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Babes in Bookland: Your Women's Memoir Podcast

Alex Frnka - Women Memoirs Host
  • 5.0 (56)
  • BOOKS
  • UPDATED BIMONTHLY

Women have always written extraordinary memoirs. We just haven't always talked about them loudly enough — until now. Babes in Bookland is a podcast dedicated entirely to memoirs by women, for women who are hungry for honest storytelling, big feelings, and real lives on the page. Each episode is part book discussion, part cultural conversation, and entirely unapologetic about centering women's experiences. Think of us as your most well-read friend who always knows exactly which book you need next.

  1. 4D AGO ·  BONUS • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    BONUS: Scheana Shay's "My Good Side"

    Scheana Shay has been on our screens for 11 seasons, so why does her memoir still feel like we barely know her? I sit down with Brett and get specific about My Good Side: what’s genuinely moving, what’s frustratingly polished, and what it reveals about the Bravo machine that made Vanderpump Rules a cultural obsession. We talk through the parts that actually land, especially her fertility journey, pregnancy loss, a traumatic birth story, and postpartum OCD with intrusive thoughts. Those chapters feel human in a way reality TV rarely allows, and we dig into why that kind of honesty matters for postpartum mental health, stigma, and getting the right help when you’re scared of being judged. Then we get into the hard stuff: the lack of self-awareness, the “good side” framing, the name-dropping without insight, and why the Brock Davies affair reveal doesn’t hit like the book seems to think it will. From Scandoval context to “bad edit” defenses, we ask what accountability looks like when your income depends on staying likable. The conversation expands into reality television ethics and power dynamics: when should production step in, what happens when viewers reward bad behavior, and why growth can be a liability in an ecosystem built for conflict. If you love Vanderpump Rules, celebrity memoirs, or media criticism, this episode is for you! Subscribe for more bonus episodes, share this with your Bravo group chat, and leave a review if you want more book breakdowns like this. What’s your verdict on Scheana: misunderstood, unchanged, or both?

    1h 15m
  2. BSB: Liza Minnelli's "Kids, Wait Till You Hear This"

    5D AGO

    BSB: Liza Minnelli's "Kids, Wait Till You Hear This"

    How do you break free of one legacy to cement your own?  We’re back with a bite-sized Babes in Bookland mini review of Liza Minnelli’s memoir “Kid, Wait Till You Hear This,” and it’s equal parts warm, jaw-dropping, and quietly devastating. I went in expecting old Hollywood stories and iconic name-drops. I got those... but I didn’t expect a brutally honest look at what fame can cost a family behind closed doors. I talk about Liza Minnelli the performer and cultural force: an EGOT-winning star of stage and screen, a voice people instantly recognize, and a public figure who showed up as an advocate during the AIDS crisis when many stayed silent. But the heart of her memoir is the private Liza, the daughter trying to survive a mother’s addiction and mental health storms while other adults fail to step in. Her pages on caretaking as a child, living with dread, and trying to “protect” a parent will hit especially hard if you’re an adult child of an addict or you’ve carried responsibilities that were never yours. Liza’s account of her own substance use disorder and recovery, including rehab at the Betty Ford Center and the long road to real sobriety, is the most powerful part of the story and one of the most human celebrity memoir moments I’ve read. If you’re looking for a memoir podcast that blends pop culture with real conversations about addiction recovery, denial, resilience, and choosing life, this one’s for you. Subscribe for more women’s memoir reviews, share this episode with a friend, and leave a review so more readers can find the show. What’s one “yes” you need to tell yourself today? SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357) (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service), or TTY: 1-800-487-4889 is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations. Also visit the online treatment locator, or send your zip code via text message: 435748 (HELP4U) to find help near you. Purchase Liza Minnelli's "Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!" Support the show: On Patreon Buy us a book Buy cute merch Subscribe to the Babes in Bookland Substack Xx, Alex Connect with us and suggest a great memoir! Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod

    19 min
  3. AUTHOR CHAT: Ayana Lage's "Missing Me"

    MAR 17

    AUTHOR CHAT: Ayana Lage's "Missing Me"

    Author Ayana Lage joins the show to talk about Missing Me, her memoir of postpartum psychosis and the long road back.  We talk about perfectionism as a coping strategy, anxiety as a lifelong undercurrent, and the exhausting need to be seen as “good” while feeling like you’re failing inside. Ayana shares how she turned hospital journals and medical records into a tightly crafted, nonlinear memoir, how she handled the fear of reviews, and what it means to tell the truth when your story includes your partner and your parents. We also get honest about how faith can comfort you and still leave you carrying guilt when mental health doesn’t improve, and why therapy and medication are not character flaws. Then we widen the lens to the realities that raise the stakes: Black maternal health disparities, being dismissed in medical settings, and why support like a doula can matter. We clarify what postpartum psychosis can look like, why it’s different from postpartum depression or postpartum OCD, and how stigma harms mothers, babies, and families when people don’t know the signs. Ayana closes with the aftermath: releasing shame, planning a second pregnancy with care, making feeding choices without guilt, and finding joy in the mundane. Subscribe, share this conversation with a friend, and leave a review if it helps you see postpartum mental health with more clarity and compassion. Purchase Missing Me by Ayana Lage 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

    54 min
  4. True Colors // Christina Applegate's "You with the Sad Eyes"

    MAR 10

    True Colors // Christina Applegate's "You with the Sad Eyes"

    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

    1h 5m

  5. MAR 9 ·  BONUS • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    SUBSCRIBER: Christina Applegate's "You with the Sad Eyes"

    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. Thank you for supporting the show! Xx, Alex

    1h 16m
  6. Pain into Power // Demi Moore's "Inside Out"

    MAR 4

    Pain into Power // Demi Moore's "Inside Out"

    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

    1h 24m

  7. MAR 3 ·  BONUS • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    SUBSCRIBER: Demi Moore's "Inside Out"

    Thank you for your support! We unpack Demi Moore’s memoir through the lens of survival, fame, and fiercely honest recovery, tracing how a child who learned to read a room for danger became an icon who learned to read herself with clarity. Demi Moore’s memoir is more than a celebrity tell-all; it is a map of survival that traces a jagged line from a precarious childhood to global stardom and back to the self. The story begins with grit: a child shuttled between schools, hospitals, and hotels, learning early to scan rooms for danger, read power, and play roles to fit in. That hypervigilance becomes a survival skill and, later, a career asset. Yet the same skill set—code-breaking, shape-shifting, pleasing—can warp into self-erasure. If you’re drawn to conversations about resilience, body image, addiction, pay equity, and the hidden costs of celebrity, this one hits with rare candor. Listen, share with a friend who needs a dose of hard-earned hope, and don’t forget to follow, rate, and leave a review so more curious minds can find the show. Xx, Alex

    1h 49m

  8. FEB 27

    BONUS: Elyse Myers' Memoir: Humor, Hype, and Lots of Holes

    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

    54 min
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5
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56 Ratings

About

Women have always written extraordinary memoirs. We just haven't always talked about them loudly enough — until now. Babes in Bookland is a podcast dedicated entirely to memoirs by women, for women who are hungry for honest storytelling, big feelings, and real lives on the page. Each episode is part book discussion, part cultural conversation, and entirely unapologetic about centering women's experiences. Think of us as your most well-read friend who always knows exactly which book you need next.

Information

  • Creator
    Alex Frnka - Women Memoirs Host
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    115
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Babes in Bookland: Your Women's Memoir Podcast
  • Show Website
    Babes in Bookland: Your Women's Memoir Podcast
  • Provider
    Alex Conway

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