Totally Booked with Zibby

"I learned how strong I was. I learned that I'm a fighter. I learned that failure is never going to break me." Olympic runner and bobsledder Lolo Jones joins Zibby to discuss her new memoir, Over It, and the importance of reckoning with her recent past. Lolo shares how reading has always served as inspiration for her, the ways her approach to health and fitness have changed over the course of her career, and the peace she found when she realized reaching her goal of winning an Olympic medal was not nearly as significant as the effort she puts into herself.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3w4MEFHBookshop: https://bit.ly/3ypponq** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (Music by Morning Moon Music. Sound editing by TexturesSound. To inquire about advertising, please contact allie.gallo@acast.com.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Although both of Alex Michaelides' two novels have been instant bestsellers, he still often doubts his writing ability as well as any potential success for his work. Alex shares how he relies on meditation to separate himself from negative thoughts before writing, and an intricate planning method known as mind mapping that he uses to physically lay out his novels. He also tells Zibby about how he made the switch from working as a screenwriter to a novelist and what he plans to work on next.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/360KoEUBookshop: https://bit.ly/3ys1dER** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (Music by Morning Moon Music. Sound editing by TexturesSound. To inquire about advertising, please contact allie.gallo@acast.com.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After trying unsuccessfully to sell Boop and Eve's Road Trip, debut novelist Mary Helen Sheriff was told her manuscript had three red flags that many other first novels have as well. Mary shares her experience with Zibby and other writers who may be facing publication roadblocks, as well as a few funky tips for anyone stuck with writer's block. The two also discuss the differences between motherhood and grandmotherhood, how growing up in the 1980s and 90s affected the way they parent today, and which relationships in Mary's life helped shape her characters.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3xc72WPBookshop: https://bit.ly/3xyFjQx** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (Music by Morning Moon Music. Sound editing by TexturesSound. To inquire about advertising, please contact allie.gallo@acast.com.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"We tell the story we need to tell, and we have no business trying to avoid it." When Suleika Jaouad was twenty-two years old, she was diagnosed with leukemia and was only given a thirty-five percent chance to live. As she moved through her twenties and from the kingdom of the sick to that of the well, Suleika documented her life in both a personal journal and a column in the New York Times. Now, she shares her journey in Between Two Kingdoms, one of Zibby's favorite memoirs to date, and challenges readers to live their lives in technicolor even when everything has been upended.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3x9HoBVBookshop: https://bit.ly/3ycPPfR** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (Music by Morning Moon Music. Sound editing by TexturesSound. To inquire about advertising, please contact allie.gallo@acast.com.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zibby was recently joined by three-time guest Elyssa Friedland on IG Live to talk about her latest novel, Last Summer at the Golden Hotel, set during a pre-COVID summer at the last remaining resort in the Catskills. Elyssa tells Zibby about how she drew just as much inspiration from her own experiences in the Catskills as she did from Dirty Dancing, why she enjoys creating female characters that surprise readers, and offers a sneak preview about her upcoming novel, Most Likely.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/2TXl4gbBookshop: https://bit.ly/2SAbDDa** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (Music by Morning Moon Music. Sound editing by TexturesSound. To inquire about advertising, please contact allie.gallo@acast.com.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Debut novelist Hanna Halperin joins Zibby to discuss how the writing she produced during her MFA intersected with her role as a domestic abuse counselor to lead her to her book, Something Wild. Hanna shares how she immersed herself in the story so much that her characters surprised her, the research she conducted to accurately portray a nearby neighborhood as the backdrop for the plot, and what conversations she hopes her novel will spark.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3yaUmiWBookshop: https://bit.ly/3wb0beS** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (Music by Morning Moon Music. Sound editing by TexturesSound. To inquire about advertising, please contact allie.gallo@acast.com.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former CIA spies Christina and Ryan Hillsberg realized that parenting was a lot like their agency training: remove yourself from danger as quickly as possible, stay focused on the task at hand, and pay attention to lessons that become more self-sufficient. The Hillsbergs have passed this knowledge on to their children and want to help other parents incorporate it into their lives, too. With personal stories from their lives at home and in the field (all approved by the CIA, of course), License to Parent offers great advice for raising resourceful and self-sufficient kids.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/35ps08yBookshop: https://bit.ly/35mHKsH** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (Music by Morning Moon Music. Sound editing by TexturesSound. To inquire about advertising, please contact allie.gallo@acast.com.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zibby is joined by Sunjeev Sahota to discuss his latest novel, China Room. Inspired by a family legend, Sunjeev wove together two different books he had been working on to tell distinct but intricately connected parallel stories. Sunjeev shares the winding journey he went on to write this book, what he thinks of the gendered power dynamics that shape the story, and how dads also don't have time to read.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/2TmvmXlBookshop: https://bit.ly/3qCMlkq** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (Music by Morning Moon Music. Sound editing by TexturesSound. To inquire about advertising, please contact allie.gallo@acast.com.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the publication of her tenth novel, Count the Ways, Joyce Maynard feels she has said everything she wanted to about falling in love and the dream of making a family. The journalist, author, and teacher joined Zibby to discuss why she's drawn to stories that aren't being told, the ways in which fiction writing has allowed her to explore her real life relationships, and what she tells the women who attend her memoir workshops to help them feel empowered in telling their stories.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3qDYV2FBookshop: https://bit.ly/2Tej4QX** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (Music by Morning Moon Music. Sound editing by TexturesSound. To inquire about advertising, please contact allie.gallo@acast.com.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cartoonist and author Terri Libenson joins Zibby to discuss her latest middle-grade novel, Just Jaime, which was selected for The Washington Post KidsPost Summer Book Club. Terri and Zibby talk about their experiences of excluding and being excluded by friends in middle school, as well as how our painful and embarrassing childhood memories are actually important to discuss. Terri also shares the story of how she became a syndicated cartoonist which ultimately led to her to creating the Emmie & Friends series. Join the KidsPost Summer Book Club here: https://bit.ly/3vGgaByPurchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3hoCA4XBookshop: https://bit.ly/3Ae5yNz** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (Music by Morning Moon Music. Sound editing by TexturesSound. To inquire about advertising, please contact allie.gallo@acast.com.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.