Who was Alice DeLamar—and how did one of America’s wealthiest and most independent women remain largely unknown?

In this episode of Women, Books & More, Irene Rawlings talks with Nona Footz, co-author with Audrey Clare Farley of A Mansion of Her Own: The Mysterious Life of Heiress Alice DeLamar.

Born into extraordinary wealth at the end of the nineteenth century, Alice could have followed the carefully prescribed path expected of a young woman of her position. Instead, she created a fiercely independent life. She built magnificent homes, surrounded herself with artists, actors and writers, and quietly supported some of the twentieth century’s most important cultural figures.

Yet Alice guarded her privacy closely. Much of her personal life remained hidden—even from those who knew her.

Part biography and part literary detective story, A Mansion of Her Own restores Alice DeLamar to cultural history while honoring the mystery she so carefully cultivated.

A Mansion of Her Own: The Mysterious Life of Heiress Alice DeLamar by Nona Footz with Audrey Clare Farley is available wherever books are sold.

For more information: nonafootz.com

Follow Women, Books & More wherever you listen, and please share this episode with a friend who loves books—and the stories of remarkable women nearly lost to history.

Women, Books & More wants to hear from you. Send your comments and reading suggestions to [email protected].

Why do we sometimes become most deeply attached to the people we cannot quite have?

In this episode of Women, Books & More, Irene Rawlings talks with journalist and intimacy advocate Amanda McCracken about her candid new book, When Longing Becomes Your Lover: Breaking from Infatuation, Rejection, and Perfectionism to Find Authentic Love.

Amanda explores limerence—the intense fixation on an idealized, often emotionally unavailable person—and explains how it differs from an ordinary crush or from falling in love. She also considers why uncertainty can heighten desire, why unfinished relationships can be so difficult to release and how longing may sometimes feel safer than being truly known.

Drawing on her own experiences with dating, sex, faith, marriage and motherhood, Amanda speaks openly about dating more than 100 men, remaining a virgin until age 41 and confronting the lasting influence of purity culture. She also discusses the connection between limerence and perfectionism—and how dating apps and undefined “situationships” can keep us pursuing possibility instead of choosing a real, imperfect relationship.

Irene and Amanda also explore:

Candid, insightful and ultimately hopeful, this conversation reminds us that the greatest obstacle to finding love may not be the absence of possibility—but our attachment to the possibility we have imagined.

For more about Amanda: amandajmccracken.com

Ted Talk;  https://youtu.be/5JqGeP240Tc?si=RjP8TS3uhYUZOB1q

We always love hearing from our listeners. Send your comments and reading suggestions to [email protected].

Dolly Parton has written unforgettable songs, starred in beloved films and built a business empire—but one of her most meaningful accomplishments begins with a simple idea: every child deserves a book.

In this episode of Women, Books & More, Irene Rawlings celebrates Dolly’s remarkable life, her joyful generosity and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which has placed millions of free books into the hands of young children.

Irene also remembers joining more than 300 members of Sisters on the Fly in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for a celebration that included vintage campers, campfires—and an unforgettable Dolly Parton look-alike contest.

Then, inspired by Dolly’s belief in books and the stories that shape us, Irene shares something especially personal: a reading of her original picture-book manuscript, “Scrambled Egg Sandwiches.” Based on her childhood as the daughter of Polish immigrants, it is a story about an unfamiliar lunch, a moment of embarrassment and the discovery that what makes us feel different can also bring us together.

Irene’s writing is encouraged by a wonderful community called the 12 x 12 Picture Book Challenge. It brings together people who write stories for children.

If this episode touches you, please consider supporting Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. You can make a donation or help bring the program to children in your own community through a local Imagination Library partner. Because every child deserves a book—and every story deserves the chance to be told.

For more about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: https://imaginationlibrary.com

And a link to the Good Night With Dolly Series https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1462359903936327

For more about 12 x 12 Picture Book Challenge: https://12x12challenge.com

For more about Sisters on the Fly: https://www.sistersonthefly.com

Please connect with Women, Books & More [email protected]

What if one seemingly random moment changed the entire course of your life?

In Chris Bohjalian’s gripping new novel, The Amateur, eighteen-year-old Mira Winston is a gifted golfer with a promising future. Then, on a hot summer day in 1978, a ball she hits tears through a practice net at an affluent Westchester country club and kills a teenage caddy named Kenny Foster.

At first, everyone agrees it was a terrible accident. But questions soon emerge—about the net, about Mira and about the secrets concealed behind the club’s polished manners. Before long, Mira is on trial.

Chris joins Irene Rawlings to discuss the personal experiences that inspired The Amateur, including his own years as a teenage caddy; why golf provides such a revealing window into class and privilege; and what the older Mira understands about guilt, memory and responsibility that her eighteen-year-old self could not.

They also talk about Mira’s troubling relationship with an older, married club member; the adults who fail to protect her; the importance of keeping Kenny and his family at the heart of the story; and how Chris keeps readers questioning what really happened until the final pages.

Chris Bohjalian is the number-one New York Times bestselling author of Midwives, The Flight Attendant, The Lioness and many other acclaimed novels chrisbohjalian.com

If you enjoy Women, Books & More, please follow the show, share this episode with a book-loving friend and help us spread the word.

Questions, comments or suggestions for future guests? Write to us at [email protected].

Many of us have stood in a museum before a beautiful portrait of a child and wondered: Who was she? Who did she grow up to be?

In The Renoir Girls: A Hidden History of Art, War & Betrayal, journalist and author Catherine Ostler traces the astonishing lives of Irène, Alice and Elisabeth Cahen d’Anvers—three sisters born into a wealthy Jewish banking family in Belle Époque Paris and immortalized as children by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

The paintings capture the girls in a world of beauty, privilege and apparent security. But beyond their gilded childhood, their lives would take dramatically different paths through love and loss, marriage and scandal, antisemitism and two world wars. Their family’s wealth, culture and powerful social connections could not ultimately protect them from the dark forces gathering across Europe.

Catherine joins Irene Rawlings to discuss the sisters’ privileged upbringing; their formidable mother, Louise, whose passion for art, music and literature helped shape their world; and Renoir himself, whose luminous paintings stand in troubling contrast to his attitudes toward Jewish people.

She also takes us behind the scenes of her own remarkable detective story. Drawing upon letters, diaries, archives and previously unpublished family material, Catherine pieces together the lives of three women who had largely disappeared behind the fame of the artist who painted them.

For more about Catherine Ostler: catherineostler.com

If you enjoyed this conversation, please follow Women, Books & More and share the episode with your book-loving friends. Word of mouth helps new listeners discover the show.

And…we would love to hear from you. Write to us with your thoughts, questions or book suggestions at [email protected].

What happens when Death (the main character of this book) learns to love life?

In Ben Reeves’s Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt, Death is a man named Travis Smith. He quietly accompanies people at the ends of their lives—not causing death but making the passage a little gentler.

Then Travis meets eight-year-old Layla.

Boisterous, curious and determined to be his friend, Layla draws the solitary Travis into her family. Her mother, Dalia, is a midwife—a woman who ushers people into the world while Travis accompanies them out of it. Through them, Travis (Death) discovers friendship, family, love and attachment.

On this episode of Women, Books & More, host Irene Rawlings talks with Ben Reeves about creating Death as a tender and surprisingly sympathetic protagonist and the novel’s exploration of grief, mortality and the fleeting beauty of being alive.

They also talk about Death’s hobby of restoring old photographs, the symbolism of mayflies whose bright-and-glorious lives last just a day, and the question at the heart of the novel: If you understood how fleeting life really was, would you experience an ordinary moment differently?

An early version of Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt won the 2024 Bath Novel Award.

Learn more about Ben Reeves and his work:

What are you reading? What are your recommendations for me? And who would you like to hear on Women, Books & More?

Email us at [email protected].

If you enjoyed the conversation, please tell a friend. Word of mouth is one of the best ways for new listeners to discover Women, Books & More.

Acclaimed nature writer Amy Irvine joins Irene Rawlings on Women, Books & More to discuss her powerful new memoir, Almost Animal.

For more than twenty years, Amy has written about the American West and our relationship with the natural world. In this deeply personal conversation, she reflects on motherhood, identity, belonging, and the challenge of holding onto yourself while caring for others.

Together, Irene and Amy explore the courage it takes to write a memoir, the expectations placed on women, the restorative power of wild places, and how Almost Animal became a story of resilience, self-discovery, and finding your way back to yourself.

For more about Amy Irvine: amyirvine.com

If you enjoyed this conversation, please follow Women, Books & More wherever you listen to podcasts, leave a review, and share the episode with a friend.

We'd also love to hear from you. Tell us what you're reading, suggest authors you'd like us to interview, or simply say hello. You can reach us anytime at [email protected].

Bestselling author Chanel Cleeton joins Women, Books & More to discuss her new novel, An Infinite Love Story. Set during the early years of America's Space Race, the novel shines a light on the women whose courage, resilience, and sacrifices unfolded behind the headlines.

Chanel shares the surprising inspiration behind the book, the extensive research that brought Cape Canaveral and the early NASA years to life, and how her own experience as the wife of an American fighter pilot shaped the story. We also talk about love, history, journalism, military families, and why history's biggest moments are often lived one family at a time.

If you enjoy historical fiction, compelling conversations, and stories inspired by real events, you'll love this episode of Women, Books & More.

More about Chanel Cleeton: She is the bestselling author of numerous historical novels, including Next Year in Havana, a Reese's Book Club selection, and The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes. She also authored the Wild Aces Romance Series. chanelcleeton.com

Connect with Women, Books & More: If you enjoyed this conversation, please follow Women, Books & More, leave a review, and share this episode with fellow readers. New episodes are released every Wednesday. What are you reading? Send us your suggestions. [email protected]

Award-winning author David Heska Wanbli Weiden joins Women, Books & More to discuss Wisdom Corner, the eagerly awaited sequel to his acclaimed debut, Winter Counts.

Host Irene Rawlings explores the return of Virgil Wounded Horse, whose search for justice on South Dakota's Rosebud Reservation becomes far more than a murder investigation. Their conversation examines contemporary Native life, the complexities of tribal, state and federal law, the lasting impact of Native boarding schools, and the larger questions of justice, identity and community that lie at the heart of the novel.

Weiden also talks about creating Virgil Wounded Horse, weaving authentic cultural details into a fast-paced thriller, and why crime fiction can both entertain and deepen our understanding of the world.

About the Author: David Heska Wanbli Weiden is an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Nation and a professor of English and Native American & Indigenous Studies at Stony Brook University. His novels have earned widespread acclaim for combining compelling mysteries with powerful explorations of Native life, justice and resilience. https://davidweiden.com/

We'd love to hear from you. Email us at [email protected] with your suggestions for future guests or simply to share your latest favorite read. Your recommendations help shape future episodes.

Until next time, happy reading!

In this episode of Women, Books & More, Irene Rawlings talks with author Catherine Kurtz about her richly imagined historical novel, Feast. Set in nineteenth-century France, the story follows Minha, a young woman with an extraordinary sense of taste who discovers she can detect poison—an ability that draws her into the kitchens and intrigues of a grand château.

Catherine shares the inspiration behind the novel, the fascinating culinary traditions of nineteenth-century France, the research that brought the story to life, and the themes of identity, resilience, and belonging that lie at the heart of Feast.

In this episode:

Learn more about Catherine Kurtz: www.dhhliteraryagency.com/catherine-kurtz

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