Totally Booked with Zibby

"Fixing fatigue is not about doing less. Look, we did less during this past year, and we were more tired than ever. It's not about doing less. It's actually about doing more of the things that actually recharge you." Double board certified doctor Amy Shah, MD, talks with Zibby about how she set out to fix the burnout she felt in her own life after a life-threatening car crash and why she...

Zibby talks with the author and illustrator duo behind Allergic, Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter, about their process of working together and how Megan's own lifelong experience with allergies influenced the book. Although Allergic is a middle grade graphic novel, the three talk about how it's both an entertaining and important read for the whole family, especially those coping with foo...

"This whole book is about finding your center. The center does hold with a couple of good friends." Anne Lamott recently joined Zibby's Book Club to discuss her latest book, Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage, and answered questions from book club members. Anne talked about those she looks to for inspiration, her experience watching her son's journey to sobriety as a former alcoholic hersel...

"I started writing just to remember her stories and her voice in this world that doesn't exist anymore." Zibby is joined by fellow memoir enthusiast J. Nicole Jones to discuss her upcoming memoir, Low Country, and the family secrets that it reveals. Nicole tells Zibby about the process of rewriting her grandmother's stories after her first draft was stolen, how her South Carolina hometown became i...

"We're all shades of gray. There's always complexity in the human story. That's what I'm interested in.” Paula McLain shares how the inspiration for her latest novel, When the Stars Go Dark, struck during a dog walk. She reveals to Zibby the anxiety she felt about departing from her usual genre, and discusses the courage found in vulnerability.  Purchase your copy on Amazon or Bookshop! Amazon: ht...

"These anonymous people who are struggling have no idea that they saved people's lives. I just think it really speaks to how wonderful it is when we can share our struggles and realize that we're not alone." Jenny Lawson talks with Zibby about the community that has formed in the comments sections of her blog, The Bloggess, and how their candor inspired her to write more openly about heavier topic...

"As soon as we can all go out again, I really think it's so important to recapture that feeling of connection to our friends and our family." Julie Metz tells Zibby about the journey her research took her on through the histories of Vienna and her own family tree. Her latest book, Eva and Eve, paints vivid pictures of the world her family lived in prior to the Holocaust as well as of the life Juli...

"Novels. What's wonderful about them is that you can do the stuff you can't in real life. You can make all the mistakes. You can commit all the crimes." Donna Freitas talks with Zibby about how her own life experiences inspired her new book, The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano, and how writing it helped her heal certain wounds. The two bond over divorce (as well as divorce recovery cake) and discuss...

"The exciting thing about deciding to do something later in your life is that you have all these skills that you just didn't have in your twenties." Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney tells Zibby all about starting her career as a writer in her forties, how the writing process has differed between her two novels, and getting high praise from her son on her latest book, Good Company.    Purchase the book on A...

Dawnie Walton talks with Zibby about how she made the pivot from her twenty-year career in journalism to writing her debut novel, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev. The two discuss the support system Dawnie found in her Iowa Writers Workshop peers, creating deep connections in our virtual era, and the Talking Heads concert footage that inspired her inventive new book.   Purchase on Amazon or Booksho...

"It's just really hard to locate yourself as an Asian American in American history. Even though you might have been here, you were just always floating in the periphery of historical vision." Sanjena Sathian talks with Zibby about all of the elements that make up her debut novel, Gold Diggers: their conversation ranges from discussing the research on the alchemical traditions that support the book...

"I feel a great duty to these women, even those that told their stories but hadn’t been widely heard and especially those that never got to tell their stories." Judy Batalion talks with Zibby about the extraordinary women of the resistance who fought “for justice and liberty and fairness” in Hitler’s ghettos. She discusses the incredible amount of work and research that went into her latest book,...

Novelist Jessica Winter talks with Zibby about her incredible career trajectory (she’s currently an executive editor at The New Yorker!) and imparts her quarantine parenting wisdom. She also shares how writing her latest novel, The Fourth Child, helped her reckon with her Catholic upbringing and sort through her experience as a Buffalo, NY teen during the Spring of Life anti-abortion demonstration...

Tamara Winfrey Harris joins Zibby to discuss her new book of heartwarming letters from Black women to help guide, protect, and inspire the next generation of young Black girls. The writers of the letters in Dear Black Girl range from celebrities like Brandy and former columnist Rochelle Riley to other women who simply responded to the request for letters, all of whom offer incredible advice and pr...

MIT Professor Sherry Turkle has long been revered for her research on society's relationship with technology. In her newest book, The Empathy Diaries, she blends her research with her own narrative as she analyzes the various roles empathy has played in her family history. Sherry talks with Zibby about how her relationship with her mom continues to evolve and the ways in which writing this book be...

"I discovered that the writing was helping me process everything that had happened. I didn't know that that's what I needed to do." Debut novelist Ilona Bannister has a heartfelt conversation with Zibby about how her experience on 9/11 served as the backstory for her book, When I Ran Away, and the traumatic events that allowed her to fall into writing and rein in her anxiety.   Purchase your copy...

The Laundry Evangelist, Patric Richardson, teaches Zibby all of his tips and tricks on how to save your clothes and make doing the laundry more fun. From washing everything on a warm express cycle to hanging a disco ball in your laundry room, Patric is on a mission to extend the life of garments and turn an everyday chore into your new favorite hobby.   Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop! Amazon: http...

"In the end when all is said and done and it comes time for me to depart, I want my children to remember me and say, 'Hey, Dad had some problems, but he changed. He became a good father.'" James Brown talks with Zibby about how his latest book, Apology to the Young Addict, completes his trilogy of memoirs about his addiction, his family, and now his sobriety. The two talk about how addiction can i...

"Generally speaking, kids are just so full of wonder and awe and enthusiasm for everything that they are, in a way, the best audience." NYT Bestselling Author and literary legend Dave Eggers talks with Zibby about the ins and outs many people don't know about the publishing process, how he began writing picture books, and The Young Editors Project which allows young children to help workshop pictu...

"I wanted to be in a medical specialty where I restore people's quality of life. I don't save lives going to work every day, but hopefully, I save their quality of life. That's what life is worth living for." Zibby talks with renowned orthopedist at the Hospital for Special Surgery, Dr. Vijay Vad, about his book,  Back Rx , and the practices he has developed to help his patients (including Zibby's...

Founder of the Huffington Post and Thrive Global, Arianna Huffington, and Thrive Global's Head of Content Development, Marina Khidekel, talk with Zibby about their new book, Your Time to Thrive, and the power of microsteps. The three discuss the importance of stacking your habits, starting your day off of your phone, and putting aside distractions to have more meaningful conversations with the one...

"Basically, Zibby, I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just winging it and hoping for the best." Author Chris Whitaker talks to Zibby about how writing saved his life twice and how the main character in his new book, We Begin At the End, played a part in that. By the end of this interview, you'll be rooting for both Duchess and Chris. Purchase your copy on Amazon or Bookshop ** Want more? Become a pa...

"It was a healing, life-changing process of creating art." Alan Silberberg and Zibby talk about his new picture book Meet the Matzah, approaching grief with humor, and the importance of sharing diverse stories for children throughout all mediums. Purchase your copy on Amazon or Bookshop ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibby's Highlights , which includes a free weekly newsl...

"The problem is that we think of love and sex as being very happy bedfellows, and they're not. They actually hate each other." Sexpert Tracey Cox talks with Zibby about how reaching a certain age doesn't mean we have to sacrifice good sex. Her new book offers multiple ways to rethink sex after 50 to improve your physical health and your relationships. (It may also make you laugh out loud!) Purchas...

"There is no other reason to write about art unless you have strong feelings about it. That's a given." Stanford University Art History Professor Alexander Nemerov and Zibby discuss how he came to write his latest book, Fierce Poise: Helen Frankenthaler and 1950s New York, the book's creative structure, and his advice for anyone looking to write about art. Purchase your copy on Amazon or Bookshop...