Ronit Plank's Blog

Let's Talk Memoir Episode 238 ft. Jill Christman

Jill Christman joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about contextualizing a memoir in a post-Roe world, what it means to make a choice as mothers, ending a pregnancy, knowing you will write about an experience while it is happening, writing about childhood sexual abuse, returning to a manuscript with your skirt on fire, writing to a point of discovery, putting down our self-defense and having to be fully, fully vulnerable, getting clear on why we’re showing up to tell this story now, and her new memoir The Heart Folds Early.

Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Episode 238 ft. Jill Christman

Apr 28, 2026

Jill Christman joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about contextualizing a memoir in a post-Roe world, what it means to make a choice as mothers, ending a pregnancy, knowing you will write about an experience while it is happening, writing about childhood...

Episode 237 ft. Mimi Nichter

Apr 21, 2026

Mimi Nichter joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about being hijacked on a plane when she was twenty years old in the first incident of international terrorism, how we can be socialized into silence about our stories, processing old trauma on the page, building...

Episode 236 ft. Rachel Tzvia Back

Apr 16, 2026

Rachel Tzvia Back joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about living with depression, losing a sister, when a mother is emotionally and psychologically absent, how myths can be cloaks, listening to our language and what it offers, thinking in image, when stories...

The post Episode 238 ft. Jill Christman appeared first on Ronit Plank.

Let's Talk Memoir Episode 237 ft. Mimi Nichter

Mimi Nichter joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about being hijacked on a plane when she was twenty years old in the first incident of international terrorism, how we can be socialized into silence about our stories, processing old trauma on the page, building immediacy in our narratives through contained time frames and present tense, what happens when we “other” people, wanting to get the story right, using humor to mitigate difficult material, overcoming fear of excavating long-buried trauma, arriving on structure, believing we will be able to find space for our books in the world, and her new memoir Hostage: A Memoir of Terrorism, Trauma, and Resilience.

Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Episode 237 ft. Mimi Nichter

Apr 21, 2026

Mimi Nichter joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about being hijacked on a plane when she was twenty years old in the first incident of international terrorism, how we can be socialized into silence about our stories, processing old trauma on the page, building...

Episode 236 ft. Rachel Tzvia Back

Apr 16, 2026

Rachel Tzvia Back joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about living with depression, losing a sister, when a mother is emotionally and psychologically absent, how myths can be cloaks, listening to our language and what it offers, thinking in image, when stories...

Episode 235 ft. Julie Scolnik

Apr 14, 2026

Julie Scolnik joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about falling madly in love with a married Frenchman when she was 20 years old and living in Paris studying music, working our way back from aching first love, searching for answers, cutting everything that...

The post Episode 237 ft. Mimi Nichter appeared first on Ronit Plank.

Let's Talk Memoir Episode 236 ft. Rachel Tzvia Back

Rachel Tzvia Back joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about living with depression, losing a sister, when a mother is emotionally and psychologically absent, how myths can be cloaks, listening to our language and what it offers, thinking in image, when stories don’t match, giving our children the space to tell their version of stories about us, incorporating four recurring elements in a hybrid memoir, the architecture of our books, representing children in our work but not speaking for them, creating a womb for our writing process, leaning into poetry, approaching material methodically, how trauma is handed down generation by generation, the vast divides between us, and her new memoir The Dark-Robed Mother.

Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Episode 236 ft. Rachel Tzvia Back

Apr 16, 2026

Rachel Tzvia Back joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about living with depression, losing a sister, when a mother is emotionally and psychologically absent, how myths can be cloaks, listening to our language and what it offers, thinking in image, when stories...

Episode 235 ft. Julie Scolnik

Apr 14, 2026

Julie Scolnik joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about falling madly in love with a married Frenchman when she was 20 years old and living in Paris studying music, working our way back from aching first love, searching for answers, cutting everything that...

Episode 234 ft. Stephanie Weaver

Apr 9, 2026

Stephanie Weaver MPH joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about family estrangement, gaslighting, her recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse, chronic illness, not wanting a book to be about revenge, reframing a memoir around a larger cultural moment to...

The post Episode 236 ft. Rachel Tzvia Back appeared first on Ronit Plank.

Let's Talk Memoir Episode 235 ft. Julie Scolnik

Julie Scolnik joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about falling madly in love with a married Frenchman when she was 20 years old and living in Paris studying music, working our way back from aching first love, searching for answers, cutting everything that doesn’t serve the story, finding a universal truth in your memoir, restructuring a manuscript to include letters at the start of each chapter, the decades-long process of getting a book published, maintaining artistic control, writing about music in memoir, deep romance and intense heartbreak, and her memoir Paris Blue: A Memoir of First Love.

Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Episode 235 ft. Julie Scolnik

Apr 14, 2026

Julie Scolnik joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about falling madly in love with a married Frenchman when she was 20 years old and living in Paris studying music, working our way back from aching first love, searching for answers, cutting everything that...

Episode 234 ft. Stephanie Weaver

Apr 9, 2026

Stephanie Weaver MPH joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about family estrangement, gaslighting, her recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse, chronic illness, not wanting a book to be about revenge, reframing a memoir around a larger cultural moment to...

Episode 233 ft. Nikkya Hargrove

Apr 7, 2026

Nikkya Hargrove joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the effects of incarceration on the family system, growing up lost and unsure who her family was, accepting the responsibility of becoming her brother’s mother, the spark that got her writing her memoir,...

The post Episode 235 ft. Julie Scolnik appeared first on Ronit Plank.

Let's Talk Memoir Episode 234 ft. Stephanie Weaver

Stephanie Weaver MPH joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about family estrangement, gaslighting, her recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse, chronic illness, not wanting a book to be about revenge, reframing a memoir around a larger cultural moment to resonate with more people, stepping away from our memoir projects to take care of ourselves, avoiding traumatizing the reader, knowing when a structure has clicked in place, discovering the complex heart of your story, the querying process, when you don’t have a big platform but have lots of connections, and her new memoir Bitter, Sweet: How to Heal Yourself When Your Family is Broken.

Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Episode 234 ft. Stephanie Weaver

Apr 9, 2026

Stephanie Weaver MPH joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about family estrangement, gaslighting, her recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse, chronic illness, not wanting a book to be about revenge, reframing a memoir around a larger cultural moment to...

Episode 233 ft. Nikkya Hargrove

Apr 7, 2026

Nikkya Hargrove joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the effects of incarceration on the family system, growing up lost and unsure who her family was, accepting the responsibility of becoming her brother’s mother, the spark that got her writing her memoir,...

Episode 232 ft. Amanda McCracken

Mar 31, 2026

Amanda McCracken joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about what happens when you’re hopelessly, stubbornly in love with longing, fear of intimacy, the idea of falling in love vs. being in love, person addiction, choices around sex, longing for avoidant men,...

The post Episode 234 ft. Stephanie Weaver appeared first on Ronit Plank.

Let's Talk Memoir Episode 233 ft. Nikkya Hargrove

Nikkya Hargrove joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the effects of incarceration on the family system, growing up lost and unsure who her family was, accepting the responsibility of becoming her brother’s mother, the spark that got her writing her memoir, gaining the lens to understand our story is worthy of being told, acknowledging the divisions within ourselves, incorporating backstory without slowing the narrative down, holding space for others in our work, allowing ourselves to use the words we couldn’t use growing up, normalizing sharing feelings, the gift of found family, the complicated truths within us, and her memoir MAMA: A Queer Black Woman’s Story of Family Lost and Found.

Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Episode 233 ft. Nikkya Hargrove

Apr 7, 2026

Nikkya Hargrove joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the effects of incarceration on the family system, growing up lost and unsure who her family was, accepting the responsibility of becoming her brother’s mother, the spark that got her writing her memoir,...

Episode 232 ft. Amanda McCracken

Mar 31, 2026

Amanda McCracken joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about what happens when you’re hopelessly, stubbornly in love with longing, fear of intimacy, the idea of falling in love vs. being in love, person addiction, choices around sex, longing for avoidant men,...

Episode 231 ft. Wendy C. Ortiz

Mar 24, 2026

Wendy C. Ortiz joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the English teacher who preyed on her when she was thirteen, writing about the person we are now when writing about our past, placing the reader in the physical and psychological experience of...

The post Episode 233 ft. Nikkya Hargrove appeared first on Ronit Plank.

Let's Talk Memoir Episode 232 ft. Amanda McCracken

Amanda McCracken joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about what happens when you’re hopelessly, stubbornly in love with longing, fear of intimacy, the idea of falling in love vs. being in love, person addiction, choices around sex, longing for avoidant men, recognizing the illusion of control, applying to speak at Tedx talks, going to social media to find publishers, becoming an expert on a topic, learning how to trust yourself, self-compassion, becoming more real, and her new book When Longing Becomes Your Lover: Breaking from Infatuation, Rejection, and Perfectionism to Find Authentic Love: A True Story of Overcoming Limerence.

Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Episode 232 ft. Amanda McCracken

Mar 31, 2026

Amanda McCracken joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about what happens when you’re hopelessly, stubbornly in love with longing, fear of intimacy, the idea of falling in love vs. being in love, person addiction, choices around sex, longing for avoidant men,...

Episode 231 ft. Wendy C. Ortiz

Mar 24, 2026

Wendy C. Ortiz joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the English teacher who preyed on her when she was thirteen, writing about the person we are now when writing about our past, placing the reader in the physical and psychological experience of...

Episode 230 ft. Mallary Tenore Tarpley

Mar 17, 2026

Mallary Tenore Tarpley joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the middle place between acute sickness and full recovery, living with the imprints of a disorder, resisting thinking in black and white, the memoir plus genre, making memoir reportage and...

The post Episode 232 ft. Amanda McCracken appeared first on Ronit Plank.

Let's Talk Memoir Episode 231 ft. Wendy C. Ortiz

Wendy C. Ortiz joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the English teacher who preyed on her when she was thirteen, writing about the person we are now when writing about our past, placing the reader in the physical and psychological experience of character-you, how important the opening pages are in setting the stakes, feeling fear and shame, taking care of yourself when writing about traumatic events, reminding ourselves who we were before abuse, growing up feeling comfortable keeping secrets, art as means to recovery, when your press goes out of business, when a predator asks you not to write about them but you do, and her new memoir Excavation.

Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Episode 231 ft. Wendy C. Ortiz

Mar 24, 2026

Wendy C. Ortiz joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the English teacher who preyed on her when she was thirteen, writing about the person we are now when writing about our past, placing the reader in the physical and psychological experience of...

Episode 230 ft. Mallary Tenore Tarpley

Mar 17, 2026

Mallary Tenore Tarpley joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the middle place between acute sickness and full recovery, living with the imprints of a disorder, resisting thinking in black and white, the memoir plus genre, making memoir reportage and...

Episode 229 ft. Karen Palmer

Mar 10, 2026

Karen Palmer joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about changing her identity to escape a dangerous ex-husband, being stalked, the consequences of deciding to disappear, coming to grips with the experience of domestic abuse, mistaking grief for maturity, telling...

The post Episode 231 ft. Wendy C. Ortiz appeared first on Ronit Plank.

Let's Talk Memoir Episode 230 ft. Mallary Tenore Tarpley

Mallary Tenore Tarpley joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the middle place between acute sickness and full recovery, living with the imprints of a disorder, resisting thinking in black and white, the memoir plus genre, making memoir reportage and research seamless, showing our imperfections on the page, exploring hard truths along with hope, leaning into the most authentic version of our story, calibrating how much to reveal and how much to conceal, not ever arriving at a place of full recovery, holding onto hope for our book project, upholding values of curiosity and authenticity and truthtelling, when the middle place is the story, restorative narratives, and her new memoir SLIP: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery.

Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Episode 230 ft. Mallary Tenore Tarpley

Mar 17, 2026

Mallary Tenore Tarpley joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the middle place between acute sickness and full recovery, living with the imprints of a disorder, resisting thinking in black and white, the memoir plus genre, making memoir reportage and...

Episode 229 ft. Karen Palmer

Mar 10, 2026

Karen Palmer joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about changing her identity to escape a dangerous ex-husband, being stalked, the consequences of deciding to disappear, coming to grips with the experience of domestic abuse, mistaking grief for maturity, telling...

Episode 228 ft. Dorothy Roberts

Mar 3, 2026

Dorothy Roberts joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about her father’s interviews beginning in the 1930s with over 500 back-white couples who crossed the color line in Chicago, moving to memoir to explore more personal experiences and feelings, growing up in a...

The post Episode 230 ft. Mallary Tenore Tarpley appeared first on Ronit Plank.

Let's Talk Memoir Episode 229 ft. Karen Palmer

Karen Palmer joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about changing her identity to escape a dangerous ex-husband, being stalked, the consequences of deciding to disappear, coming to grips with the experience of domestic abuse, mistaking grief for maturity, telling a story as truthfully as possible, relinquishing a child, the long-term effect of PTSD, not ever completely knowing ourselves or others, deep truth vs. inconsequential truth, writing about ourself like we are a character, projecting a persona that isn’t real, understanding the end of the story late in the writing, moving around in time without losing the reader, believing in a story and the ability to tell it, and her new memoir She’s Under Here: a Love Story, a Horror Story, a Reckoning.

Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Episode 229 ft. Karen Palmer

Mar 10, 2026

Karen Palmer joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about changing her identity to escape a dangerous ex-husband, being stalked, the consequences of deciding to disappear, coming to grips with the experience of domestic abuse, mistaking grief for maturity, telling...

Episode 228 ft. Dorothy Roberts

Mar 3, 2026

Dorothy Roberts joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about her father’s interviews beginning in the 1930s with over 500 back-white couples who crossed the color line in Chicago, moving to memoir to explore more personal experiences and feelings, growing up in a...

Episode 227 ft. Rebecca N. Thompson, MD

Feb 24, 2026

Rebecca N. Thompson, MD joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about life-threatening pregnancy losses and weaving her own story of navigating a challenging path to parenting with the stories of others, her decade-long collaboration with a remarkable group of...

The post Episode 229 ft. Karen Palmer appeared first on Ronit Plank.