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

A glossy, star-studded book launch. A memoir that rockets past 100,000 copies. Then a wave of silence from major reviewers, an investigative report, and a scientific debate that refuses to stay theoretical. We’re talking about Amy Griffin’s The Tell and the chaos that followed its triumphant debut, where celebrity endorsement meets the most contested questions in trauma psychology.

My friend, Colette, joins the show as a licensed marriage and family therapist to share her thoughts on it all!

Subscribe for the full conversation, share this with a friend who loves book-world drama with real stakes, and leave a review with your take: where do you draw the line between personal healing and public truth?

Purchase the episode individually here

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts for all bonus content

Xx, Alex

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is it possible to see joy in life's hardest moments?

I sit down with memoirist Alexandra to talk about her memoir, Seeing Joy: A Story of Life, Death, and What Comes Next. We dig into how Alexandra’s story began as a caregiving blog in 2006, written first for friends and family and then embraced by strangers who recognized their own fear and tenderness in her honesty. She shares what it took to transform that real-time writing into a publishable memoir, including years of rejection from traditional publishing and the creative breakthroughs that came from adding family letters and her mother’s own unpublished manuscript. If you’ve ever wondered how memoir gets made, this is the unglamorous, deeply human version. 

Then we go to the heart of it: hospice care at home, the emotional calculus of choosing home over a nursing facility, and the unexpected moments of grace that arrive alongside the mess. Alexandra describes her mother’s vivid “visitors” near the end of life and what hospice workers call “visioning,” plus how that shifted her mother from fearing death as “the end” to finding a kind of peace. If you’re searching for a clearer way to talk about dying with dignity and still make room for joy, this one stays with you. 

If this conversation helps, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s caring for someone, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. What part of end-of-life caregiving do you wish people were more honest about?

Purchase Alexandra Grabbe's "Seeing Joy"

Purchase Alexandra's father's memoir "Émigré"

Xx, Alex

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A memoir can feel like a mirror you didn’t ask for. 

We opened Christina Applegate’s and found an unvarnished account of survival: a child actor who worked to live, a dancer who prayed with her body, an artist who hid behind “Christina Applegate” until truth demanded center stage.  

We dig into the fault lines: body image and shame running alongside career highs; Sweet Charity on Broadway as a masterclass in grit after a brutal injury; pay inequity countered by quiet solidarity; and more. Her reflections on breast cancer and MS aren’t wrapped in “warrior” clichés.  If you’ve ever performed strength because the world is allergic to pain, her confession will help you feel seen.

We also sit with research tying childhood trauma to MS risk, not as final verdict but as a challenge to take our histories seriously. By the end, she rejects the persona and claims the name her people use—Kiki—then asks a question that lingers: Who are you?

Hit play for a thoughtful, unsentimental conversation about truth, trauma, dance, illness, craft, and the fragile alchemy of happiness-with-sadness. If this moved you, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review telling us the line you can’t stop thinking about.

Purchase Christina Applegate's "You with the Sad Eyes"

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 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Think you know Demi Moore? Think again. 

My friend, Mackenzie, and I peel back the tabloid myths to trace a far more gripping arc: a child who found safety in hospital routines because home was chaos, a teenager forced to protect herself when the adults failed, and an artist who spent years equating value with a number on the scale while breaking box‑office ceilings and cultural taboos. Guided by Demi’s memoir Inside Out, we connect the dots between early trauma, addiction, codependence, and the relentless body scrutiny of Hollywood—and how those patterns transform when you finally choose yourself.

If this moved you, tap follow, share with a friend who loves smart memoir deep dives, and leave a quick review so more listeners can find the show. Your support helps us bring you more conversations that go beyond the headlines.

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: Demi Moore's "Inside Out"

Other links:

What is Kabbalah?

Demi Moore's Vanity Fair cover & article

Xx, Alex

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever picked up a buzzy memoir and felt the heart was missing beneath the hype? 

I sit down with Ryley from the Little Miss Podcast to unpack Elyse Myers’ debut: the charming illustrations, a few resonant lines on anxiety and connection, and the recurring moments where the story stops just shy of reckoning. We wanted the hinge points—the cause, the cost, the change—and too often found stylized vignettes that try to entertain when they should have revealed.

From there, we widen the lens to the ecosystem that made this book possible. How has influencer culture reshaped our expectations for honesty, and our tolerance for ambiguity? We talk body image in the age of filters, the resurgence of pro-anorexia aesthetics dressed up as wellness, and a more sustainable posture of body neutrality and body awe. We get practical about family language, food without moral labels, and how to model healthier self-talk at home.

We also dig into parasocial bonds and why they feel so real, the consumerism treadmill that turns every feed into a storefront, and the ethics of featuring children online without meaningful consent or protection. Then comes the big question: Do creators owe a public stance when harm is plain to see? We don’t need comedians to become journalists, but acknowledging suffering, pointing to credible resources, and choosing empathy over silence matters—especially when your platform can direct attention toward help.

If you’re curious about what makes memoirs feel true, how to read past the gloss of virality, and where to draw firmer boundaries with the content you consume, this conversation is your map. 

Hit play, then tell us: what do you expect from a life story—and from the people you follow? Subscribe, share with a friend who loves book talk, and leave a review with your favorite memoir recommendations.

This Bonus episode is available for free this month! Thank you for supporting the show <3

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it mean to move shame back where it belongs? We dive into Gisele Pelicot’s A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides—a memoir that confronts sexual violence, courtroom language, and public accountability while fiercely protecting the survivor’s right to joy. I trace Pellicot’s path from the shocking discovery of years of drugging and assault to the rare choice of an open hearing and the powerful moment when all fifty-one perpetrators were found guilty. Along the way, we sit with hard questions: how do institutions perpetuate harm through euphemisms, how can families process conflicting truths, and what does healing look like when love and betrayal share the same house?

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:
A Hymn to Life by Gisele Pelicot

If you care about survivor justice and the cultural work of shifting blame off victims, this conversation is for you! Press play, reflect with us, and share your thoughts. If the episode moved you, subscribe, leave a review, and pass it on to someone who needs to hear it.

Xx, Alex

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you hold two truths at once?
 
I sit down with author and sociologist Deborah J. Cohan to explore her memoir, Welcome to Wherever We Are, a clear-eyed look at psychological abuse, loyalty, and the quiet heroics of caregiving. From the first moments, Deborah names what so many experience but struggle to articulate—gaslighting, threats, verbal assaults, and financial control—and shows how a child’s devotion to her father can coexist with a fierce need for boundaries.

As we trace the book’s path through a pandemic launch, Deborah explains why a sociological lens makes memoir more than confession. She connects the dots between family dynamics, gendered expectations, healthcare systems, and the invisible labor that daughters and partners shoulder. Her years counseling violent men at Emerge, the nation’s oldest batterer intervention program, sharpen her insights: behavior can change, accountability matters, and empathy does not erase harm. That background also deepens her own reckoning with a brilliant, creative, and often wounding father.

Rather than preaching forgiveness, Deborah argues for something braver: ambivalence. Holding two truths—love and injury—without flattening either. We talk about staying present at the end of a complicated life, advocating from a distance, and confronting the limits of what one caregiver can do under debt, time pressure, and grief. Along the way we surface practical takeaways for anyone navigating eldercare, emotional abuse, or family estrangement: document patterns, set sustainable boundaries, recruit support, and learn the language that makes the unseen visible.

We close with the fuel that keeps Deborah moving—art, nature, movement, laughter—and a glimpse at her next project on her mother and creativity. If you’re searching for thoughtful conversation on caregiving, gaslighting, domestic violence education, and healing family patterns, this one offers tools and tenderness in equal measure. If the conversation resonates, tap follow, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs a little more language for their story.

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:
Welcome to Wherever We Are by Deborah J. Cohan

Other links:
The Complete U by Deborah J. Cohan
DeborahJCohan.com

This episode is produced, recorded, and edited by me. 
 Xx, Alex

@babesinbooklandpod

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the high you’re chasing isn’t love at all, but the thrill of uncertainty? 

On pub day, we sit down with author Amanda McCracken to unpack limerence (the obsessive, anxious fixation that can masquerade as romance) and how naming the pattern helped her trade fantasy for reciprocity. We connect the dots between anxious-avoidant dynamics, social media ambiguity, and the dopamine hit of anticipation that keeps us hooked on “what if.” Amanda shares how purity culture shaped her choices, why “safe” once felt boring, and how a later-in-life ADHD diagnosis helped things click.
 
If you’ve ever been caught up in breadcrumbing, ghosting, or the mental movie of an idealized other, this episode offers a clear path forward. You’ll learn how to spot limerence, interrupt the rumination loop, and build self-compassion so you can trust your choices and choose people who choose you back. Plus, Amanda shares more about her podcast The Longing Lab. Listen, share with a friend who’s ready for healthier love, and if this resonated, subscribe and leave a review to help others find the show.

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

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:
When Longing Becomes Your Lover by Amanda McCracken

Other links:
The Longing Lab Podcast
The Peace Boat

This episode is produced, recorded, and edited by me. 

Special thanks to my new friend, Amanda. 
 Xx, Alex

Connect with us and suggest a great memoir!

Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.