10 Things To Tell You

As we near the 200th episode of 10 Things To Tell You, we're using this summer to pull a few episodes out of the archives from the first year of the show. This episode is for you if you’ve ever looked at a photo of yourself and gasped. This has happened to all of us, right? We've looked a photo of ourselves and seen a stranger.   FILL OUT THE PODCAST LISTENER SURVEY HERE   Mentioned in this episod...

Amy Keller Laird is the founder of Mental , the first mental health lifestyle platform for women. Previously, she was the Global Editor-in-Chief of Women’s Health and Beauty Director of Allure. Amy is a thought leader in wellness, mental health, and beauty, having appeared as an expert on Today, Good Morning America, The Doctors, and Entertainment Tonight. She has OCD, and has been named a Friend...

As we near the 200th episode of 10 Things To Tell You, we're using this summer to pull a few episodes out of the archives from the first year of the show.  This episode and this concept is brought to you by an old boyfriend, who (I think?) made up this analogy and it contributed to the end of our relationship and also has stayed with me as a major life question and metaphor. FILL OUT THE PODCAST L...

June is my birthday month, and every year I create a personal episode for the occasion. This year, instead of waxing nostaligic or sharing what I've learned in the last year, I'm taking us on a journey.  Of metaphors.  I'm sharing four metaphors that feel especially apt for life right now: One Point (clap clap) At A Time There are years where you wander and years when you're on the road Accelerate...

Instead of waiting for the end of the year to talk about our favorite books, my real life book club members Yasmin Dunn and Stephanie Newman-Smith and I decided we should have a mid-year meeting to discuss some of the great things we've read in this first half of 2023.  We talk about the best novels, memoirs, personal growth, and general nonfiction books that stand out, and even share some of the...

I am coming off of an intense season where the work-life balance scale was tipped firmly in the work direction. I know the ebb and flow of this equation and I have come to understand that sometimes imbalance is exactly what is needed while tending to something important. But none of us want to feel out of balance for long. This is why I loved chatting with my guest Tina Wells , author of the new b...

Elizabeth Passarella and I have a lot in common: we're both authors, and mothers, and both moved from small, southern cultures to big cities to become writers. I spent my twenties working in reality tv while she spent the same time period as an editor at the top beauty magazines.  And then, having never met but with many mutal friends and chasing similar literary dreams, we released both of our bo...

Do you have a signature style? Do you want to have one? I have a few signature styles, things that I feel good in, looks that I'm known for, a style of expressing on the outside how I feel on the inside: bold lipstick, head scarves, and sweatshirts. These things anchor my favorite outfits.  JOIN SECRET STUFF FOR THE JUNE STYLE SYMPOSIUM In this episode, I'm taking away some of the myths of signatu...

When I sat down to write The Mentor chapter of The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs , I thought I was going to reveal that The Mentor was the seat that has remained empty on my own life council.  But as I wrote, I realized that I have had mentors along the way, women who have lit the path the ahead of me and shown me who I wanted to be. Chief among those is my friend Cyndi Finkle - a wom...

The third annual STEPHEN KING SUMMER starts June 1!  This year we're reading two books and watching two movies together.  We'll kick off STEPHEN KING SUMMER with a movie watchalong of The Shining on Sunday, June 4 and throughout June & July we'll be reading THE STAND .  Later in the summer we'll do a movie watchalong of The Dead Zone, and in August we'll be reading King's nonfiction work ON WR...

Over the last few months of talking about the many layers to adult friendship as I promote my new book The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs , I've received so many questions about friendship conflict and how to navigate it with grace or end a friendship with love.  I've answered these questions to the best of my ability with my own life experience, but I also know when it's time to call...

There is something about Mary Marantz ’s story and writing that I just connect so deeply with. Her memoir DIRT was one of my favorite reads of 2021 (listen to our conversation about it here ) and she is back on the show to talk about her newest book, Slow Growth Equals Strong Roots , which came out last fall. In this episode, Mary and I talk about striving to be the most put together person in the...

Eighteen months ago I started working with a business coach. It was the end of 2021 and I was, frankly, falling apart in several ways. In an effort to make something (anything) work, I hired business coach Retha Nichole to help me figure out how to prioritize the various aspects of my online work. I wanted to feel less scattered and I wanted to make more money.  At first, I felt embarrassed that I...

My new book The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs came out last month, and one of the greatest pieces of feedback I've already received is that it would make a great book club pick!  I agree wholeheartedly - I envisioned both of my books being read with a friend, partner, or group. Which is exactly why I offered a book club as a preorder bonus and why I chose The Life Council as the April...

As someone who has been writing and creating on the internet for over a decade, I know first hand all the challenges that one can face in their pursuit of creative work. The desire to create is there, but the obstacles are real, especially if you become a parent and feel like your time, resources and energy are limited. My guest, Ashlee Gadd , is the perfect person to speak to his as she has just...

As I head back to my home state of Oklahoma this week to promote The Life Council , I'm feeling nostalgic in every way.  Even as life has marched forward, and I entered my twenties, then my thirties, and now my forties, I have found it useful to tap back into the childhood version of me. It reminds me who I am in my core and it reminds me where I came from.  And sometimes, even as I evolve in a po...

Welcome to the final episode in my Friendship Stories series.  My guest today is someone you might recognize if you've ever emailed or DM'd the show, or you've just heard me talk about her giant contribution to 10 Things To Tell You , my book launches, and all other behind-the-scenes operations around here: Caroline! In this episode about the serendipity of friendship, Caroline tells us the story...

It's time for another episode of Favorite Things (Right Now)! As a reminder, we do Favorite Things episodes because they're fun and also because thinking about what we're really into right now is another way of making a gratitude list.  Plus who doesn't love hearing and sharing awesome things?!   On this episode, I'm sharing a variety of favorites, including: The Life Council Book Tour New Favorit...

Welcome to another episode in my Friendship Stories series.  Carol and Gloria's friendship spans a few cultural differences, including race (Carol is Asian and Gloria is Black) and a large age gap (they have twenty years between them). In this episode, Carol speaks candidly about how these differences affects their friendship and bring both challenges but also beautiful gifts.  This conversation i...

Welcome to another episode in my Friendship Stories series.  Over the last few months, we’ve heard a number of uplifting stories about unique and transformative friendships in this series. But today’s episode is about an aspect of friendship that is painful and rarely discussed: the friendship break up. My guest, JeriLynne, shares that when her marriage ended, there was collateral damage in the fo...

In my new book The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs , I write about how the "old friend" doesn't necessarily mean than you've known one another for decades. All that is required to hold that Life Council seat is to have a friend who has known you from one version of yourself into another. That actual timeline might vary.  But Shauna Niequist is one of my oldest friends however you measur...

Welcome to another episode in my Friendship Stories series. The childhood that my guest Kammy is going to describe in this conversation is unlike any I've ever heard. She grew up on a remote island just two square miles in size, without much contact with the rest of the world. Looking back, Kammy can see that the friendships from this time in her life shaped her relationships to come, and the bond...

In the framework of my new book The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs , the duo behind the Pantsuit Politics podcast could be considered Business Besties or Old Friends, but I see them primarily as BATTLE BUDDIES. Beth Silvers and Sarah Stewart Holland have spent nearly ten years publicly discussing the American political landscape on the podcast Pantsuit Politics , and, well, you can ima...

The Secret Tapes and all other ORDER BONUSES for my new book The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs are back for a limited time! BUY THE LIFE COUNCIL NOW Purchase The Life Council in any format from any retailer and take your receipt number to TheLifeCouncilBookBonuses.com to fill out the form and get all of the order bonuses including the exclusive book club, the printable discussion guid...

I have 10 things to tell you about my new book The Life Council , which launches TODAY April 4, 2023 in every format: paperback, hard cover, ebook, and audiobook (read by me).  BUY THE LIFE COUNCIL This is my second book in two years, and the process and mindset behind writing and marketing The Life Council has been so different from launching my first book in 2021.  In this episode, I wanted to s...