Babes in Bookland: Your Favorite Women's Bookclub Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

She graduates near the top of her veterinary class and still couldn't get hired... because she’s a woman! That’s where our conversation with memoirist Linda Rhodes begins and it only gets more vivid, entertaining, and frustrating from there.

Linda and I talk about her book Breaking the Barnyard Barrier: A Woman Veterinarian Paves the Way and the reality of becoming a large animal veterinarian in rural Utah when sexism isn’t subtle, it’s stated out loud in job interviews. Linda takes us through the early spark that pulled her into farm work, to the gatekeeping she faced getting into vet school, to the pressure of being “the test case” for whether women can do the job. Along the way, we sit with the unglamorous truth of dairy cow medicine: freezing nights, no hospital nearby, no backup, and decisions that carry real consequences for animals and farmers.

We also go deep on the memoir writing process. Linda shares why her mother’s death pushed her to write, how she learned to stop writing like a scientist and start writing like a storyteller, and how she chose what grief to put on the page and what to keep private. From there, the story widens into career reinvention, women in leadership, animal health pharmaceuticals, entrepreneurship, and what it looks like to build a family-friendly workplace that actually works.

If you care about women in STEM, gender bias at work, memoir, veterinary medicine, or the kind of resilience that’s earned day after day, this conversation will stay with you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review with the moment that hit you hardest.

Purchase Linda Rhode's "Breaking the Barnyard Barrier"

Support the show:
On Patreon
Buy us a book
Buy cute merch
Subscribe to the Babes in Bookland Substack

Other links:

Feather in Her Cap Award

Thank you for listening!
Xx, Alex

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

Is life destiny or choice?

"Drink from the Nile" is a phrase in Egypt that promises if you drink from the Nile river, you’re destined to return. Katya Dunko's memoir, named for this phrase, is her  refusal to let destiny be controlled by generational trauma. She broke the chain.

We talk about the real story behind her jaw-dropping book: growing up in post-Soviet Ukraine, being stowed away on a train as a child, surviving a decade of opioid addiction, and later fleeing an abusive marriage in Egypt with her daughter. Katya doesn’t frame herself as flawless or “inspiring” in a neat way. She names the shame, the people-pleasing, the desperate search for love, and the terrifying moments where her safety is on the line. If you care about women’s memoir, addiction recovery stories, trauma healing, and what it takes to rebuild after emotional abuse, this conversation goes there with honesty and heart.

We also get practical about the craft and the aftermath: what it’s like to spend seven years writing a trauma memoir, why she chose a pen name, how self-publishing forced her to learn everything from editing to marketing, and why narrative therapy helped her reframe her past into resilience instead of ruin. The biggest takeaway is simple and hard: pain spreads unless someone breaks the chain.

Listen, then share this with a friend who needs a reminder that a clean slate is possible. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what “real strength” means to you now.

Purchase Katya Dunko's "I Drank From the Nile"

Support the show:
On Patreon
Buy us a book
Buy cute merch
Subscribe to the Babes in Bookland Substack

Thank you for listening!
Xx, Alex

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

Are you living your most authentic life?

Mortality has a way of cutting through noise. My friend, Cara, and I open season three with Alua Arthur’s memoir Briefly Perfectly Human and ask how getting real about death can help us live with more honesty, tenderness, and courage today. Cara shares first-hand insights from death doula training, and together we map the terrain so many of us avoid: grief that won’t be rushed, hard choices families face, and the practical steps that turn love into action at the end of life.

If these questions (the same ones many contemplate on their death beds) stir something in you: Who did I love? How did I love? Was I loved?... you’re in the right place! Listen, reflect, and then tell someone you trust what matters to you. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help more people find the show. 

Support the show:
On Patreon
Buy us a book
Buy cute merch
Subscribe to the Babes in Bookland Substack

Link to this episode’s book:
Briefly, Perfectly, Human by Alua Arthur

Other episodes to check out:
AUTHOR CHAT: Brittany Penner's "Children Like Us"
Cara's other episode: Anna Dorn's "Bad Lawyer" 

Other resources:
Hospice nurse Barbara Karnes’ booklets 

For people who want to learn how to become a death doula:
Going with Grace – Alua’s company!
NEDA (National End-of-Life Doula Alliance) 

For people looking to get their end of life paperwork in order:
Compassion & Choices
GYST  

A good article about different eco-friendly ways to dispose of body.  https://curious.earth/blog/sustainable-green-burials/

Books for children about death/dying:
Everywhere, Still , Maybe Tomorrow,  The Rabbit Listened , All About Grief 
 
Special thanks to my dear friend, Cara. 
Xx, Alex

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

How far could you go if you believed in yourself?

Katherine Johnson’s memoir My Remarkable Journey is more than a space-age origin story; it is a study in how confidence, education, and community can shape history. 

Early on, the memoir reads like a love letter to learning. Katherine’s parents, one generation removed from slavery, push her toward college with sacrifices and a father’s mantra etched in memory: “You’re as good as anyone, but no better.” The book also shows how mentors matter. She highlights the teachers who saw a research mathematician before she did, a one-student class in analytic geometry of space, and a culture of high expectations that asked Black students to be twice as good. It’s inspiring and sobering. Proof that talent needs access, and access is a policy choice.
 
We talk about “painful progress,” how proximity humanizes, and why respectful, fact-based dialogue changes minds more reliably than outrage. Through grief—losing her first husband—Katherine keeps moving, anchoring herself in work and family. Her moon-shot math resembles a life philosophy: aim where the future will be, not where the present stands. 
 
 If this conversation moved you, follow and subscribe, share it with a friend who loves memoirs or space history, and leave a review to help others find the show. Your support helps us bring more voices, more stories, and more fuel for your TBR.

We’ll see you in February 2026 for more author chats, book club conversations, and a new episode type: bite sized babes—where I review memoirs and offer my favorite takeaways!

Support the show:
On Patreon
Buy us a book
Buy cute merch

If you have any comments or questions, please connect with me on Instagram or email babesinbooklandpodcast@gmail.com. I’d love to hear your suggestions and feedback!

Link to this episode’s book:
My Remarkable Journey

Other links:
 A Brief History of Black Hospitals in America
 
Transcripts and chapter markers are available through apple’s podcast app—they may not be perfect, but relying on them allows me to dedicate more time to the show! If you’re interested in being a transcript angel, let me know. 

This episode is produced, recorded, and its content edited by me.
 Theme song by Devin Kennedy

Special thanks to my dear friend, Kate!
 Xx, Alex

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

Ready for a holiday watch that actually holds up? 

We close the year with Jackie and Danielle from No More Late Fees and dig into why Nancy Meyers’ The Holiday still hits. It's a rom-com where self-respect is the twist, friendship is the anchor, and charisma beats swagger every time. We trade Blockbuster memories for sharp analysis then get into what really matters: characters that feel real and show major growth.

Is Iris and Arthur’s bond the film’s best relationship? When he tells her to stop acting like the best friend and be the leading lady, it sets the standard for us all! We unpack the hard pivot from pining to gumption, the realism of saying no to Jasper, and the quiet win of choosing yourself. On the other side, we explore why Jack Black’s Miles works as a romantic lead: attention as attraction, care as chemistry, and a story that never turns his looks into a punchline. Jude Law’s Graham gets dimension through grief, daughters, and unexpected softness. He's proof that charm can coexist with responsibility.

We also tackle the messy, modern bits: the ethics of one-night stands versus real safety, smarter dating questions to avoid duplicity, and whether long-distance romance can survive airports and time zones. Along the way, we share fun trivia and reflections.

If The Holiday is your seasonal ritual--or you’re rom-com curious--you’ll leave with new trivia, fresh angles, and, hopefully, a little extra courage to be the lead in your own story. If you loved this, subscribe, share with a rom-com friend, and leave a review telling us your rating: buy it, five-day, two-day, or same-day return?

Want more movie fun? https://nomorelatefeespodcast.com/

Wishing you love, peace, and memorable moments this holiday season!
Xx, Alex

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

Does love need words? 

I sit down with anthropologist and author, Danilyn Rutherford, to explore Beautiful Mystery, her memoir about raising Millie, a luminous daughter who communicates beyond speech, and the radical shift that happens when language stops being the measure of a life.

We trace her craft journey and discuss how Danilyn brings an anthropologist’s eye to family life, reckoning with the field’s history around eugenics and capacity while arguing for a social definition of personhood: we are human because we hold one another up. We are human, simply, because we are. That lens reframes speech therapy from “fixing” to curiosity. The result is a powerful invitation to meet people where they are and to see communication as more than words.
 
The conversation also moves through sudden loss-- Danilyn’s husband Craig died when their children were six and three-- and the quiet, practical ways grief reshapes a home. From there we widen the lens to advocacy: why caregiver wages, Medicaid access, and immigrant labor are the backbone of a functioning care system; how austerity and border crackdowns make families more fragile; and why investing in communication access is a justice issue. 
 
Press play for an intimate conversation about parenting, grief, ethics, and the politics of care. If the episode resonates, share it with a friend, subscribe for more women’s memoirs, and leave a review with the moment that shifted your view of communication.

Support the show:
On Patreon
Buy us a book
Buy cute merch

If you have any comments or questions, please connect with me on Instagram or email babesinbooklandpodcast@gmail.com. I’d love to hear your suggestions and feedback!

Link to this episode’s book:
Beautiful Mystery

Other links:
 https://communicationfirst.org/
https://nod.org/
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
Beautiful Lives by Stephen Unwin
The Question of Unworthy Life by Dagmar Herzog
 
Transcripts are available through apple’s podcast app—they may not be perfect, but relying on them allows me to dedicate more time to the show! If you’re interested in being a transcript angel, let me know. 

This episode

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

How do you honor the ones you love?

Our guest, author and maker Ashley Russell, brings her grandmother, Wanda’s, kitchen back to life with a cozy, retro-modern cookbook that feels like a hug and reads like a memoir. We dig into how a granddaughter turned a private archive into a public heirloom, complete with tattoo-style illustrations, candid photos, and DIY food shots that celebrate mess and memory over perfection.
 
Ashley walks us through gathering 300 recipes and shaping a tight, test-driven collection that honors regional roots and lived history. We get the stories behind “top secret” favorites, the delightfully divisive WTF chapter, and why dishes like liver and onions or milk toast still matter. You’ll hear how the book’s cardstock pages invite cocoa smudges and notes in the margins, how a decade-by-decade photo collage reveals a family in motion, and how a Spotify playlist ties together the songs Wanda loved—from mid-century standards to a modern country croon she played late in life.
 
This conversation is also a master class in creative resilience: funding through community, trusting pivots, and defining a clear North Star (your point of view!). Ashley shares how a tattoo flash became food Kewpies, why she shot the food herself, and how staying vulnerable and afraid might be the key to the best art. We explore cooking as care, a feminist choice, and a small act of rebellion against disposable culture. Our hands are busy, phones are down, hearts are open. If you’ve ever wanted to preserve your family’s flavors or make art that feels true, you’ll find practical tips and a lot of courage here.
 
Subscribe for more story-rich conversations about books, craft, and the rituals that keep us human. If this episode stirred a memory, share it with someone you love and leave a review so others can find the show. Your kitchen table might be the start of the next great family archive.

Support the show:
On Patreon
Buy us a book
Buy cute merch

If you have any comments or questions, please connect with me on Instagram or email babesinbooklandpodcast@gmail.com. I’d love to hear your suggestions and feedback!

Link to this episode’s book:
What’s Cooking Good Looking

Other links:
Sad Puppy Tattoos

Transcripts are available through apple’s podcast app—they may not be perfect, but relying on them allows me to dedicate more time to the show! If you’re interested in being a transcript angel, let me know. 

This episode is produced, recorded, and its content edited by me.
Theme song by Devin Kennedy

Special thanks to my new friend, Ashley!
 Xx, Alex

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

What does it take to keep becoming? 

We dive into Michelle Obama’s memoir with a candid, hopeful conversation about where identity starts, how it stretches, and why purpose, not pageantry, changes lives. Becoming is more than a political memoir; it’s a field guide for growth when the ground shifts under your feet. 

From a tight-knit South Side home to Princeton lecture halls and the relentless spotlight of the White House, we follow the real work behind “Becoming”: respecting kids as full people, naming systemic barriers without losing heart, and finding tools for reflection that actually fit your life.
 
We talk about confidence as a practice, not a trait, and the power of saying yes to yourself when the room says no. You’ll hear how Michelle reframed the First Lady role around substance and how those choices challenged corporate norms while building common ground. We also get real about the invisible labor of women, the racialized scrutiny that followed her every outfit and sentence, and the line that still echoes: grief and resilience live together.
 
If news fatigue has dimmed your hope, this episode offers practical ways to protect it: curate your inputs, seek help when you need it, and anchor to community. We share simple habits: quiet walks, gratitude notes, honest check-ins that keep optimism alive without ignoring pain. It’s a warm, grounded tour through the memoir’s biggest lessons on leadership, partnership, and civic action, designed for anyone asking how to stay human and useful when progress stalls.
 
Come for the stories; leave with a sturdier stance. If this conversation resonates, tap follow, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

Support the show:
On Patreon
Buy us a book
Buy cute merch

If you have any comments or questions, please connect with me on Instagram or email babesinbooklandpodcast@gmail.com. I’d love to hear your suggestions and feedback!

Link to this episode’s book:
Michelle Obama’s “Becoming”

Transcripts are available through apple’s podcast app—they may not be perfect, but relying on them allows me to dedicate more time to the show! If you’re interested in being a transcript angel, let me know. 

This episode is produced, recorded, and its content edited by me.
 Theme song by Devin Kennedy

Special thanks to my dear friend, Jaime!

Xx, Alex

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

If belonging feels like love, purpose, and family… how do you tell when it’s actually something darker?

In this episode, we sit with the hard truths behind Bethany Joy Lenz’s memoir Dinner for Vampires. Through the quiet metaphor of a “meal” that slowly turns devouring, Joy reveals how a search for purpose and belonging can be manipulated by those who feed on vulnerability. We explore the slow erosion of identity, the psychological grip of coercive groups, and the courage it takes to push back from a table that was never nourishing you. This conversation looks beyond the headlines and asks what it really means to reclaim your voice after years spent in the shadows.

We talk cult dynamics 101: us-versus-them thinking, leaders without oversight, and the chilling rule Joy names so clearly: “in a cult, safety means agreement." Still, this isn’t a story about losing faith; it’s about reclaiming it.

If you want a gripping, clear-eyed look at coercive control, Hollywood pressure, and the courage it takes to walk away, press play. Then join the conversation: subscribe, share this with a friend who loves memoirs and media. If you like what you hear, please leave a review!

If you leave a kind review, I might read it at top of show!

For the extended discussion of this episode (an additional 15 min), subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Patreon.

Support the show:
Buy us a book
Buy cute merch

Buy Dinner For Vampires

Other Links:
 Watch A Biltmore Christmas
Which Disney Princess Are You?
Psalty’s Salvation Celebration
Variety- One Tree Hill Cast, Crew Detail Assault, Harassment Claims Against Mark Schwahn

Transcripts are available through Apple’s podcast app—they may not be perfect, but relying on them allows me to dedicate more time to the show! If you’re interested in being a transcript angel, let me know.

This episode is produced, recorded, and its content edited by me.
Technical editing done by Brianna Picone.
Theme song by Devin Kennedy

Special thanks to my dear friend, Priscilla!
 Xx, Alex

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

How can you reclaim your truth and your power?

We’re diving into Horse Barbie, Geena Rocero’s radiant and illuminating memoir that shows her journey from a one-room home in Manila, Philippians, to trans pageants, from the perfume counter at Macy’s to New York fashion sets, and from private, suffocating, fear to a TED Talk that reframed transness as power. Along the way, we discuss her father’s complicated love, her mother’s unwavering belief and reflect on what can spark when the people who matter most tell you there’s nothing wrong with you.
 
Geena’s story and memoir widens from personal to political: pre-colonial history without gendered pronouns, the costs of documentation that doesn’t match your face, and the power of her viral TED Talk to turn shame into strength. We sit with the big questions: Why is femininity seen as a threat? How do entertainment and policy diverge? What changes when a community moves from visibility to rights? By the end, Horse Barbie reads like a manual for courage. It shows how story becomes strategy and how one woman’s voice can help many step out of the shadows.

If you care about trans rights, immigration, pageant culture, modeling, or the way love can change a life, this conversation brings nuance, warmth, and a clear takeaway: policy matters, family matters, and stories move hearts faster than arguments ever will.
 
If the conversation resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who needs a hopeful, human lens on trans life and advocacy.

If you leave a kind review, I might read it at top of show!

For the extended discussion of this episode (an additional 24 min), subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Patreon.

Support the show:
Buy us a book
Buy cute merch

Buy Horse Barbie

Other Links:
Evan Hurst substack

Transcripts are available through Apple’s podcast app—they may not be perfect, but relying on them allows me to dedicate more time to the show! If you’re interested in being a transcript angel, let me know.

This episode is produced, recorded, and its content edited by me.
Theme song by Devin Kennedy

Special thanks to my dear friend, Jaime!
 Xx, Alex

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod