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Catherine Newman on Motherhood, Midlife, and Anxiety
Episode 221 • 26th October 2025 • Heart of the Story • Nadine Kenney Johnstone
00:00:00 00:43:23

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221 In this hilarious episode, bestselling author Catherine Newman discusses the beauty and torture of parenting and perimenopause. They discuss the balance of humor and fear in Catherine's latest novels, Sandwich and Wreck, in which Catherine gets real about the complexities of everything from family vacations to "reproductive mayhem." Catherine shares her writing process and the personal experiences that've informed her novels. Ultimately. this episode is about how we hold love and terror at once.

Covered in this episode:

  • The excerpt that instantly made Nadine a fan of Catherine's writing.
  • Nadine and Catherine's ridiculous injuries (one involved a mini-golf incident)
  • Maternal anxiety, in all its terror and beauty
  • Catherine's approach to writing that sells
  • The unexpected symptoms of perimenopause that took both women by surprise
  • Why reproductive experiences make intimacy such complicated territory
  • How to write about our scariest thoughts without shame

Join Nadine in her community or at her Revision Retreat:

About Catherine:

Catherine Newman is the New York Times bestselling author of the memoirs Catastrophic Happiness and Waiting for Birdy, the middle-grade novel One Mixed-Up Night, the kids’ craft book Stitch Camp, the best-selling how-to books for kids How to Be a Person and What Can I Say?, and the novels We All Want Impossible Things, Sandwich, and Wreck. Her books have been translated into fifteen languages. She has been a regular contributor to the New York Times, Real Simple, O, The Oprah Magazine, Cup of Jo, and many other publications. She writes the Crone Sandwich newsletter on Substack and lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

About Nadine:

Nadine Kenney Johnstone is an award-winning author, podcast host, and writing coach. After fifteen years as a writing professor, she founded WriteWELL workshops and retreats for women writers. She interviews today’s top female authors on her podcast, Heart of the Story. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal. She has been featured in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Natural Awakenings,Chicago Magazine, and more. She writes a regular column about mid-life reclamation on Substack.

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