I sat down with author, and client of Blue Shoe, Kathy Aspden, around her irritating ability to get more done in a day than anyone Christine has ever encountered. She walks through how she does it. It’s a fun and interesting discussion around habits and to do lists. (Did you know you shouldn’t make a to do list?) And, Kathy would recommend multi-tasking while you listen.

In 1993, almost thirty years ago, families were airlifted out of Bosnia to America, in a situation similar to the one faced by families in Afghanistan now. Our host, for the series Ladies Who Launch, Christine Merser, took a 12 year old girl into her home with her daughter, in much the same way American families are being asked to do now. "I have never talked to Nihada (known now as Nina) about what that was like for her way back then, but she said if her experience could help those coming over now, she would be happy to be interviewed. It was a hard interview. She was 12 when she came to live with us and we never discussed what it was like." Have a listen to hear what it was like for a young girl, plucked from the danger that surrounded her, and brought to America.

Join Christine Merser as she shares her one-on-one interview with the legendary, literary Warren Adler - the man who named the Watergate complex in DC.​Though he didn't publish his first book until he was 46, Warren Adler has gone on to pen over 50 novels, 12 of which have been optioned by Hollywood (including The War of the Roses, starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito; and Random Hearts - starring Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas; directed by Sydney Pollack).

Highlights include:- what books can accomplish that no other art form can- why Sydney Pollack and Harrison Ford weren’t happy when he did “the worst thing I writer could ever do”- the role Dustin Hoffman played in bringing Random Hearts to the big screen- Warren Adler’s Hollywood record- how he’s decided to control his own destiny- the 3 questions fiction writers are always asked- why writers shouldn’t worry about exposing secrets- on how a man who’s been very happily married for 67 years can write about such dysfunctional marriages

Warren also shares some insider's tales from Hollywood, including why they stopped production on Gone with the Wind; and which star of The War of the Roses started out a hairdresser.

Also an essayist, short-story writer, poet and playwright, Warren Adler’s works have been translated into 25 languages; he currently has 3 films and 1 television series in development.

Enjoy the interview!

With the events that have occurred over the last year, I thought it was apropos to revisit an interview I did a few years ago with Dr. Thomas Kerenyi, former head of obstetrics at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and one of the few doctors to step up after Roe v. Wade and perform safe adoptions for women. Dr. Kerenyi describes the panel(of all men we might add)that determined if a women was eligible to receive an abortion, the importance of a woman's ability to receive a safe abortion, and an incredibly unique insight into the institution of Roe v. Wade established in 1970. A hero then and how hard it is to believe that we might be back in a time and place where Dr. Kerenyi, if he were still with us, would need to put his career on the line once again to save women's lives.

Alexandra Peters’ collection of Samplers from the girls who went before us is riveting. The history behind them. The artistic nature of them. Their relevance to what ’she’ was facing in the 1800s will have your head spinning. Do not miss this interview with the brilliant Alexandra, who teaches us so much in the hour she spent with our fearless leader Christine Merser for Ladies Who Launch. You will find yourself heading up to your attic to see if by chance any of your ancestors happened to do a sampler that tells the story of her message to the world and your family's values.

You can take a look here at some of the pieces featured in Peters' exhibit at the Sharon Historical Society last summer: https://sideofculture.com/2022/08/untold-stories-of-american-girls-at-the-sharon-historical-society-museum/