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To read more of Betsy's work, including her award-winning essay https://betsyarmstrong.com/writing-samples/the-alchemy-of-apple-pie (The Alchemy of Apple Pie), check out her website, https://betsyarmstrong.com/writing (Betsyarmstrong.com) I hope you will also sign-up for the Daring to Tell newsletter called Hit Pause, where I share some of my other thoughts and musings as I consider the conversations we have with writers here each month, sign up for that at my website, https://michelleredo.com/ (Michelleredo.com) Looking for another podcast to check out? Listen to https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-of-the-story/id1552479984 (Heart of the Story) with https://nadinekenneyjohnstone.com/ (Nadine Kenney Johnstone) for stories of healing, hope and following her heart. And be sure to listen to the end to hear this month's special independent bookstore partner with Daring to Tell, where you can go to claim a special Daring to Tell Gift Package!

Melanie Brooks, author of Writing Hard Stories, reads from her memoir manuscript, A Hard Silence, which shares her perspective on what it was like to grow up living with the deep secret that her father contracted AIDS in 1985 from a tainted blood transfusion. Order a copy of Melanie's book, https://bookshop.org/books/writing-hard-stories-celebrated-memoirists-who-shaped-art-from-trauma/9780807078815?aid=20298&listref=daring-to-tell-memoirs (Writing Hard Stories) online at https://bookshop.org/shop/thecornerbookshop (Bookshop.org) OR... For listeners in the vicinity of midcoast Maine, Daring to Tell wants to encourage you to get out and experience the joy and serendipity of visiting a bookstore! So we've partnered with https://www.thecornerbook.shop/ (The Corner Bookshop) at 229 Water Street in Bath, Maine (right down the little alley off of Front Street). The first listener to visit in person and mention hearing this episode of Daring to Tell will win a special free Daring to Tell gift package! And anyone mentioning Daring to Tell can receive a one time 20% discount off your purchase, throughout the month of April 2022. Also mentioned in this episode revelations by Mary Gauthier which you can read about in her book https://www.marygauthier.com/book (Saved by a Song: The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting).

An up-close and very personal look at what pregnancy was like, both physically and emotionally, for https://www.alenadillon.com/ (Alena Dillon) author of the new memoir https://bookshop.org/books/my-body-is-a-big-fat-temple-an-ordinary-story-of-pregnancy-and-early-motherhood/9781949116878 (My Body is a Big Fat Temple) - Real life is seldom for the squeamish... and her book is a very real look at what to expect if and when you are expecting. Follow me on Twitter @michelleredo Email at my website https://michelleredo.com/ (michelleredo.com) If you want to check out another podcast for writers, try https://nadinekenneyjohnstone.com/podcast (Heart of the Story) with writer and writing coach https://nadinekenneyjohnstone.com/ (Nadine Kenney Johnstone).

A discussion of tattoos, the Western Canon, alienation and never staying in the same lane, plus Phuc Tran reads two extremely intense stories for completely different reasons. Follow Michelle on Twitter @michelleredo or connect through my website, michelleredo.com

Clinical Hypnotherapist http://carolinefitzgerald.net/ (Caroline Fitzgerald) reads from her yet-to-be published memoir- I Think I Might Die Without You. Sign up for https://michelleredo.com/ (Hit Pause), the newsletter of the Daring to Tell podcast at https://michelleredo.com/ (michelleredo.com) Follow me on Twitter @michelleredo

Holiday time magnifies both joy and grief... Yet, the power of story helps Jeannine Burgdorf contemplate being motherless while coming to terms with infertility in this intensely vulnerable and deeply personal essay. To read more from Jeannine visit her https://jeannineburgdorf.substack.com/ (Substack) page or follower her on Twitter and Instagram @havingfunwrong. Follow me on Twitter @michelleredo Sign up for https://michelleredo.com (Hit Pause) the newsletter of the Daring to Tell podcast. email: https://michelleredo.com/contact-email (Michelle@michelleredo.com)

The creative and business mind behind the ever-growing https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/moms-dont-have-time-to-read-books/id1366633318 (Mom's Don't Have Time) To empire- https://zibbyowens.com/ (Zibby Owens) talks with Michelle Redo for this special bonus episode conversation about podcasting, writing and her newest business-story venture- https://zibbyowens.com/zibby-books (Zibby Books).

https://www.pegconway.com/ (Peg Conway) shares two chapters from her new memoir called https://www.pegconway.com/the-art-of-reassembly/ (The Art of Reassembly: A Memoir of Early Mother Loss and Aftergrief) Sign up for the Daring to Tell newsletter, Hit Pause, at https://michelleredo.com/ (Michelleredo.com) Or email me Michelle@MichelleRedo.com

It's the season two debut! https://chriswoolfbooks.com/ (Author Chris Woolf) reads from his newly released memoir, https://chriswoolfbooks.com/#reviews-1 (Bumbling Through the Hindu Kush: A Memoir of Fear and Kindness in Afghanistan). Life contains expletives, and so does this episode. Sign up for https://michelleredo.com/blog (Hit Pause), the Daring to Tell Newsletter at https://michelleredo.com (michelleredo.com)

A journey from Kabul, Afghanistan to the city of Taloqan in 1991 as told by Chris Woolf, former BBC journalist. This special bonus episode previews his conversation with Michelle Redo in advance of the release of his forthcoming memoir, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ87AItDQIE (Bumbling Through the Hindu Kush: A Memoir of Fear and Kindness in Afghanistan). Stay tuned for a section from his book for the season two launch of Daring to Tell coming in November. Follow more about Bumbling Through the Hindu Kush on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with #bumblingbook

Three essays to get you thinking about ways to prepare for Mother's Day...especially if it's a difficult holiday for you, including a virtual workshop/event featuring these three writers. It's https://www.robynpassowfisher.com/featured-in/mother-yourself-day (Mother (Yourself) Day). Whether or not you still have your mother, and whether or not you are a mother, mothering ourselves isn't necessarily obvious or intuitive or demonstrated... that's why we've put together a 90 minute virtual workshop event to remind you about the mothering skills and practices we can all bring to our lives... in order be our best selves for everyone else. More on https://www.pegconway.com/ (Peg Conway), https://www.robynpassowfisher.com/ (Robyn Fisher), and https://betsyarmstrong.com/ (Betsy Armstrong). Comments to share about Daring to Tell? Email Michelle@michelleredo.com

In this season one finale, https://nadinekenneyjohnstone.com/ (Nadine Kenney Johnstone) steps in as guest host as Michelle reads her essay on moving to Maine, the discovery of an ancestral autobiography. Music credits for the series are the songs Make Me Brave and Nothing Like written, performed and produced by Phil Redo. Check out more of his music at https://philredo.bandcamp.com/ (Band Camp).

https://www.williamkenower.com/books.html (Fearless Writing) author https://www.williamkenower.com/ (William Kenower) talks about writing music as well as prose in this contemplation of some of the big topics and fears that face writers, creative types, and human beings. He's also host of the https://www.williamkenower.com/author2author.html (Author2Author) podcast- great conversations with writers from all genres. His new book, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/670042/everyone-has-what-it-takes-by-william-kenower/ (Everyone Has What It Takes) comes out in June of 2021. Questions or comments about Daring to Tell? Send them to Michelle@MichelleRedo.com

Sarah Malone reads a chapter from her memoir depicting a single night from early on in a thirteen year abusive relationship. Sarah talks candidly about the tenacity to get through day to day, as well as the lifelines she received by the way of positive feedback, kind words and success in the workplace when away from her home. Sarah is on the Board of the YWCA Evanston-North Shore as well as a member with the https://www.thehotline.org (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence) in helping other women survive and thrive after domestic violence. She is also President and Principle Consultant at https://my.captivate.fm/The%20Aldon%20Malone%20Group (The Aldon Malone Group) and can be contacted through https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-malone-phd-rodc-016234/ (Linked In).

Peg Conway's memoir https://www.pegconway.com/mother-loss-memoir/ (The Art of Reassembly) will come out later this year. And this is the link to her book group for https://www.pegconway.com/event-the-healing-power-of-stories/ (adults bereaved in childhood). Would you want an ebook of the essays you've heard in Daring to Tell? Would you want to read other essays or stories inspired by the series? Email me, Michelle@MichelleRedo.com.

Writer Frank Huyer is also an ER physician and reads a piece from his most recent book https://www.harpercollins.com/products/white-hot-light-frank-huyler?variant=32207367045154 (White Hot Light: Twenty Five Years in Emergency Medicine). It is a meditation on loneliness and a candid look both the coldness and kindness of humanity, not just in others but also within ourselves. This is an interview he did with https://pen.org/the-pen-ten-frank-huyler/ (Pen America) where he discusses the role of censorship in medicine during the Covid-19 pandemic that he touches on at the end of our conversation.

Boston https://www.radio.com/magic1067/hosts/morning-magic-with-david-sue-kendra (radio morning guy) https://davidoleary.com/ (David O'Leary) also is a passionate suicide prevention activist with thehttps://afsp.org/ ( American Foundation for Suicide Prevention), and joins writer https://betsyarmstrong.com/ (Betsy Armstrong) and Michelle Redo for a follow-up discussion about her essay and suicide prevention.

A mother's story of her teenage daughter's struggle with depression and suicide attempts early in the Covid 19 pandemic. https://betsyarmstrong.com/ (Writer Betsy Armstrong) reads her essay about her daughter's suicide attempts, with her daughter's permission. In spite of having a background in crisis counseling a mom discusses the difficulties of treating depression when its in our own homes.

Dermatology Physician's Assistant Hope Cook digs deep to beat back burnout on the job, every time it creeps back. Hope also shares all her optimism, and ideas to stay motivation and inspired at her https://hopethepa.com/ (website) And talks with other women who are transforming their own lives on her podcast, https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/recharting-your-life-hope-get-unstuck-discover-direction/id1540607477 (Recharting Your Life with Hope)

An 11-year old sees an intimate text intended only for her grandmother! What happens next is the definition of bravery. Here are a couple links to learn more about Madeline Murphy Rabb. https://magazine.iit.edu/summer-2016/creating-lifes-work-african-american-art (https://magazine.iit.edu/summer-2016/creating-lifes-work-african-american-art) https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/madeline-murphy-rabb-39 (https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/madeline-murphy-rabb-39)