Thanks For Asking

Michael Allio was a fan favorite on Katie Thurston’s recent season of “The Bachelorette,” applauded for the vulnerability he showed the literal world as he talked about losing his wife, Laura, to cancer and raising his son James without his mom. 

Losing a partner to cancer? Raising a young son on your own? Sounds familiar …

Michael came across Nora’s TED Talk shortly after Laura died, and when he reached out to the podcast, we knew we had to get these two on a call together. 

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To listen to Nora’s full conversation with Michael, subscribe to TTFA Premium at TTFA.org/Premium. For $7.99 a month, you get access to bonus content, ad-free episodes, full-length interviews and more.

For information about the L4Project, visit l4project.com.

When you shop our Bookshop.org store, you support the author, independent bookstores AND our show! Shop here. You can purchase Nora’s books here.

Shop for your favorite TTFA gear at TTFAmerch.com.

Read the transcript for this episode here.

You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis.

In case you didn't know, we're still making episodes that are available exclusively on Nora's Substack!

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Grief comes with so much judgment. Everybody is sure that there's a right way to do it, and only for a certain length of time. If our grief doesn’t neatly fit into a category, we worry that it’s illegitimate. Erin knows this judgment very well. She’s a widow … or is she?

Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis.

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In case you didn't know, we're still making episodes that are available exclusively on Nora's Substack!

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In 2020, we asked how it was going in there … wherever it was you were isolating, quarantining, social distancing. Somehow, it’s been *checks watch* TWO YEARS of COVID and so much more, so we thought it was time for another check-in. How *is* it going in there, Terribles?

Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis.

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In case you didn't know, we're still making episodes that are available exclusively on Nora's Substack!

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Danielle’s daughter Della was a quintessential “good baby.” She slept through the night almost from the get go. She rarely cried! But when Danielle started weaning her, little Della would just … not eat. Could not eat. Her tiny body rebelled against her with every food she tried. When your baby lives with a chronic illness that wants to kill her, each day brings more anxiety. And it’s especially tough when you’re Della.

Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In case you didn't know, we're still making episodes that are available exclusively on Nora's Substack!

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Growing up, Dani Shapiro never felt like she truly belonged to the orthodox Jewish community she lived in. All around her were kids who dressed and prayed and looked alike … and then, there was Dani — a fair-skinned, fair-haired, blue-eyed little Jewish girl.

Dani spent much of her early writing career authoring fictional stories about secrets within families, not knowing that she would soon learn her own family had a big secret: Dani herself.

Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Today, we’re bringing you something special: a new podcast produced by Pineapple Street Studios called “Love Thy Neighbor.” It’s a story about immigration, white flight, the downfall of New York City’s first Black mayor, and the rise of Rudolph Giuliani. It’s also a story about the host’s own journey as a Black, Jewish New Yorker … and what it means to be a neighbor. Give this preview a listen and, if you want more, find the full episode wherever you get your podcasts. We’ll be listening right along with you.

Can’t get enough TTFA? Sign up for TTFA Premium for $7.99 a month. You’ll get access to exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes, extended guest interviews and more! Visit TTFA.org/Premium to get started.

When you shop our Bookshop.org store, you support the author, independent bookstores AND our show! Shop here.

You can purchase Nora’s books here.

Shop for your favorite TTFA gear at TTFAmerch.com.

Read the transcript for this episode here.

You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis.

TTFA is public media. Which means we are supported by you. You can join us with a contribution at ttfa.org/donate.

In case you didn't know, we're still making episodes that are available exclusively on Nora's Substack!

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When someone we love dies, we become the vessels responsible for carrying their memory forward. The people we love stay alive in the big things, of course … but in the little things, too. When a listener shared an inside joke with the Terrible community about her late husband, we knew it was the beginning of an episode. Today, we share your stories, your inside jokes, your memories about your people.

Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In case you didn't know, we're still making episodes that are available exclusively on Nora's Substack!

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Liam was raised as a girl, but from a very young age he knew that just … didn’t make sense. When he comes out to his evangelical Christian parents as a young adult — first as a lesbian, then as a trans man — it unfortunately goes exactly how he expected it to.

This episode includes anecdotes and language that disparages the LGBTQIA+ community and trans experience. We include them with Liam’s explicit permission, as they play a role in his story as a trans man. We also refer to Liam by his birth name (and he refers to himself by his birth name) at times during this episode.

For more tips on how to be a better ally to transgender people, visit GLAAD’s resource center.

Follow Liam on TikTok.

Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In case you didn't know, we're still making episodes that are available exclusively on Nora's Substack!

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In our “Behind The Scammer” episode, you met Celisia Stanton and Rev. Gonzales, two people who had their life savings stolen from them by their financial adviser, a man named Isaiah Goodman. We intentionally focused that episode on the scammed – on the victims.

But we do have a duty to reach out to the subject of any story and say “Hey, do you want to comment on this?” So we did.

And Isaiah agreed to an interview, from inside federal prison.

Celisia’s podcast is called “Truer Crime,” and you can (and should!) listen to it here. She also set up a GoFundMe to help the Gonzales family recoup some of their financial losses. You can help them here.

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Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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