Welcome back to Tales of Taboo! I've been so inspired by the past 3 years of being a safe space for your unconventional and so-called 'unacceptable' confessions, that I feel compelled to spend Season 5 speaking solo and on-the-record about my own.

To kick it off, we're talking about failing. Or rather, "failing." Going into 2023, I felt like I had it all: a great partner, a six-figure hosting career, and the best body of creative work I'd ever produced. Then, everything disappeared. At the time of recording this episode, I was unemployed, broke, and single at 30 - plus, I accidentally deleted all of my past confessions episodes from my records. For the past 6 months, I've quietly been back at Square One in so many ways.

I get real about my physical sickness-level burnout, why Season 4 was cut short (and why I kinda resented the podcast), and how my professional responsibilities bled into my personal life and made me disregard my own feelings. But losing my job & sense of joy led me to re-evaluate & re-build my boundaries, and now, I'm optimistic about the future. Other people might consider me a big fat f***ing failure, but I actually feel like I'm ahead in many ways - because I love myself (and all of my flaws and shortcomings) more than I ever have.

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Share your own confession - or love letters and hate mail - at [email protected]. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Audio production by Aamir Augustine at WTF Media. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. "Degenerate" sweatshirts & G-Strings are available on Ali's Instagram via DM.