Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

In this final part of my interview with Daisy Alpert Florin, author of My Last Innocent Year, we peek at what’s coming around the bend for her and I get her answers to my fast five questions.We talked about:The mega pop star who makes Daisy “want to get back to the page”Daisy’s role models who show her how to “just keep getting up and keep going”The benefits of being a mom to teenagersThe song by said mega pop star that gets Daisy riled up (in a good way)The hardest question of them all–what meal would you have if someone said they’d make or order anything you want (it involves lots and lots of grease)For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AquaTru.com. Use promo code KATE to save 20% off a reverse osmosis water filter and support this podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s portion of my interview with Daisy Alpert Florin, author of My Last Innocent Year, we talk about the mindset side of creating. (Honestly, these are always my favorite episodes!)We covered:How you can “cloak” your story by writing fiction–incorporating the feelings of things you’ve experienced if not the exact experiences themselvesWorrying that people are sick of hearing you talkGetting over the voice that says “you don’t have the proper training to write a novel”What’s on the inspirational Post-It note that Daisy keeps above her monitorHow it’s never too to be a debut authorDaisy’s “buoyancy” about the future now that her kids are teens and hard work of early parenting is behind herThe collective disillusions Daisy would like to evaporateFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AquaTru.com. Use promo code KATE to save 20% off a reverse osmosis water filter and support this podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daisy Alpert Florin, author of a book I truly adored, My Last Innocent Year, about a young woman in her last year of college, which is recently out in paperbook and–hot tip–would make an excellent book group pick.My Last Innocent Year was a New York Times Book Reviews Editor's Choice and Good Morning America called it one of those stories that stays with you.I've had the pleasure of being on a writing retreat with Daisy and getting to know her both in person and on the page.And I am very excited to plumb the depths of her personal through line with you here today.In this episode on the practical matters that inform her writing, we cover:How she doesn’t tick the boxes of a ‘typical’ novelist’s path–majored in history, didn’t get an MFA, etc.How Daisy feels about publishing her first novel at age 50 (hint: The movie Daisy watched for fun that gave her ideas for her current bookHow writing a novel is like riding a horseHow she stays in the world of the novel so that her subconscious can be working things out even when she’s sleeping, showering or driving her carHow she captures the ideas she has when she’s sleeping, showering, or driving her carFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AquaTru.com. Use promo code KATE to save 20% off a reverse osmosis water filter and support this podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A preview of her second memoir, which has a central theme of earthquakes, both the geological variety and the personal kind (it sounds amazing I cannot wait)The allure of folk tales and fairy talesThe joy of going down a research wormholeNada’s current wormholes–turtle migration, and early African-American history in Rhode IslandGetting over the very human desire for external validationNada’s beautiful vision of a free PalestineThe YA novels Nada can’t put downOat milk matcha lattes (and why Nada hope they give her a green mustache at the coffeeshop)The perfection of a Sunday morning and navigating the kitchen when you’re the only parent homeNada’s favorite Palestinian dish (come to full show notes on Substack for a link)For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AquaTru.com. Use promo code KATE to save 20% off a reverse osmosis water filter and support this podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode I'm talking with Netta about what I call inner stuff, the thoughts, ideas, and attitudes that affect your work, even if you're not fully conscious of it, including:The process of her least favorite part of writing (sharing her work) becoming her most favorite partThe type of reader feedback that fills her heart and lights her up and fuels her to createFeeling out of step with the world–and being OK with thatBeing the only Arab kid around in the 90sNada’s plea–that we wake up from the collective illusion of separatenessFinding points of connection, particularly with people you disagree withAstrology talk! (She’s an Aries sun with a Pisces moon–equal parts ready to charge into a fight and to contemplate quantum physics.)For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AquaTru.com. Use promo code KATE to save 20% off a reverse osmosis water filter and support this podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nada Samih-Rotondo is a multi-genre Palestinian-American writer, teacher, and mother, who recently published her first book, a memoir called All Water Has Perfect Memory.Born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents, Nada immigrated to the U.S. at the age of six to Rhode Island. Her work has been published in the The Master's Review, Squat! Birth Journal, and Gulfstream Literary Magazine. Nada and I are talking on a school holiday because she is a teacher and I am so grateful that she made time for us.How Nada started writing her novel during the pandemic while teaching from home and homeschooling three kidsDeveloping patience with the publishing processReading as a vital part of feeding your creativityWriting in coffee shops (especially when you have kids)For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AquaTru.com. Use promo code KATE to save 20% off a reverse osmosis water filter and support this podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this final installment of my talk with Chelsey Goodan, author of Underestimated: The Wisdom and Power of Teenage Girls, we talk a lot about the many, many perks of embracing your particular brand of weirdness, as well as:The power of friends to keep you inspiredWhat teens AND adults can do to find their people and make meaningful friendshipsThe payoff that comes from paying attention to what in your life needs to changeUsing a milestone birthday–even one that’s a ways off–as fuelChelsey’s current favorite book on creativityThe Netflix show you should watch with your teenFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AquaTru.com. Use promo code KATE to save 20% off a reverse osmosis water filter and support this podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part 2 of my interview with Chelsey Goodan, author of Underestimated: The Wisdom and Power of Teenage Girls, we really break down the inner parts of writing, including how to be OK with the fact that people may misunderstand you.Other things we cover:The mistake most well-intentioned parents makeHow Chelsey deals with her biggest fear about her work–being misunderstoodDealing with a perfectionistic inner criticChelsey’s “intense” relationship to timeThe one cultural belief Chesley would like to vaporizeThe truth that Chelsey’s had to model for the teen girls in her lifeThe book and online personality assessment Chelsey swears by (and uses with the teens in her life, too)For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AquaTru.com. Use promo code KATE to save 20% off a reverse osmosis water filter and support this podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I’m talking with Chelsey Goodan, author, keynote speaker, and screenwriter whose new book Underestimated: The Wisdom and Power of Teenage Girls is coming out any minute now!As the mom of a 16-year-old girl, I just didn’t even think twice about inviting Chelsey on to Finding the Throughline. I literally read the title of her book and was like YES.In this first part of our interview, we unpack:The seeds of self-doubt, impostor syndrome, and people pleasing that are sown during the teenage yearsChelsey’s recipe for connecting with teenage girlsThe difference between being truthful and being bluntWhat helps teens (giving them space to feel their feelings) and what doesn’t (trying to fix)How Chelsey makes meditation doable, even delightfulHow to listen for inspirationHow to keep track of those inspirations so they don’t fly awayFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Big thanks to our sponsor, AquaTru.com. Use promo code KATE to save 20% off a reverse osmosis water filter and support this podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this final installment of interview with memoirist, speaker, and screenwriter Sarah Montana, we dive into where’s she’s headed–who her role models are, what’s perking up her ears, and how she’s taking what she learned as an advocate on the front lines in the writer’s strike and applying it to her own career.Why Sarah no longer has role models, per se, and what she looks to for inspiration insteadHaving a varied social dietHow Sarah is learning to ask for what she wantsHow growing up in a conflict averse household makes negotiating hardStaying involved in the writer’s union now that the strike has passedThe book series she’s been reading out loud with her husband, which she calls “the most fun I’ve had in a really long time”The playlist that alway turns Sarah’s energy around (in a good way)The special energy of transitional times of day, like twilight Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices