Estelle Erasmus brings her 30 years of experience to Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about what it takes to break through submission slushpiles, the key to exemplary essays, honing our writer’s voice and giving editors what they need, pitching story vs. topic, the art of companion pieces, conveying our passion and investment, and her new book Writing That Gets Noticed. Also in this episode: -podcasts as a way to reach readers -the pace of online outlets -researching before you pitch Books m...
Dec 07, 2023•35 min•Ep. 63
Lena Lee joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about unresolved grief and permission to acknowledge our losses, sibling relationships over time, how memoir can bring us closer to loved ones, emotional distance in our narratives, taking care of ourselves when writing, and her memoir Girl Uprooted. Also in this episode: -writing into vulnerability -paternal estrangement -connecting the dots in out stories Books mentioned in this episode: Crying in the H Mart by Rachel Zauner Aftershocks by Na...
Dec 05, 2023•32 min
Martina Clark joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about her personal journey with HIV, the toll shame can take, the difference each of us can make, writing a braided memoir, staying a step ahead of the reader, keeping the material that matters, and her memoir My Unexpected Life. Also in this episode: -getting everything onto the page -surviving two dangerous viruses -living a life of service Books mentioned in this episode: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Iluo You Don’t Look Like...
Nov 30, 2023•41 min
Priscilla Gilman joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about parentification and hypervigilance in children, toggling between the child character and adult narrator, confronting and capturing the complexity of parents on the page, negotiating our inner critic, and her new memoir The Critic’s Daughter. Also in this episode: -writing about close family members -good writing is rewriting -negotiating feedback and reviews Books mentioned in this episode: Faith, Sex, Mystery by Richard Gilman He...
Nov 28, 2023•51 min
Laura Carney joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about pluck, endurance, and being the biggest advocate for your book, writing about unresolved grief, what to do to reclaim memory, the truth about marketing your memoir including pitching early, befriending reporters, and building community, how to engage on social media, preparing for your book launch, and her new memoir My Father’s List. -Visit the Let's Talk Memoir Merch store: https://www.zazzle.com/store/letstalkmemoir Also in this ep...
Nov 21, 2023•55 min
Leslie Ferguson joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about surviving childhood trauma and her mother’s psychosis, approaching her manuscript through an editorial lens, the toll of insecure attachment, how writing the story that forged her helped her shed some of the pain she carried, and her approach to choosing scenes that stayed in her memoir When I Was Her Daughter. Also in this episode: -the toll of abandonment -EMDR therapy -Reparenting the self Books mentioned in this episode: Glass ...
Nov 14, 2023•46 min
Adiba Nelson joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about putting humor in our work, the importance of voice, not worrying what people think, writing about mother-daughter relationships, raising teenagers, when you feel like you have nothing left, emotional labor and choosing when to educate others about her daughter’s disability, being a multi-genre writer, MFA programs, and her memoir Ain't That a Mother. Also in this episode: -Child loss -Imposter syndrome -Finding hope Books mentioned in...
Nov 07, 2023•48 min
Jennifer Lang joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about compressing prose and chopping manuscripts, leaning into the experimental, distilling material, staying nimble-minded, her husband and her becoming characters on the page, founding Israel Writers Studio, and her new memoir Places We Left Behind. Also in this episode: -remembering to play on the page -the scarcity of poetry as guide -searching for home Books mentioned in this episode: You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smit...
Nov 02, 2023•35 min
The Witches of Pitches are Aileen Weintraub and Megan Margulies here to share their advice about slowing scenes down, remembering that dialogue gives your memoir depth and flavor, finding the other story in your story, creative querying, what building a platform can mean, the power in companion pieces, honing your pitch, and stalking editors. -Visit the Let's Talk Memoir Merch store: https://www.zazzle.com/store/letstalkmemoir Also in this episode: -kvetch sessions -writing as a business -being ...
Oct 31, 2023•37 min
Jill Christman joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about how our deepest stories can save our lives, approaching trauma-writing as a process of discovery, practical tips for working on difficult material, allowing ourselves as much time as our essays need, finding the truest truth in our work, her role as senior editor at River Teeth, and her new memoir in essays If This Were Fiction. -Visit the Let's Talk Memoir Merch store: https://www.zazzle.com/store/letstalkmemoir Also in this episod...
Oct 24, 2023•47 min
Kate Evans joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about being a bit of a wandering writer yet finding the patterns that can emerge from chaos, leaning into momentum while generating work, having her life partner as first reader, her traveling life, the writing retreat she is hosting in April 2024, and her new book Wanderland. Also in this episode: -incorporating spiritual teachings in our work -using books as writing teachers -having your partner as your first reader Books mentioned in this ...
Oct 17, 2023•36 min
Brittany Means joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about growing up vagrant, writing about child sexual abuse, how she started with the scenes that haunted her, depicting traumatic material with complexity and compassion, leaning into her narrative voice, when she felt like a writer with a capital “W”, and her new memoir Hell If We Don’t Change Our Ways. Also in this episode: -reconnecting with your body when writing traumatic material -asking yourself really hard questions -why our stori...
Oct 10, 2023•31 min
LL Kirchner joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about compressing material and managing timelines, writing about addiction and recovery, radical compassion, polyamory, yoga scandals and sex cults, and her new memoir Blissful Thinking. Also in this episode: -The toll of internalized misogyny -Finding teachers who energize you -Writing groups Books mentioned in this episode: Cultish Amanda Montei Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls Blackout Sarah Hepola Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert Wild Ch...
Oct 05, 2023•36 min
Heather Lanier joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about finding the psychic distance and narrative voice your memoir needs, writing about our children, defying the tyranny of normal, personal narratives for social change, excavating our own ableism, blogs vs. literary essays, avoiding self-pity, and Raising a Rare Girl, her memoir of parenting a child with a rare syndrome. Also in this episode: -Revealing the ‘ugly’ side of ourselves on the page -The right we have to tell our stories -Ho...
Oct 03, 2023•42 min
Patty Lin joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about her former career in television and how she knew she was done with show business, naming names in memoir manuscripts and legal reviews, mother-daughter narratives, sensory details that put the reader in the room, and her new memoir End Credits: How I Broke Up With Hollywood. Also in this episode: -trusting our instincts -protecting our creative life -putting it all out there Books mentioned in this episode: What Doesn’t Kill You Makes Yo...
Sep 26, 2023•39 min
Clare Frank joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about writing a female-career-centered memoir, letting structure dictate content, when an agent really loves your voice but doesn’t think they can sell your book, the lifelong relationship she’s had with fire, and her new memoir Burnt. Also in this episode: -using NaNoRiMo to draft your book -embracing the suck -when your sibling is also writing a memoir Book mentioned in this episode: Books by Caitlin Doughty Ambulance Driver by Kevin Hazar...
Sep 19, 2023•41 min
Dinty W. Moore joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about his 25 years as Editor-in-Chief of Brevity Magazine, elements that set submissions apart, landing on a writer’s voice, generating work in play mode yet being relentless in revision, resisting the urge to explain, allowing ourselves to be peculiar, and what rejection really means. Also in this episode: -the stories in our lives we keep coming back to. -the gift of 750 words. -giving readers room to interpret. Authors mentioned in thi...
Sep 12, 2023•43 min
Abigail Thomas joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the importance of curiosity, honesty, and vulnerability in our work, making our own rules on the page, her approach to writing and revision, the story she wasn’t sure how she’d tell, and her newest memoir Still Life at Eighty: The Next Interesting Thing. Also in this episode: -the magic of third person -writing to see what we mean -how our work changes over time Books mentioned in this episode: Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy...
Sep 05, 2023•44 min
Season 3 is almost here with fresh interviews on voice, finding structures that work, revision tools, the ethics and legalities of writing about others, what it’s like to move from other creative disciplines to memoir, advocating for our work, and lots more. Season 3 of Let’s Talk Memoir will launch Tuesday, September 5th, and new episodes will come out weekly through Spring 2024. You can find additional Let’s Talk Memoir resources @RonitPlank on Instagram, Threads, X, LinkedIn, and Facebook. An...
Aug 29, 2023•3 min
In this episode of Let’s Talk Memoir, reflections on a few most-asked memoir questions, information on Season 3, and where to find Let’s Talk Memoir writing resources and updates while the show is on Summer hiatus. Thank you to Season 2’s generous guests for your insight and clarity, and to the listeners who make this show so rewarding to make. Grateful for your incredible support! Links to memoir-writing articles mentioned in this episode: https://ronitplank.com/published-works/ -- Ronit Plank ...
May 30, 2023•16 min•Ep. 45
Reed Harkness joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about a mother who goes missing, intergenerational trauma, moving into discomfort in service of truth-telling, what’s ours to tell, masculinity and brotherhood, the hero’s journey as a template for story arc, and what he’s learned about vulnerability from documenting 25 years of his family’s story in his new deeply personal film Sam Now. Also in this episode: -blended families -sibling language -when our work takes on a life of its own Boo...
May 23, 2023•58 min
Gayle Brandeis joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about losing her mother to suicide and finding a way to write about it, her work across genres, leaning into what makes us unique on the page, trusting ourselves to discover what our work wants to become, why there is no better time to write than now, editing for connection with readers, the importance of play in our work, and her new collection Drawing Breath: Essays on Writing, the Body, and Loss. Also in this episode: -speculative nonf...
May 16, 2023•40 min
Jennifer Lunden joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about her experience with ME/CFS and her new braided memoir American Breakdown: Our Ailing Nation, My Body's Revolt, and the Nineteenth-Century Woman Who Brought Me Back to Life, writing about trauma, the long-term effects of adverse childhood experiences on health, misogyny in medicine, using imagery to ground our readers, how she found the right publisher, and what it takes to be a working, published writer. Also in this episode: -capi...
May 09, 2023•59 min
Camille T. Dungy joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about who speaks about the natural world and how, erasure in life and in art, the white gaze, reviewing the cannon of environmental literature with a critical eye, writing about motherhood, manuscript-cutting, leaning into humor and nuance in our work, and her new book Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden. Also in this episode: -memoir that’s so braided it’s woven -creating work during a pandemic -interrogating ourselves Books men...
May 02, 2023•50 min
Sarah Birnbach joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about grief and the wished-for mother, how Jewish prayer anchored her as she mourned the father she adored, birth order and responsibility, how spirituality has shaped her, deciding how much to share about her painful relationship with her mother, and publishing her memoir A Daughter’s Kaddish later in life. Also in this episode: -not throwing those we have conflict with under the bus -feminism in Judaism -community as a balm for grief Me...
Apr 25, 2023•40 min
Candace Cahill joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about placing her newborn son for adoption and meeting him as an adult shortly before his death, writing for clarity, negotiating guilt, finding compassion for yourself, writing as a process for grieving, and her memoir Goodbye Again. Also in this episode: -child relinquishment -extending grace to parents who fell short -the benefits of writing groups Books mentioned in this episode: All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung When I Was Her Da...
Apr 18, 2023•31 min
Maggie Smith joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about having and holding boundaries in our work and in our lives, trusting our instincts as writers, taking risks, telling the truth as we know it, allowing our material to dictate form, how our work changes over time, and her highly anticipated memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful. -Visit the Let's Talk Memoir Merch store: https://www.zazzle.com/store/letstalkmemoir Also in this episode: -protecting our children in our work -poetry’s...
Apr 11, 2023•39 min
Erika Bornman joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about her experience escaping from KwaSizabantu and her participation in News24’s exposé alleging this strict Christian mission is a cult is a cult riddled with abuse, the compassion she found writing about loved ones with whom she has longstanding conflict, how she approached crafting emotionally difficult passages, the legal advice she got about including controversial material in her memoir Mission of Malice, and why our voice matters. ...
Apr 04, 2023•44 min
Sandi Wisenberg joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about finding home, the structure our books need, her career as a journalist, negotiating a legacy of woman shame and Jewish shame, writing what you have to, and her new collection of memoiristic essays, The Wandering Womb. -Visit the Let's Talk Memoir Merch store: https://www.zazzle.com/store/letstalkmemoir Also in this episode: -looking for home -not wrapping our writing up too neatly -a closer look at “the wandering Jew” trope Further...
Mar 28, 2023•57 min
Stacey Freeman joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about how her husband’s infidelity became the impetus for her writing career, single parenthood and the shock of dating after divorce, getting comfortable sharing after a lifetime of keeping the personal under wraps, cutting her manuscript by half, and the blog that became her memoir I Bought My Husband’s Mistress Lingerie. Also in this episode: -making a living from writing -finding peace with an ex -pivoting careers after children Memoi...
Mar 23, 2023•40 min
