エピソード

  • The Beheading Game Reanimates Tudor History

    The Beheading Game Reanimates Tudor History
    2026/03/27
    Rebecca Lehmann discusses The Beheading Game, a lyrical reimagining of Anne Boleyn awakening after her execution to reclaim her story. This week, we're stepping into a story we think we know and unsettling it completely. Rebecca Lehmann joins Book Gang to talk about The Beheading Game, a bold and genre-bending debut, with Anne Boleyn awakening in her coffin, gathering herself—quite literally—and setting out into the world. But rather than a fast-paced tale of revenge, this novel unfolds as a deeply moving, introspective journey through grief, motherhood, class, and the stories history tells about women. Together, we explore what it means to reframe a figure so often reduced to scandal, how poetic language shapes narrative, and why this story lingers in the quiet spaces of reckoning rather than spectacle. In this fascinating conversation, we explore: 📚 From Poet to Novelist: Rebecca shares how her background as an award-winning poet shaped the language and structure of this novel, what the Iowa Writers’ Workshop taught her about craft, and what she had to unlearn when stepping into long-form fiction. 📚 Reimagining Anne Boleyn After Death: We dive into the unforgettable opening scene—Anne awakening in her coffin and sewing her head back onto her body—and what it meant to begin the story at the end. Rebecca discusses how she approached writing Anne not as a legend, but as a woman processing the collapse of her life, her marriage, and her legacy. 📚 Motherhood, Memory, and Reckoning: At its heart, this is a story about a mother trying to make sense of what she’s lost. We talk about Anne’s longing for her daughter, Elizabeth —the emotional core of the novel —and how this reimagining invites readers to see her not as a cautionary tale but as a fully realized woman. 📚📚 BONUS BOOK LIST: Don’t miss this week’s companion book list with 17 Tudor Books—perfect for readers who want to stay in this world a little longer. Patrons will receive a weekly printable checklist for their next library visit! Meet Rebecca Lehmann Rebecca Lehmann is an award-winning poet and essayist and the author of three poetry collections, including Ringer, which won the AWP Donald Hall Prize. She holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and is an associate professor of English and Gender & Women’s Studies at Saint Mary's College. Her work has appeared in The American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, NPR’s The Slowdown, and more. She lives in Indiana with her family. Mentioned in this episode: Buy Me a Coffee - I'm grateful for your support this year! NEW BOOK LIST: 17 Tudor Books to Explore the Original Royal Drama Join the April Book Club 4/30 at 8 PM ET (The Sunflower Boys) 2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections) The Beheading Game by Rebecca Lehmann The Tudors Wolf Hall Books by Hilary Mantel A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill Kelly Link Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores. Connect With Us: Join the Book Gang Patreon Connect With Rebecca Lehmann on Instagram Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice Get My Happy List Newsletter Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter
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    50 分
  • The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness (Vault Session)

    The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness (Vault Session)
    2026/03/20
    In The Lady’s Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness, Sarah Ramey shares her journey through chronic illness and the medical system’s blind spots. This week, we're bringing forward a powerful 2022 conversation with Sarah Ramey, author of The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness, whose novel was selected as a MomAdvice Book Club Book the year that this conversation was recorded. This discussion remains as urgent and resonant today as when it first aired, offering an unflinching look at chronic illness, medical bias, and the stories women are too often forced to carry alone. In this episode, we also discuss the complexities of the mind-body connection, the role of privilege in accessing care, and the turning point that led Sarah toward healing through functional medicine. Anne Patchett featured The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness in her "If You Haven't Read This Book, It's New to You" series for Parnassus Books. She described it as crackling, electrifying, funny, and fast-paced—a book that will outrage you and one you won't be able to put down. I co-sign this recommendation and am proud to pull this out from our studio vault as we celebrate this month's book club book, The Mad Wife, and the ways women's health has been so misunderstood. In this spoiler-filled conversation: 📚 A deeply personal look at life before and after chronic illness: Sarah reflects on her "B.C." life—before chronic illness—and what it means to lose, grieve, and reconstruct identity when your body no longer cooperates. 📚 Unpacking medical gaslighting and gender bias in healthcare: From being dismissed as "mentally ill" to navigating systemic disbelief, we explore why women's pain is so often minimized—and what must change within the medical system. 📚 Listening to hundreds of women—and finding patterns in pain: Drawing from interviews with over 200 women, Sarah shares the common threads in their experiences, the emotional toll of carrying those stories, and how movements like #MeToo helped create space for this conversation. 📚📚 BONUS BOOK LIST: Don't miss this week's NEW companion list with 24 Medical Drama Books to Get Your Heart Racing, available to reserve now for your best weekend ever. Patrons will receive weekly printable checklists for their next library visit! Meet Sarah Ramey Sarah Ramey is a writer and musician (known as Wolf Larsen) living in Tucson, Arizona. She received an MFA in creative nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and was a blogger for President Obama’s 2008 campaign. She is the recipient of a Whiting Foundation grant for nonfiction, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation residency grant, and has been featured in The Paris Review, NPR, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, Salon, Refinery 29, LitHub, and The Washingtonian. The Lady’s Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness was an Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best Memoirs, it was a starred selection for Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Booklist, and it was chosen as one of the best books of 2020 by BookPage. Sarah has been living with serious chronic pain and illness for seventeen years, and The Lady’s Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness is her first book. Mentioned in this episode: Download Today's Show Transcript Buy Me a Coffee - I'm grateful for your support this year! NEW BOOK LIST: 24 Medical Drama Books to Get Your Heart Racing Join the March Book Club 3/26 at 8 PM ET (The Mad Wife) 2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections) You With the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate The Lady’s Handbook for Mysterious Illness by Sarah Ramey Ann Patchett on The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness Unwell Women by Elinor Cleghorn Chronic Pain is Surprisingly Easy to Treat Sarno The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk Katherine May Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores. Connect With Us: Join the Book Gang Patreon Connect With Sarah Ramey on Instagram or Her Website Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice Get My Happy List Newsletter Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter
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    1 時間 15 分
  • March Book Club: The Mad Wife (Reader's Choice Selection)

    March Book Club: The Mad Wife (Reader's Choice Selection)
    2026/03/13
    Bestselling author Meagan Church returns to discuss our March Book Club selection, The Mad Wife, and its whirlwind success. This month, we welcome Meagan Church back to Book Gang to celebrate our March Reader's Choice selection, The Mad Wife—the most-voted book by our community. Meagan first joined us earlier in her writing journey to discuss the inspiration behind this story. Now she returns following the novel's breakout success, including appearances on the bestseller lists and recognition as a Barnes & Noble Fiction Pick. In this follow-up conversation, we talk about how Life has changed since The Mad Wife reached readers around the country—from touring and meeting fans to seeing Lulu's story resonate with audiences. We also take a lighter turn with a fun round of writer habits, reading life confessions, and quickfire questions designed to help listeners get to know Meagan beyond the page. In this spoiler-free conversation with my friend, we explore: 📚 Celebrating a bestselling moment: Meagan reflects on The Mad Wife becoming a Barnes & Noble Fiction Pick and landing on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. 📚 Life after publication: From book tours to meeting readers face-to-face, Meagan shares how the response to Lulu's story has shaped her perspective on storytelling and future projects. 📚 Getting to know the writer: In a fun closing segment, Meagan talks about her writing rituals, reading Life, favorite bookstores, and the habits that keep her creative process moving. 📚📚 BONUS BOOK LIST: Don't miss this week's NEW companion list with 24 Medical Drama Books to Get Your Heart Racing, available to reserve now for your best weekend ever. Patrons will receive weekly printable checklists for their next library visit! Meet Meagan Church Meagan Church is the Southern indie bestselling author of The Girls We Sent Away, The Last Carolina Girl , and The Mad Wife, this month's Barnes & Noble Book fiction pick. She writes to tell grounded stories that explore the complexity of human nature. Her historical fiction chronicles the plight and fight of unheard voices of the past. After receiving a B.A. in English from Indiana University, Meagan built a career as a storyteller and freelance writer for brands, blogs, and organizations. She is an adjunct professor for Drexel University's MFA in Creative Writing program, helping authors tell their own stories through editing, coaching, and workshops. A Midwesterner by birth, she now lives in North Carolina with her high school sweetheart, three children, and a plethora of pets. Mentioned in this episode: Gratitude to Our Show Patrons: This week's episode is open to all listeners thanks to generous donations made through Buy Me a Coffee and your community memberships. If you'd like to keep the conversation going, you're invited to join our Patreon Book Club chat on March 26th at 8 PM ET, where we'll dive deeper into spoilers, themes, and reader reactions WITH MEAGAN. Membership is $5 a month, or you can prepay for the year and save 10%. Download Today's Show Transcript (Scroll down to view second episode) Buy Me a Coffee - I'm grateful for your support this year! NEW BOOK LIST: 24 Medical Drama Books to Get Your Heart Racing Join the March Book Club 3/26 at 8 PM ET (The Mad Wife) 2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections) Unmasking Hysteria in The Mad Wife Podcast Meagan's spoiler episode The Last Carolina Girl by Meagan Church The Girls We Sent Away by Meagan Church The Mad Wife by Meagan Church Cleary Bookstore The Mad Wife Spotify Playlist Story Genius by Lisa Cron Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner Everything is Spiritual by Rob Bell The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien Orbital by Samatha Harvey The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett Hit the Road with Annie Hartnett Podcast Shark Heart by Emily Habeck How Shark Heart Transformed Emily Habeck and Her Readers Olivia Muenter - Such a Bad Influence Podcast The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Parnassus Books The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores. Connect With Us: Join the Book Gang Patreon Connect with Meagan Church on Instagram or her Website Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice Get My Happy List Newsletter Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter
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    1 時間 7 分
  • Where the Girls Were Brings a Mother's Haunting Story to Light

    Where the Girls Were Brings a Mother's Haunting Story to Light
    2026/03/06
    Kate Schatz joins the show to discuss Where the Girls Were, a novel inspired by the hidden history of maternity homes and the young women sent away during the 1960s. This week, Kate Schatz joins the Book Gang podcast to discuss her adult fiction debut, Where the Girls Were, a novel that explores a little-discussed chapter of American history: the maternity homes that housed more than a million young women during the 1950s and 1960s. Drawing inspiration from her own family's haunting history and years of research, Schatz brings readers into the world of a teenage prodigy sent away to give birth in secret just weeks before graduating high school. In our conversation, we discuss how the story first took shape, the transition from writing nonfiction about activism and history to crafting a deeply researched novel, and the realities of maternity homes in the mid-twentieth century. Schatz also shares some of the surprising details uncovered during her research. In this fascinating conversation, we explore: 📚 From Rad Women to Fiction: Kate shares her journey from bestselling nonfiction author and activist to novelist, revealing how writing Where the Girls Were challenged her craft and deepened her understanding of history, activism, and personal storytelling. 📚 The Family Story Behind the Novel: Schatz shares how learning about her mother's experience with pregnancy and closed adoption in the mid-20th century shaped the inspiration and research behind the book. 📚 Uncovering Hidden Histories: We discuss the surprising and sometimes shocking research Kate unearthed about maternity homes, women's health, and the realities faced by girls in the 1960s, including the curious role of rabbits in pregnancy tests. 📚📚 BONUS BOOK LIST: Don't miss this week's NEW companion list with 27 Books About the 1960s to escape into another timeline, available to reserve now for your best weekend ever. Patrons will receive weekly printable checklists for their next library visit! Meet Kate Schatz KATE SCHATZ is a New York Times bestselling author, public speaker, writing teacher, and queer feminist parent who's been talking, writing, and teaching about race, gender, social justice, and equity for many years. Her books include the novel Where the Girls Were; Do the Work: An Anti-Racist Activity Book, with W. Kamau Bell, the comedian and Emmy-winning host of CNN's United Shades of America; the "Rad Women" book series (including Rad American Women A-Z, Rad Women Worldwide, and Rad American History A-Z), which have sold over 300,000 copies and been translated into four languages; and Rid of Me: A Story, published in 2007 as part of the cult-favorite 33 ⅓ series. Kate has taught writing and Women's Studies at Brown University, Rhode Island College, San Jose State, and UC Santa Cruz. Born and raised in San Jose, California, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her wife, their three kids, and their many pets. Where the Girls Were is her fiction debut and is available on store shelves now. Mentioned in this episode: Download Today's Show Transcript Buy Me a Coffee - I'm grateful for your support this year! NEW BOOK LIST: 27 Books About the 1960s Join the March Book Club 3/26 at 8 PM ET (The Mad Wife) 2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections) Where the Girls Were by Kate Schatz Do the Work: An Antiracist Activity Book by W. Kamau Bell & Kate Schatz Rad American Women by Kate Schatz Rad Women Worldwide by Kate Schatz Rad Girls Can by Kate Schatz Rad American History by Kate Schatz Kate Schatz Rabbit Test Our Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women's Health Book Collective The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler Saints for All Occasions by J Courtney Sullivan When Abortion Was a Crime by Leslie J Reagan Wake Up Little Susie by Rickie Solinger Relinquished by Gretchen Sisson My Mother's Daughter by Tracy Clark-Flory Want Me by Tracy Clark-Flory Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores. Connect With Us: Join the Book Gang Patreon Connect With Kate Schatz on Instagram or Her Website Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice Get My Happy List Newsletter Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter
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    55 分
  • Lady Tremaine Reimagines Cinderella

    Lady Tremaine Reimagines Cinderella
    2026/02/27
    Rachel Hochhauser joins us to discuss her debut novel, Lady Tremaine, a reimagining of Cinderella told from the perspective of its most misunderstood figure. This week, we're stepping back into a story we think we know, and turning it inside out. Rachel Hochhauser joins us to talk about her debut novel, Lady Tremaine, a bold and lyrical reimagining of Cinderella told from the perspective of its most misunderstood figure. Together, we explore what it means to reclaim a villain, the power structures embedded in fairy tales, and the quiet, often invisible labor of women navigating survival in a world that offers them very little protection. This conversation is full of trivia, with fascinating tidbits about falcons to reimagining the hinges of one of our favorite fairy tales. In this fascinating conversation, we explore: 📚 From Puzzle Maker to Published Debut: Rachel walks us through her emotional journey to publication — from manuscript to agent to book deal — and reflects on the realities of the debut journey, while celebrating how her two unique jobs intertwine. Don't worry, we DO talk about her jigsaw puzzle process! 📚 Rewriting a Villain's Origin Story: Rachel shares the first spark behind telling Cinderella from Lady Tremaine's perspective and the challenge of reshaping a fixed fairy tale into something historically grounded, emotionally layered, and narratively new. 📚 Crafting Voice, Research, and Power We explore the lyrical rhythm of her prose, the fascinating research behind the scenes with the falcon, and how the rivalry between Etheldreda and the Queen allowed her to examine power, motherhood, and structural limits placed on women in a way that she's excited to share with the next generation of readers. 📚📚 BONUS BOOK LIST: Don't miss this week's companion list with 31 Fairy Tale Retellings, available to reserve now for your best weekend ever. Patrons will receive weekly printable checklists for their next library visit! Meet Rachel Hochhauser Rachel Hochhauser is a writer and co-founder of Piecework, a cult-favorite puzzle brand. Raised in Santa Barbara, she studied at New York University and earned her master's in fiction from the University of Southern California. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two daughters. Lady Tremaine is her debut novel and available on store shelves on March 3rd. Mentioned in this episode: Download Today's Show Transcript Buy Me a Coffee - I'm grateful for your support this year! NEW BOOK LIST: 31 Fairy Tale Retellings to Enchant Your Reading Life The Best Books I Read in 2025 (Full List) Join the March Book Club 3/26 at 8 PM ET (The Mad Wife) 2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections) Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser Returning to Magical Realism with Eowyn Ivey (Podcast Episode) Circe by Madeline Miller The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks The Beheading Game by Rebecca Lehmann Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores. Connect With Us: Join the Book Gang Patreon Connect With Rachel Hochhauser on Instagram or Her Website Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice Get My Happy List Newsletter Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter
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    48 分
  • In the Shadow of the Brick Kilns of Pakistan (When the Fireflies Dance)

    In the Shadow of the Brick Kilns of Pakistan (When the Fireflies Dance)
    2026/02/20
    Aisha Hassan discusses her debut novel, When the Fireflies Dance, a moving family saga set in Lahore and the research inspired by real stories of bonded labor. In this week's episode of Book Gang, I'm excited to share my conversation with debut novelist Aisha Hassan about her first novel, When the Fireflies Dance. This moving family saga is set in Lahore and draws on real-life stories of bonded labor in Pakistan's brick kilns. The narrative follows one family's struggle for survival, dignity, and hope after the loss of their son. During our discussion, we explore Aisha's journey to publication, the intricate construction of her novel, and the important responsibility of addressing social injustices through fiction. In this informative conversation, we explore: 📚 A Steady Road to Publication: Aisha reflects on the early spark for the novel, her process of finding an agent, and what the reality of a debut journey looked like behind the scenes, including the quieter, less glamorous parts of bringing a first book into the world. 📚 Building Lahore on the Page: We talk about her early visits to brick kilns, the environmental realities of red dust and smoke that shape the novel's atmosphere, and how she constructed a world where ecological harm and economic injustice are ever-present forces. 📚 Family, Memory, and Revelation: A death in the family shadows every chapter. Aisha explains her decision to reveal trauma in fragments, the symbolism of the fireflies in her story, and what she hopes readers understand about bonded labor after turning the final page. 📚📚 BONUS BOOK LIST: Don't miss this week's companion list with 41 Family Drama Books to Escape Your Real Life, available to reserve now for your best weekend ever. Patrons will receive weekly printable checklists for their next library visit! Meet Aisha Hassan Aisha Hassan is an award-winning writer living and working in London. A graduate of the University of Oxford's prestigious Creative Writing Master's programme and a Curtis Brown Creative alumna, Aisha's play Pickled Mangoes was performed at Soho Theatre, and her poetry has appeared in Under the Radar and Campus magazines. WHEN THE FIREFLIES DANCE is her debut novel and has been longlisted for the Bridport Novel Award and Hachette's Mo Siewcharran Prize, and shortlisted for the London Writers Award. As a child, she lived in Lahore, Pakistan. Mentioned in this episode: Download Today's Show Transcript Buy Me a Coffee - I'm grateful for your support this year! NEW BOOK LIST: 41 Family Drama Books to Escape Real Life Join the February Book Club 2/26 at 8 PM ET (People of Means) 2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections) When the Fireflies Dance by Aisha Hassan (KINDLE UNLIMITED) The Whalebone Theater by Joanna Quinn White Mughals by William Dalrymple The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini The Bee Keeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali A Splintering Dur e Aziz Amna A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores. Connect With Us: Join the Book Gang Patreon Connect With Aisha Hassan on Instagram or Her Website Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice Get My Happy List Newsletter Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter
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    40 分
  • Little Movements: A Grown-Up Coming-of-Age in Motion

    Little Movements: A Grown-Up Coming-of-Age in Motion
    2026/02/13
    Debut author Lauren Morrow joins us to discuss Little Movements, a sharp, funny, and deeply perceptive literary novel set in the world of professional dance.Lauren Morrow joins Book Gang to discuss her satirical novel, Little Movements, which follows Layla, a Black choreographer navigating a fragile marriage, a long-delayed hope of motherhood, and a career-defining opportunity at a prestigious arts institution.When Layla relocates alone to create a new piece from the ground up, she finds herself confronting not just the physical demands of dance but the subtler pressures of tokenization, institutional expectations, and who gets to define what her work "means."Drawing from Morrow's background in dance and arts publicity, Little Movements offers an insider's view of how cultural organizations frame progress, how money shapes artistic freedom, and how women—especially Black women—are often asked to carry symbolic weight they never volunteered for.In this fascinating conversation, we explore:📚 From MFA to debut novel: Lauren takes us back to the earliest seed of Little Movements, how her time at the Helen Zell Writers' Program shaped the book, and what her path to publication looked like once the manuscript was complete. We also talk candidly about celebrating the "yes" and what it really entails to debut with a literary novel.📚 Writing the politics of art: We dig into the behind-the-scenes realities of the dance world as a Black woman, including institutional language, and the quiet pressure placed on artists to make their work "say something," for others.📚 Capturing movement on a page: Lauren shares how she approached putting dance on the page, given its inherent visual and kinetic qualities. We discuss the techniques she used in her prose to make readers feel the movement on the page, even if they haven't danced themselves.📚📚 BONUS BOOK LIST: Don't miss this week's companion list with These 21 Books About Ballet Took Me Back to the Barre to reserve now to celebrate the arts! Patrons will receive weekly printable checklists for their next library visit!Meet Lauren MorrowLauren Morrow studied dance and creative writing at Connecticut College and earned an MFA in fiction from the University of Michigan's Helen Zell Writers' Program. She was a Kimbilio Fellow, an Aspen Words Emerging Writer Fellow, and the recipient of two Hopwood Awards, among other prizes. Her writing has appeared in Ploughshares and The South Carolina Review. She worked in publicity at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and is now a publicity manager at Dutton, Plume, and Tiny Reparations Books. Originally from St. Louis, she lives in Brooklyn. Mentioned in this episode:Download Today's Show TranscriptBuy Me a Coffee - I'm grateful for your support this year!NEW BOOK LIST: These 21 Books About Ballet Took Me Back to the BarreJoin the February Book Club 2/26 at 8 PM ET (People of Means)2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections)Little Movements by Lauren MorrowJunie by Erin Crosby EckstineAlvin Ailey's RevelationsDance Theater of HarlemAiley IINaima CosterHeads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-SpiresBefore You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle EvansLuster by Raven LeilaniCome and Get It by Kiley ReidJames by Percival EverettErasure by Percival EverettAmerican FictionThe Spectacular by Fiona DavisThe Bright Years by Sarah DamoffSarah Damoff - The Bright Years Podcast InterviewThe Feath3r TheoryBookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores.Connect With Us:Join the Book Gang PatreonConnect With Lauren Morrow on Instagram or Her WebsiteConnect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdviceGet My Happy List NewsletterGet the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter
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    54 分
  • February Book Club: People of Means

    February Book Club: People of Means
    2026/02/06
    Author Nancy Johnson joins us to discuss People of Means, our February Book Club selection for Black History Month, a powerful, moving dual-timeline novel.Nancy Johnson joins Book Gang to discuss her richly layered second novel, which explores race, class, ambition, and resistance in 1960s Nashville and 1992 Chicago, offering readers a perfectly baked reading experience for Black History Month.In this deeply thoughtful conversation, Nancy reflects on writing a novel that spans decades—from the Jim Crow South and the Fisk University protest movement to the corporate corridors of the early 1990s and the aftermath of the Rodney King verdict. We talk about generational inheritance, the pressures of Black excellence, and the quiet, everyday decisions that shape history just as much as headline-making acts of protest.Nancy also shares what it was like to speak at Fisk University, a moment that mirrors the heart of People of Means, and how beginning her fiction career later in life shaped both her confidence and her creative freedom. From navigating second-novel pressure to crafting two distinct voices for Freda and Tulip, this conversation offers insight into both the craft of writing and the moral questions at the center of the book.In this enlightening conversation, we explore:📚 Privilege, "Black excellence," and the cost of being exceptional: Through Freda and Tulip, People of Means interrogates the idea of excellence as both inheritance and burden. Nancy unpacks how upward mobility creates opportunity while also setting expectations that can be overwhelming.📚 Dual timelines as moral mirrors: Spanning 1960s Nashville and 1992 Chicago, the novel places two women of means at pivotal historical moments—the Fisk University protests during Jim Crow and the Rodney King and Latasha Harlins aftermath. Nancy shares how she differentiated Freda's and Tulip's voices while maintaining an emotional throughline.📚 Everyday resistance and the responsibility of those with "means": Rather than centering grand acts of activism, People of Means asks what responsibility looks like in daily life—at work, within families, and in moments where silence feels safer than speaking up.📚📚 BONUS BOOK LIST: Don't miss this week's companion list: 29 Dual-Timeline Novels that use this as the heart of their story structure. I am including my all-time favorites and a few new releases I can't wait to read. Patrons will receive weekly printable checklists for their next library visit!Meet Nancy JohnsonA native of Chicago's South Side, Nancy Johnson worked for more than a decade as an Emmy-nominated, award-winning television journalist at CBS and ABC affiliates nationwide.Her second novel, People of Means, published by William Morrow/HarperCollins, was named one of PEOPLE Magazine's Most Anticipated Books of 2025, with praise from NPR, Real Simple, Southern Living, Woman's World, and more.Her debut novel, The Kindest Lie, was a New York Times Editors' Choice and received widespread critical acclaim. A graduate of Northwestern University and UNC–Chapel Hill, Nancy lives in downtown Chicago, where she works as a director of brand journalism and storytelling for a major healthcare nonprofit.Mentioned in this episode:Gratitude to Our Show Patrons: This week's episode is open to all listeners thanks to generous donations made through Buy Me a Coffee and your community memberships. If you'd like to keep the conversation going, you're invited to join our Patreon Book Club chat on February 26 at 8 PM ET, where we'll dive deeper into spoilers, themes, and reader reactions. Membership is $5 a month, or you can prepay for the year and save 10%.Download Today's TranscriptNEW BOOK LIST: 29 Dual-Timeline Books to Read NowJoin the February Book Club 2/26 at 8 PM ET (People of Means)2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections)People of Means by Nancy JohnsonThe Kindest Lie by Nancy JohnsonFisk University SpeechDiane NashThe Vanishing Half by Brit BennettBookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores. Connect With Us:Join the Book Gang PatreonConnect With Nancy Johnson on Instagram or Her WebsiteConnect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdviceGet My Happy List NewsletterGet the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter
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    51 分