Better Me

After six years and more than 180 episodes, I've decided that it's time to put the Better Me Podcast to bed. Three of my favourite people, who were also guests on previous episodes, joined me to say farewell. My dear friend Jennifer Diehr, who was a guest multiple times to talk about books, and author Kelly S. Thompson, whom I met because she was a guest in 2023 joined me. Also, my daughter Sydney...

Fall is a good busy time, and snow has arrived, but when exactly does winter start?

Julie M. Green was diagnosed with autism when her autistic son, Carson, was ten years old. She joined me to talk about her experience as a mom with autism and how her own diagnosis helped her to better understand and care for herself. Her new book Motherhood: A Memoir of Generational Autism, Parenthood and Radical Acceptance,  is out from ECW Press. Julie's website -  https://juliemgreen.ca/home J...

My dear friend Jennifer Diehr returned to the podcast to talk about the World Series, what we've been reading, and the terrible algebra course we met in a long, long time ago.

Dr. Brittany Penner, an author and practicing family physician in Manitoba, joined me to talk about her new memoir, "Children Like Us: A Métis Woman's Memoir of Family, Identity and Walking Herself Home," growing up as an Indigenous woman in a non-Indigenous family, the 60s Scoop, and how her experiences growing up, including multiple traumatic events, shaped who she is as a person and a doctor. A...

Author Ashley Herring Blake joined me to talk about her writing process and what it's like to have her books banned.

Here we are with the start of another season of the Better Me Podcast. In this episode, you'll hear about some of the upcoming episodes, self-care, and my impending experience with empty-nest syndrome.

It's time to take some time off for the summer, but before I go, I recorded this episode on having patience with yourself and setting up your supports and tools before you need them.

Writer and illustrator Gabrielle Drolet joined me to talk about her struggles with chronic pain, its effects on her ability to write and draw, and what that has meant for her identity and mental health.

Unexpected things happen all the time in our typical days. We need to keep an eye out for the ones that will make us smile or laugh. I also talk about the parody film Hardware Wars (1978), which I was reminded of when I recently saw the trailer for the sequel to Spaceballs.

Award-winning author Tessa McWatt and I had a lovely chat about the role that elders, whether human or trees, play in the world. We spoke about her latest book, The Snag: A Mother, A Forest and Wild Grief, and about the joy and peace we both find in writing.

Friend and fellow educator and podcaster Terry Greene joined me to discuss our concerns regarding generative artificial intelligence (GenAI).

Best-selling author Claire Cameron joined me to discuss her latest book, How to Survive a Bear Attack. We talked about an infamous bear attack, how much bears and humans are alike, and how her life has changed since a cancer diagnosis.

Once Renee Hess discovered the game of Hockey, she was hooked. But as a black woman, she found that she and women and girls like her weren’t always welcomed into that space as fans, players, or the families of players. Out of that came the founding of the Black Girls Hockey Club. Renee joined me to talk about her journey into the hockey world, what BGHC is and does, and the role that individual se...

Noelle Podar was finally living as the person she truly is, but as a trans woman, she couldn’t keep silent anymore about what the U.S. government and others are doing to the trans community. She joined me to talk about her journey and becoming a reluctant activist.

Depression can mean missing out on years or experiences. In this episode, I talk about that and how I’m trying to make up for some of what I missed out on.

Welcome to the new season! It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years and 166 episodes. Here’s a bit of a preview of what’s coming up.  Oh, and be sure to follow me on Bluesky: @mctoonish

This is the final episode of 2024. In it, I shared some of the things I’m trying to keep in mind to care for myself and things I’m hoping you will take to heart as well.

Dr. Najwa Zebian, my guest for episode 64, joins me 100 episodes later to talk about her latest book The Only Constant  and to talk about why change can be so challenging for people.

Best-selling author Oliver Burkeman and I discussed the fact that we all have choices in life as long as we’re willing to deal with the consequences and that what is often called our "comfort zone” may not be all that comfortable.

Bestselling Canadian author and journalist Elizabeth Renzetti joined me to discuss her new book What She Said: Conversations About Equality. We talked about the way victims of intimate partner violence and sexual assault are treated and about the shifting attitudes of young men toward the gains women and members of marginalized groups have made.

Author Michelle Hébert joins me to discuss her debut novel Every Little Thing She Does is Magic , which is a story of a quirky and intriguing family in Nova Scotia dealing with grief and ghosts. It’s also filled with lots of fun 80s references.

Bestselling author Lisa Moore joined me to discuss her latest book, Invisible Prisons: Jack Whalen’s Tireless Fight For Justice. Moore co-authored the book with Whalen, who spent four years in the Whitbourne Training School for Boys in Newfoundland, half of which he spent in solitary confinement.

Best-selling author and award-winning scientist Dr. Diana Beresford-Kroeger joined me to talk about her latest book Our Green Heart: The Soul and Science of Forests, the benefits of forest bathing, and why we should all be planting more trees (and what kinds we should plant).

Loleen Berdahl joined me again, and we talked about how so much of the productivity advice out there is by and for people in positions of privilege for whom saying “no” and setting their own schedule can be much easier than it is for others.