Amelia Zachry (@BrownGirlCrazyWorld) is an author and mental health advocate. She shares her experience with a Bipolar 2 diagnosis and how she talks about trauma and mental health with her own young children. Be sure to check out her book, Enough: A Memoir of Mistakes, Mania, and Motherhood.
Chris Gethard (aka @ChrisGeth and @ChrisGethard) is a comedian, writer, and podcast host (Beautiful Anonymous) who talks openly about managing his life with depression. He shares how fatherhood changed him and how he’s been able to open up to family and rely on those who love him for help when he’s in a bad spot. He also talks about the struggles of being a working artist and shares his new plans for a career pivot.
Rebecca D returns to the podcast to talk about going no-contact with her mom and reflects on moments in her childhood that she didn’t realize were strange until she was an adult. She also talks about what it was like growing up surrounded by religious orthodoxy.
Steph Jagger joins Paul to discuss the grief of loving someone with dementia. She also shares the small moments of beauty that can sometimes come out of this disease. Be sure to check out her book, Everything Left to Remember, where she beautifully documents the camping road trip she took with her mother while in the midst of her disease.
Miller is one one of Paul’s support group friends. He joins Paul to talk about being on the other side of a chaotic life of crime. After having spent most of his life in a gang and going in and out of prison, he’s turned a corner. He talks about his addiction, his childhood as a gang member, and what it was like, as a prisoner, to fight the California wildfires and be living an honest life today.
Bethanne Patrick is a writer, literary critic, and podcast host (Missing Pages). She talks about her struggles with double depression, her experiences with being a supportive caretaker, and her life as a voracious reader. Be sure to check out her new book, Life B: Overcoming Double Depression.
Jenny Zigrino (@JennyZigrino) is a standup comedian from Minnesota who was put on a diet at the age of 5. She talks about how her parents’ reaction to her weight shaped her self-image, how she overcame her eating disorder, and how her body acceptance is continually evolving. Check out her brand new comedy hour, Jen-Z, on Youtube.
Emi Nietfeld (@EmiNietfeld) is a writer and the author of the book Acceptance, a memoir of her journey through foster care, homelessness, and, eventually, to Harvard. She opens up about a childhood where she was often neglected and heavily medicated. She talks about her several stays in psychiatric wards and how she’s continuing to process her troubled childhood.
Kristine Kimmel is a writer and a host of the How To Survive (@PodHowToSurvive) podcast. She opens up about how therapy saved her marriage and what it’s like parenting teenage twins. She also shares some unbelievable moments from her violent and unpredictable childhood and talks about how she’s working to manage her own rage.