. Her approach helps people where rehabs have not. She’s created a brand new way to look at the role of alcohol in our lives, establishing a safe space for those who question their drinking but haven’t self-diagnosed as alcoholics stuck in denial of an incurable disease. Annie Grace preaches compassion, knowing its power over shame and blame is the best way to achieve lasting change. And, she offers a proven alternative to the largely ineffective recipe for so-called “success”—the one that says anything less than 100% abstinence is failure. Annie Grace doesn’t teach people how to be sober; she helps them quash their desire to drink in the first place.

You can learn more about Annie and the This Naked Mind Community by going to thisnakedmind.com or following @thisnakedmind on Instagram!

She's back! When I decided to become alcohol-free, the first person to reach out and congratulate me was the one and only Joanne Irizarry. I met Joanne two years ago when I invited her to be a guest on my podcast and talk about A Safe Place Inside Your Head, a non-profit she co-founded to raise awareness about suicide prevention. Since then, Joanne has been a friend, a mentor, and a mother figure for me in Austin. With her deep-seated entrepreneurial spirit, no pun-intended, Joanne has decided to help share he knowledge of zero-proof wines with the Austin community. In this episode, Joanne and I try eight different N/A wines and give our honest opinions of them. Be sure to check out the YouTube video to see what the wines look like in real life! And don't forget to follow Joanne at @therealjoanneirizarry, @zeroproofatx, @thesocialclubatx, and @asafeplaceinsideyourhead.