Memoir

Essays, Humor, Memoir, Non Fiction, Writers on Writing

DEC 03: Sara Ruhl’s Letters From Max & Matt Geiger’s Astonishing Tales

November 9, 2018

Sara Ruhl is a distinguished playwright and author, Tony award nominee, and two time Pulitzer Prize finalist. In 2012, exuberant and opinionated Max Ritvo took her playwriting class at Yale University, proving himself a highly gifted poet. Max was also in remission from pediatric cancer. Over the course of four years, Sara watched Max blossom as his illness returned and his health declined, exchanging a series of letters with him that changed the way she looked at life, death, and the unexpected connections one makes along the way. She shares these urgency and humor filled exchanges in Letters From Max: A Book of Friendship.

Sara’s plays have won numerous awards, and have been produced all over the country and internationally, including on Broadway.

Matt Geiger, our second guest, says “Anytime I’m able to talk about Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov in a single interview, I’m happy!” So Vicki makes him happy and asks why. We’ll chat about his latest book Astonishing Tales: Your Astonishment May Vary – a collection of stories and essays.

Matt is a humorist, essayist, and award-winning journalist and author, who lives in Wisconsin with his wife, daughter, ten animals, and several metaphysical questions.

Essays, Inspirational, Memoir, Non Fiction, Travel & Adventure, Writers on Writing

Nov 19: Anne Lamott on Almost Everything: Notes on Hope & Mary Ann Esposito’s Ciao Italia

November 6, 2018

She’s a writer’s-writer. A reader’s-writer. And with self-effacing humor, and ruthless honesty, Anne Lamott makes us think about what most of us don’t like to think about.

She’s known for writing and speaking about subjects that begin with Big Capital Letters. Today we’ll share her thoughts on Hate, Jealousy, Love, Hope, and preserving one’s Sanity.

A New York Times bestselling author and recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Anne Lamott has been inducted into the California Hall of Fame. She’s taught at UC Davis, as well as at writing conferences across the country.

Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Freida Mock, made a documentary on her called Bird by Bird with Annie. Anne Lamott’s latest book of essays is Almost Everything: Notes on Hope.

We’ll end today’s show chatting with the host of Ciao Italia, the longest-running cooking show on television, Mary Ann Esposito. Find out the secret to the show’s success, her thoughts regarding pairing food and wine, and a few of her all time favorites for those who like to put an Italian spin on Thanksgiving. Her latest book, Ciao Italia: My Lifelong Food Adventures in Italy reads as both a cookbook and a love-letter to Italy.

Mary Ann’s 12 books have helped chefs and foodies understand authentic Italian ingredients and dishes. She created and has hosted Ciao Italia on PBS since 1989.

Fiction, Inspirational, Memoir, Social Issues, Women's Issues, Writers on Writing

SEP 24: Linda Kay Klein’s PURE and Joseph Olshan’s Black Diamond Falls

September 21, 2018

On the heels of the MeToo movement comes Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free. Linda Kay Klein shares how the system of mind-and-body shaming works, showing the connection between purity culture and rape culture, and the importance of facing your fears and standing up to sexual shaming.

Linda is the founder of Break Free Together, and has spent over a decade working at the cross section of faith, gender, and social change.

Inspired by the actual disappearance of a student at Middlebury College and the vandalism of the nearby Robert Frost Homestead, Black Diamond Fall is an evocative portrait of love between a younger and older man. Author Joseph Olshan joins us for part one of a two part conversation today to discuss this latest in his line of riveting mysteries.

Joseph is an award-winning author of 10 novels and is the editorial director of Delphinium Books. He will be appearing at University Bookstore in Seattle on October 18 at 6pm.

Fiction, Memoir, Social Issues, Writers on Writing

SEP 17: Ellen Keith’s The Dutch Wife & Sara Smarsh’s Heartland

September 10, 2018

Award-winning writer Ellen Keith joins us today to discuss how she found the inspiration for a great historical fiction novel in one of the worst moments of humanity’s history. In The Dutch Wife, she chronicles a little known piece of World War II history, exposing the concentration camp brothels.

Ellen’s work has appeared in publications such as The New Quarterly and The Globe and Mail, and she has received the Anton Fiction Prize and the James Patrick Folinsbee Memorial Scholarship in Creative Writing.

Born a fifth-generation Kansas wheat farmer on her paternal side, and the daughter of generations of teen moms on her maternal side, Sara Smarsh was raised in a family of laborers trapped in a cycle of poverty. In Heartland, she takes an uncompromising look at class, identity, and the perils of having less in a country known for its excess.

Sara has covered socioeconomic class, political, and public policy for numerous publications including Harpers.org, The Guardian, and NewYorker.com. She’s a recent Joan Shorenstein Fellow at Harvard and former professor of nonfiction writing.

Fiction, Health & Wellness, Memoir, Social Issues, Writers on Writing

JUN 04: Brendan Kiely’s Tradition & Edward Hallowell’s Because I Come From a Crazy Family

May 16, 2018

High school English teacher Brendan Kiely was always on the hunt for books that would not only excite his students to learn the skills needed to study and practice in class, but also inspire them to think critically about their role in society, developing who they are and helping form their beliefs. Award-winning author Kiely explores the insidious nature of a traditional boarding school in Tradition (is not an excuse).

Brendan is a New York Times bestseller whose numerous awards include the Walter Dean Myers Award, and Best Fiction for Young Adults by the American Library Association twice.

Later, Dr. Edward M. Hallowell turned an eye inward towards his emotionally complex upbringing, using it to build a successful life and career. He chronicles his childhood inspiration in his new memoir, Because I Come From a Crazy Family: The Making of a Psychiatrist.

Dr. Hallowell is a bestselling author of over 20 books on attention deficit disorder and emotional well-being. He is founder of the Hallowell Centers for Cognitive and Emotional Health, one of which is based in Seattle. His national tour brings him to University Bookstore in Seattle on June 15th.

Memoir, Personal Development, Self-help, Writers on Writing

JAN 08: A Life in Novels with Kathleen Hill & Life is a Musical with Tim Federle

January 5, 2018

When books come to you at the just the right time, they can change your life.Kathleen Hill’s new memoir, She Read to Us in the Late Afternoons: A Life in Novels, explores defining moments of a life illuminated by novels.

Kathleen is a noted author who teaches in the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence College. Her first two books have received critical acclaim and her stories have appeared in numerous collections.

Everything Tim Federle knows about life he learned from doing theater – think Don’t Sweat the Small Stuffwith Jazz Hands. Life is Like a Musical: How to Live, Love, and Lead Like a Star is designed for anyone who wants to find and live by their own song, whatever that means to them.

Tim is a Broadway dancer-turned-author who won awards for his Young Adult books and pun-tastic cocktail novels, and works with Fox Animation in developing new projects.

Memoir, Personal Development, Self-help, Writers on Writing

OCT 23: A Life in Novels with Kathleen Hill & Life is a Musical with Tim Ferdele

September 23, 2017

When books come to you at the just the right time, they can change your life. Kathleen Hill’s new memoir, She Read to Us in the Late Afternoons: A Life in Novels, explores defining moments of a life illuminated by novels.

Kathleen is a noted author who teaches in the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence College. Her first two books have received critical acclaim and her stories have appeared in numerous collections.

Everything Tim Federle knows about life he learned from doing theater – think Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff with Jazz Hands. Life is Like a Musical: How to Live, Love, and Lead Like a Star is designed for anyone who wants to find and live by their own song, whatever that means to them.

Tim is a Broadway dancer-turned-author who won awards for his Young Adult books and pun-tastic cocktail novels, and works with Fox Animation in developing new projects.

Memoir, Travel & Adventure

Sep 25: One of These Things First & Razor Clams, Buried Treasure of the PNW

September 8, 2017

From his grandparent’s bra and girdle store, to a stint in one of the most fashionable psychiatric hospitals after a suicide attempt, Steven Gaines takes us on the tragically joyous ride of a 15-year-old Jewish boy in 1960’s Brooklyn.

One of These Things First includes conversion therapy and Broadway dreams, and an array of eccentric characters he met along the way. Steven is a noted journalist, bestselling novelist and biographer, whose work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The New York Times, the New York Observer, and New York magazine, where he was a contributing editor for 12 years.

Also today, what has the power to draw thousands of people of all ages to the often blustery shores of Washington’s coastal beaches every year?

Seattle Times contributor and author David Berger shares the secrets of our regional razor clam phenomenon in Razor Clams: Buried Treasure of the Pacific Northwest. David Berger has worked as a visual arts critic for The Seattle Times, and started razor clamming when he moved to Washington. You can see him at Third Place Books on October 5, at 7 PM.

Conservation, Environment, Fiction, Memoir

July 03: A Million Fragile Bones & #1 Bestselling Author Julia Quinn

June 22, 2017

Connie May Fowler lives “on the edge of the world, alone except for the occasional boyfriend or husband, always in the company of pets, books, art, friends, (and) sundry wildlife.” On April 10th, 2010, her idyllic existence was torn apart as a nearby oil rig exploded, spewing over 200 million gallons of oil that impacted nearly 70,000 miles of coastline.

In her memoir, A Million Fragile Bones, Connie documents the heartbreak and loss suffered at the hands of this man-made disaster, and the beauty and peace that followed as nature proved resilient. She is an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, and teacher.

Later, for those who believe romance novels are fluff, author Julia Quinn is here to dispel the notion that intelligence and romantic storytelling are mutually exclusive. She’ll also share what it takes to pen a #1 New York Times bestseller and discuss her new book, The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband.

Julia Quinn is a bestselling author specializing in historical romance. She is one of only 16 members of Romance Writer’s of America’s Hall of Fame.

Memoir

May 29: Driving Miss Norma & Death Need Not Be Fatal

May 15, 2017

Norma Jean Bauerschmidt lived a quiet northern Michigan life for 90 years, never even crossing a state line. It took the death of her husband of 67 years, followed by her own diagnosis of a terminal illness two days later, for Norma to stop existing and start living. Refusing a hospital bed, she told her doctor, “I’m 90-years-old. I’m hitting the road.”

Driving Miss Norma: One Family’s Journey Saying “Yes” to Living chronicles the year-long road trip with son and daughter-in-law, Tim Bauerschmidt and Ramie Liddle. Both are professional nomads who travel cross-country full-time in their Airstream trailer, along with Ringo the dog.

Also today, being the last remaining child of Angela of Angela’s Ashes fame, coupled with being Irish, Malachy McCourt has a certain expertise on death. His latest book, Death Need Not Be Fatal, is of course about the rituals of death … for instance, why do we keep our lights on in funeral processions … but it also is about laughing, tears, brotherhood, poverty, the famous, and living life to the fullest.

Malachy McCourt is an actor, writer, politician, and younger brother of famed writer Frank McCourt. He was the 2006 Green Party candidate for Governor of New York, has appeared in numerous television shows and movies, and authored several books.

DEC 03: Sara Ruhl’s Letters From Max & Matt Geiger’s Astonishing Tales

Nov 19: Anne Lamott on Almost Everything: Notes on Hope & Mary Ann Esposito’s Ciao Italia

JAN 08: A Life in Novels with Kathleen Hill & Life is a Musical with Tim Federle

OCT 23: A Life in Novels with Kathleen Hill & Life is a Musical with Tim Ferdele

Sep 25: One of These Things First & Razor Clams, Buried Treasure of the PNW

July 03: A Million Fragile Bones & #1 Bestselling Author Julia Quinn

May 29: Driving Miss Norma & Death Need Not Be Fatal

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