Tag

Book

Inspirational, Memoir, Non Fiction

May 18: Forever Boy with Kate Swenson

A Mother’s Memoir of Autism and Finding Joy

Every parent dreams of having the perfect child, the perfect healthy happy family. But sometimes life throws out challenges that test us. And that was true for Kate Swenson when her first born son was diagnosed with Autism.

Kate joins us today to talk about her inspiring, sometimes challenging, always loving journey to help her son live well in a world that often overlooks special needs and care. She says this journey has shown her that no matter what, life can be joyful, and that she’s exactly who she’s supposed to be … her son Cooper, is exactly who he’s meant to be.

About Kate Swenson

Kate Swenson’s work is all about helping to ease other families journey’s as they live with autism. She’s the founder of a popular blog called Finding Coopers Voice and is a frequent contributor to publications on autism, parenting, and motherhood. Her new memoir is  FOREVER BOY: A Mother’s Memoir of Autism and Finding Joy.

Continue reading
Fiction, Humor

May 11: Unlikely Animals with Annie Hartnett

Spirits narrate. Animals talk. Humor, heartache,  love, & a missing girl … a magical tragicom filled with the messiness of family life and death.

Author Annie Hartnett‘s second novel wasn’t going too well. She wasn’t enjoying authoring it and wondered if all second novels were this difficult to write. But as she took a drive through New Hampshire, Annie spotted something that changed the direction of her story and brought Unlikely Animals to life … or raised it from the dead … because the folks in the cemetery narrate the story.

About Annie Hartnett

Annie Hartnett‘s first book, Rabbit Cake, was listed as one of Kirkus Review’s Best Books of 2017 and was a New England Book Award finalist. Annie was awarded fellowships and residencies from the MacDowell Colony, Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and the Associates of the Boston Public Library. She holds degrees from the MFA program at the University of Alabama. Information for Book Clubs.

Continue reading
Fiction, Writers on Writing

APR 20: Sylvain Neuvel’s Take Them to the Stars Trilogy

Until the Last of Me

Author Sylvain Neuvel sold the movie rights to his first book before it was even a book. How did that happen? We share that and much more about Sylvain’s road to literary success in today’s conversation.

We discuss the origins of his Take Them to the Stars Trilogy and how his ideas developed.  We look at book one A History of What Comes Next. And the latest in the trilogy, book two, Until the Last of Me. Sylvain shares how he plots. How he writes from female points of view. And some of the intense research he did to build a believable, yet speculative, world for his characters.

About Sylvain Neuvel

Sylvain Neuvel taught linguistics in India and worked as a software engineer in Montreal. His debut novel Sleeping Giants was described BY NPR as one of the most promising series kickoffs in recent memory. Until the Last of Me is the second and latest book in his Take Them to the Stars trilogy.

Continue reading
Inspirational, Non Fiction, Self-help

APR 13: Christine Arylo with Overwhelmed and Over It

You possess the power to stay sustained and centered in a chaotic world

As the pandemic recedes, many of us are still dealing with feelings of being frazzled and overwhelmed.  Christine Arylo says “It’s not your fault … the systems we live and work in are built for burnout.”

We discuss why now is the perfect time to embrace a new approach to working, succeeding, and managing your full life that gives you the courage and clarity to makes choices that support and sustain you in both your day-to-day and longterm life.

About Christine Arylo

Christine Arylo has authored three bestselling books including Overwhelmed & Over It. She is a transformational leadership advisor who teaches workshops globally and is the host of Feminine Power Time. Christine’s new book is Overwhelmed & Over It: Embrace Your Power to Stay Centered & Sustained in a Chaotic World.

Continue reading
Journalism, Non Fiction

APR 06: Author Michelle Black Exposes Military Cover Up in Sacrifice

A Gold Star Widow’s Fight for the Truth

Michelle Black went from wife and mom to investigative journalist when her Green Beret husband Bryan Black was ambushed and killed in Niger. She was met with a flood of military disinformation, where they blamed and shamed Black and his team for going rogue. The media blindly repeated the military’s version of the ambush, and that ignited widow Michelle Black‘s search for the truth — no matter what.

We discuss the Black’s life before the military, before the fatal mission. How leadership ignored the advice to abort, and the many challenges Michelle faced  interviewing survivors to get to the heart of the truth. But she never gave up trying to restore Bryan’s reputation, and eventually exposed the military cover up that left her children fatherless.

About Michelle Black

Michelle Black is mom to two boys, a Gold Star widow, and author. She has a degree in environmental sciences and horticulture. She’s been published in the New York Times, The Daily Beast, and Task & Purpose. Sacrifice: A Gold Star Widow’s Fight for the Truth is her debut book.

Continue reading
Fiction, Suspense, Writers on Writing

MAR 23: Girl in Ice with Erica Ferencik

The ice caps of Greenland, a suspicious death, a frozen child who speaks a language no one’s heard of …

When linguist Val Chesterfield receives an urgent email asking for help, she reluctantly leaves the shelter of her books and studies, to head north.

Award-winning author Erica Ferencik spent a month in Greenland developing the backdrop for Girl In Ice. Today she shares highlights from the exciting boots on the ground, butt-in-the-kayak research expedition that informed her story. We also discuss character development, why she wrote the first draft before traveling to Greenland, and the inspiration behind Girl in Ice.

About Erica Ferencik

Erica Ferencik considers her MA in Creative Writing from Boston University just the beginning of her literary education. Her 35 years of writing — novels, short stories, essays, ghostwriting, 10 years of standup and sketch comedy, as well as dozens of screenplays, and a brief filmmaking stint — was her boots-on-the-ground training. Erica’s work has appeared in Salon and the Boston Globe, as well as on National Public Radio. Other novels include Into the Jungle and The River at Night.

Continue reading
Fiction, Writers on Writing, Young Adult Fiction

Mar 08: Sabaa Tahir with deeply personal novel – All My Rage

#1 NYT bestselling author of the Ember in the Ashes series

Sabaa Tahir describes All My Rage as the book of her heart. It’s a story that was 15 years in the making, and we find out why during our conversation.

Beginning in Lahore Pakistan, and moving to Juniper California, All My Rage is inspired by Sabba’s childhood growing up in California’s Mojave Desert at her family’s 18-room motel.

Sabaa shares what she means by being an honest writer and how that informs her work. Why she writes young adult fiction. How a playground friendship saved her. What challenges her most as writer. Why hope is important and failure is part of the journey. And why her new novel is called All My Rage.  

About Sabaa Tahir

Sabaa Tahir has been an author since 2015 . Before that, she was a journalist, and wrote her first book while working nights as a a copyeditor. All My Rage has received great reviews  from writers such as Jodi Picoult and Nicola Yoon, and a TV adaptation of the story is currently in the works with Picturestart.

Continue reading
Business, Creativity, Non Fiction, Personal Development, Professional Development

Mar 02: Amy Herman with Fixed – How to Perfect the Fine Art of Problem-Solving

How art can help you overcome challenges, make decisions, & sharpen critical thinking skills

Wayne Dyer said “Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.” And that concept inspired today’s guest to launch a whole new career as the president of The Art of Perception, Inc., based in New York.

Sometimes, all it takes to solve a problem is a paradigm shift. In Fixed, Amy E Herman shares how we can facilitate that shift and hone our powers of perception by looking at art – from paintings and sculptures to mixed media and photography. She shows how learning to see art more astutely, helps uncover deep-seated truths that often obstruct optimal decision-making.

About Amy E Herman – Author of Fixed: How to Perfect the Fine Art of Problem Solving.

Amy E Herman is the founder and president of The Art of Perception, Inc., an organization that  conducts professional development courses for leaders around the world – from Secret Service agents, the FBI, the Department of Defense, Doctors Without Borders, and NATO. Herman is a lawyer and art historian. She was Head of Education at The Frick Collection, where she oversaw the museum’s educational collaborations and community initiatives.

Continue reading
Health & Wellness, Non Fiction, Science

Feb 02: Use the New Science of Body Movement to Set Your Mind Free with Caroline Williams

Move! by the author of My Plastic Brain

Studies say sitting is the new smoking — and the average American adult spends 70% of their time sitting or lying down. Imagine what that does to your body over time. And now, we know, it also affects your mind and mental health.

In Move! journalist Caroline Williams explores the emerging science of how movement opens up a hotline to our minds. Interviewing Nobel prize winning scientists, yoga gurus, and practitioners of all kinds of movement, she reveals that while going to the gym is great, it’s not necessarily the best or only solution.

Today we discuss how core strength is linked to stress and anxiety control. Why stretching can override the mood-sapping effects of an overactive immune system. What dance can do for our emotional literacy. Why physical strength translates into emotional resilience … and more.

About Caroline Williams

Science journalist Caroline Williams says “I like talking almost as much as I like writing”, and over the years she has produced and presented radio programs and reports for the BBC, across Science, Natural History, and Children’s Radio. She has more than 20 years of experience in science journalism and writes regularly for New Scientist magazine, Her work’s been featured in the Boston Globe, BBC Earth, the Guardian, and more. She was  also co-presenter of the New Scientist podcast. Move! How the Science of Body Movement Can Set Your Mind Free is Caroline’s second book.

Continue reading
Business, Non Fiction, Personal Development

Jan 26: A Roadmap to Realizing Your Personal & Professional Leadership Potential

Book Boundless Leadership Joe Loizzo and Elazar AslanBoundless Leadership: The Breakthrough Method to Realize Your Vision, Empower Others, & Ignite Positive Change

A recent study showed that the average human attention span is about eight seconds. That means that our average length of concentration on one detail is less than that of a goldfish — goldfish can concentrate for nine whole seconds!

If that doesn’t alarm you, it at least explains why we work harder than ever, yet seem to accomplish less and feel less fulfilled. Joe Loizzo and Elazar Aslan joins us to reveal how we can turn that around. They share the 5 Truths of Boundless Leadership, the 4 Qualities of Heart. And discuss how we can reimagine and rewire, our mind and body, to be our best selves.

About Joe Loizzo and Elazar Aslan

JOE LOIZZO, MD, PhD is a contemplative psychotherapist, a clinical researcher, and Buddhist scholar-teacher. On the faculty at the Weill Cornell Medical College and the Columbia University Center for Buddhist Studies, he lectures widely on the role of meditative learning in the future of health, education, and leadership.

ELAZAR ASLAN, MBA, PCC is an executive advisor, speaker, and entrepreneur. After a successful career as a business executive, he became a professional coach over a decade ago, bringing his meditative practice and leadership principles to corporations including Chase, D&B, MasterCard, and American Express.

Continue reading