On today's episode we get to chat with Hadley Leggett, award-winning author of the debut novel, All They Ask Is Everything. A love letter to the messiness of motherhood, the book tells the story of three very different women who each want custody of the same two little girls — and discover they have more in common than the children they’re fighting for.

Hadley fell in love with storytelling as a child, but as a people-pleaser born into a family of scientists, it never occurred to her she could become a novelist. Instead she went to medical school, became a science journalist, and then spent nearly a decade as a stay-at-home mom of three. During those years, she was too busy trying not to drown in breast milk and toddler tantrums and postpartum anxiety to write, but when her youngest daughter finally started preschool, she returned to her childhood dream of becoming an author.

For her first book, Hadley wanted to explore modern society’s brutal expectations for mothers—how moms are expected to give everything to their children, all the time, without any real assistance in terms of childcare, paid time off, or mental health support. She drew on her experiences both in medical school and as a mother, and also did extensive research on the foster care system in her home state of Washington.

Bestselling author Ann Garvin describes the book as “a relevant and absorbing exploration into parenting, foster care, and love,” and NYT-bestselling author Tara Conklin says, “This book spoke to me on so many levels. I didn't want it to end.”

You can learn more about Hadley at www.hadley.ink.

Follow her on Instagram, Threads, and Facebook as @hadleyleggett.

Support your local bookstore & this podcast by getting your copy of All They Ask Is Everything at Bookshop.org. 

A little about today's host-

Author and musical composer Kathleen Basi is mother to three boys and one chromosomally-gifted daughter. Her debut novel, A SONG FOR THE ROAD, follows a musician on an unconventional road trip. Bestselling author Kerry Anne King writes, “In a novel filled with music, heartbreak, and surprising laughter, Basi takes us on a journey that encompasses both unimaginable loss and the powerful resilience of the human heart.”

Meaty, earnest, occasionally humorous, and ultimately uplifting, Kathleen’s fiction highlights the best within ourselves and each other. She writes monthly reflections on life, writing and beauty on her newsletter. Subscribe at https://kathleenbasi.substack.com/. 

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