Allison Raskin was just 4 years old the first time she told her parents she wanted to die. Within weeks, the preschooler was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder and depression. In this episode, we talk with Allison and her mother Ruth about raising a child with severe mental illness and what Allison’s world looks like today as an adult living with OCD. 

Genna is fat. They are also queer and nonbinary. All of these things can make a person feel marginalized in a straight, cisgender, thin-obsessed society … but for Genna, it’s being fat that’s hardest.

Chelsea’s mom and unborn brother died in a car accident on Chelsea’s first birthday, leaving little Chelsea and her grief-stricken father behind to piece back together their shattered life. As a child, Chelsea longs for a mom – a living mom – and she’s thrilled when her dad remarries a wonderful woman named Shawna. But even when she’s surrounded by love, Chelsea still finds herself trying to fill a gaping hole in her heart.

Four years ago, we published a Father’s Day episode called “About Bob,” about a woman named Laura and her dad named – you guessed it – Bob. It ended with father and daughter trying to navigate their complex (but hopeful!) relationship. In this episode, Nora sits back down with Laura to find out if things with her dad are still as complicated as they were back in 2018.

Girlboss culture is now, as they say, cringe, but during the 2010s, SO MANY of us thought we were on the precipice of busting through that glass ceiling. We thought we could rise and grind, hustle our way to the life of our dreams, and as long as we loved what we did we wouldn’t work a day in our lives. Leigh Stein is also a recovering girlboss, who went into debt building an organization that supported women but left her burned all the way out.

This episode features conversations with people doing the best they can in difficult circumstances. Like Dr. Lucy Kalanithi, whose husband Dr. Paul Kalanithi was a notable and rising brain surgeon who wrote When Breath Becomes Air, a bestselling memoir about his fatal battle with cancer. And comedian Amber Tozer, who tells a funny and poignant story about walking in on her mother’s wedding … on Christmas Day. We will also talk with some of the women of the Hot Young Widows Club on their hopes and dreams for the upcoming year. Plus, stories of people’s worst Holidays ever.

Laura McKowen is sober. Drinking used to be her "thing," and what she's learned in sobriety is that we all have a thing — something we'd be better off without that we just ... keep doing. Maybe that's scrolling your phone or Googling your ex (no judgment). Maybe it's alcohol or drugs or sugar or watching Netflix until 3 in the morning. This episode is filled with hope and help for whatever your "thing" is.

We're back with our third annual Happyish Holidays episode! This year, comedian Alyssa Limperis shares with us the holiday letter she wrote the year her dad died from brain cancer. We talk with Jay Mathews, a 48-year-old father and son who, with stage IV cancer, is probably experiencing his last holidays with his family. And we ask listeners what they took away from 2018, what they're looking forward to in 2019, and what it is about hoping for something that can be so scary.

Lauren’s brother died at Thanksgiving. Her mother died at Christmas. So … this time of year is not exactly joyous for her. And it’s not all that fun for a lot of other people, too. The holidays can really suck! We’re back with our second annual Happyish Holidays episode, in which we share your holiday stories of humor and loss.

Two days after Nora’s husband Aaron died, she celebrated Thanksgiving with her family. Well ... maybe not “celebrated.”

Every year, millions of people do the same thing during the holidays. In this episode, we talk with some of those folks, including Dr. Lucy Kalanithi and comedian Amber Tozer. We also spend some time with some of the women of the Hot Young Widows Club, talking about their hopes and dreams for the upcoming year.