Thingish

Thank you to everyone who tuned into my conversation with Erin O’Malley about animals, how they save us, and why they get the best of us. The recording is above in case you missed it. To buy Erin’s incredible dual-prespective memoir, The Brat and the Bullfighter, go here. Here is what it’s about:

Some horses don’t just change your life, they save it.

Arty’s blood runs hot. White hot. A white Lusitano stallion with bullfighting in his bones, he was born on a prestigious Brazilian farm and sold through an elite auction to a private ranch in California. There, human misunderstanding dims his brilliance. Rider after rider mistakes his sensitivity for defiance, eroding his confidence and trust.

As an Army brat, Erin relates. She grew up always moving—the perpetual new kid, never quite belonging, rarely feeling understood. Her love for horses was her only constant. So, when Arty’s owner recognizes he needs something different and offers to sell him to her, she can’t refuse.

What follows isn’t a fairytale. Erin questions everything: her choices, her ability, whether she’s helping or hurting him. But when unexpected loss shatters her, Arty steps forward to light a path through darkness.

Told from both human and horse perspectives, The Brat and the Bullfighter is a dual coming-of-age memoir about trust, love, and the bond that forms between two souls who, in finding each other, finally find home.

Thank you for tuning into my live video with Stephanie Weaver! Join me for my next live video in the app.

I highly recommend Stephanie's book, Bitter, Sweet for its intimate portrayal of healing, estrangement, forgiveness and reconciliation.

To buy Bitter, Sweet on bookshop.org copy and paste this link in your URL bar: https://bookshop.org/p/books/bitter-sweet-how-to-heal-yourself-when-your-family-is-broken-stephanie-weaver/ff5eb4fcdc02b083

To buy Bitter, Sweet from Amazon, use this link: https://www.amazon.com/Bitter-Sweet-Yourself-Family-Broken/dp/1960456377/

To buy Bitter, Sweet on Barnes and Noble use this link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bitter-sweet-stephanie-weaver/1148895292?ean=9781960456373

Follow Stephanie on Substack at https://sweavermph.substack.com/

Happy New Year! It feels like a good time to spark a little greatness, am I right? And not just because it’s the start of the year (although yes, we always want to come out of the gate strong so there’s no need to scramble later on).

In my estimation, greatness requires staying inspired as consistently as possible. But how does one keep the spark lit in a typhoon? For tips on how to best wrangle the muse in any kind of weather, I spoke to Danielle Baldwin, executive coach and author of Sparking Greatness. We spoke about Helium Hand, Gregorian Chant, Hating Barcelona, and other tidbits that will leave you ready to tackle your top pursuits of ‘26.

Click here to buy Sparking Greatness from Bookshop.org and support your favorite local bookstore.

Click here to buy Sparking Greatness from Amazon.com.

If your goal for 2026 is to start, continue, or finish your book, talk to me! I am an Author Accelerator certified book coach, and my Zone of Genius is helping authors get their writing projects over the finish line.

Be well and stay inspired,

Lindsey

I was drawn to this story because I spent five transformative years living in Shanghai, China, but what I took away was so much more than a China story. Sit, Cinderella, Sit is a lovely, heartwarming tale of a woman making her way in the world. It left me feeling light, happy, and ready to say yes. Hailed by both People magazine and Zibby Owens, I recommend it as a holiday gift for your dog-loving, adventure-seeking girlfriends.

To buy it on bookshop.org, go here.

To buy it on amazon.com, go here.

Here’s the back cover copy: Lisa Cheek loved editing TV commercials—almost as much as she loved her dog, Ron Howard. Then, she “aged out” of advertising, at 45. After being let go, Lisa got a call—at 2:45 AM—from a director who, like everyone in Hollywood, had a film he wanted to make: the original Cinderella story. Now, his dream could come true—if Lisa granted his wish.

In Sit, Cinderella, Sit, Lisa Cheek shares her adventures in editing a film made on location in China—along the Tibetan border—where Mandarin was the only language spoken by everyone but her. Stuck in a house with fourteen men she couldn’t understand, literally, she yearned for conversation and coffee.

But there were moments of wonder and laughter. Lisa forged a bond with her translator and a woman named Sunny. She rescued one dog, and then another. “Everyone speaks Cinderella,” the director had assured her. Maybe he was right.Told with humor and heart through a fairy tale lens, with flashbacks into the author’s not-always-happy childhood, Sit, Cinderella, Sit is a story about what can happen when you take a leap of faith, look and hear beyond people’s differences, and dare to believe in yourself.

Bonnie Comfort is the award-winning author of Staying Married is the Hardest Part: A Memoir of Passion, Secrets, and Sacrifice. She joined me on Thingish to talk marriage, family, and how she made it through the ups and downs.

Links to buy:

Bookshop.org

Amazon.com

On Thingish today, Leslie Johansen Nack and Lindsey Salatka discuss the themes and challenges of writing memoir, particularly focusing on Leslie's personal journey of resilience and her experiences with trauma and abuse. They explored Leslie's healing process, which involved therapy, sobriety, and writing, while also discussing the societal need for honest discussions about difficult topics and the progress toward gender equality.

Buy Leslie Johansen Nack's latest memoir, Nineteen, here.

To buy Grief Like Yours on bookshop.org, go here

To buy Grief Like Yours on Amazon, go here:

To buy True Confessions of an Ambivalent Caregiver on bookshop.org, go here

To buy True Confessions of an Ambivalent Caregiver on Amazon, go here

To support Pocket Full of Rocks, go here

To follow Cindy Eastman on Substack, go here

This is an amazing and important conversation about grief and healing. If you know someone who is struggling with a recent loss or a distant loss—there is no timer on grief—consider sharing this episode with them.

Links to buy All I Feel is Love:

Bookshop.org

Amazon