The only thing left to do is to press play.
Her Best Interest will release a new episode every other Wednesday morning at 5:30AM. (Eastern Standard Time)
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OPEN BOOK: Mindset
This week, we introduce you to our next Open Book guest, Danielle Wadding. Danielle is a phenomenal mother, friend, career-woman, and finds her center in the middle of a Brazilian jujitzu mat. We are honored to share her story with you today as she provides a message anyone can carry with them long after this episode ends.
In today's episode, Danielle walks us through a difficult year of life in her early twenties where she lost her husband, mother, and child all within a few months span. She takes us through those early days of grief as she navigated life's most unfair dealing of cards. She then brings us through how she started to walk through her own grief to a place of growth and acceptance.
Her overall message surrounding your mindset is applicable to any listener. She discusses parenting, self-growth, the benefits of using therapy properly, and more as she takes us through how shifting her mindset has unlocked such acceptance for herself and others.
Featured Guest: Danielle Wadding
Trigger Warnings Include: Grief and Loss Depiction, Infant Loss, Alcohol Discussion
OPEN BOOK: Troubled Teen Industry
You just need your headphones and your heart this week as there is no reading prep to fully immerse yourself in the story, start to finish. Welcome to the format that will air the second episode of each month titled Open Book. With each Open Book episode, a book will never be associated as we hear a true story from the individual that wrote it with their experience. We believe you don’t have to be a reader to fall in love with someone’s story; So our Open Book episodes will give us all the chance to fall in love with a story and its storyteller together. After all, the best part of any story is always the person at the center.
We are debuting our Open Book format with featured guest, Sydney Finfer. Sydney is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor based out of Baltimore, Maryland. Her story will give you unique insight into the troubled teen industry as she is a survivor herself. Within the pages of her story, Sydney shows us her strong-willed personality, her unwillingness to comply with something she felt was so fiercely morally wrong, and the resilience that has always been so deeply woven into who she is.
After being taken in the middle of the night without her consent to a wilderness program, she was then transitioned to a therapeutic boarding school that promised to provide support but instead, caused lifelong harm to her and many other students and parents that trusted this program.
This first Open Book episode is full of empathy and justified anger as we shed light on an industry that is hellbent on remaining in the dark. Sydney’s story is one you won’t want to put down as she shows us how chilling and damaging it is to receive this kind of intervention.
Sydney’s Open Book Dedication:
“To all of the other TTI survivors… I see you, I hear you, you are valid.”
This episode contains content that may be triggering to some viewers.
Our trigger warnings for this episode include mentions of child abuse and suicidal thoughts.
Echoes of Love: Finding Grace Amidst Grief
In this episode of Her Best Interest, we are honored to welcome our very first guest. Today's guest, Paige Galloway, shares her journey which embodies resilience and profound insight. She embarks on a deeply personal reflection of loss as she discusses the profound impact of losing her mom last year.
Through candid conversations and heartfelt reflections, Cecylia and Alexandra offer support as Paige delves into the myriad emotions experienced in the wake of such a significant loss – from grief and sorrow to acceptance and healing. She offers profound insights into the unique bond between a mother and child, highlighting the influence that continues to shape her life.
Tune in to this heartbreaking episode as Paige shares a powerful story of breaking generational curses, unwavering love, and the peace found in forgiveness.
Featured Book: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Featured Guest: Paige Galloway
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*trigger warnings: grief, loss, and brief mention of suicidal thoughts*
The Angry Woman and The Shrew Start a Podcast
This episode of Her Best Interest unpacks unlikeability when it comes to women in both the film industry and society in general. With Anna Bogutskaya's novel "Unlikeable Female Characters" guiding the conversation this week, Alexandra and Cecylia share their reflections around why taking back these titles is so important.
For today's episode: There is no need to read the book to tune in for the entire time! The hosts give a brief summary and necessary context in the beginning of the episode so that all listeners can fully participate and enjoy, whether you've read the book or not.
Trigger warnings for this episode include mentions of the following: sexual assault, marital rape, and rape culture.
Featured Episode Topic: Embracing Unlikeability
Featured Episode Book: Unlikeable Female Characters by Anna Bogutskaya
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Visit our Website: www.herbestinterest.com
Say Hi: herbestinterestpodcast@gmail.com
Behind Closed Doors: Comparisons, Compassion, and the Road to Forgiveness
This week's episode revolves around lessons learned in previous relationships, the damage done when comparing women to each other, and mistakes made that shed some light on how forgiveness can be freeing.
With this episode, Cecylia and Alexandra find themselves in the center of the drama they have almost always created for themselves. Listen along as your hosts go on an emotional journey through the themes found within the novel that really made them peer into the scandals of their own lives. Last week's Something I Read This Week could not be topped so your hosts bring new energy to the first segment with a game of Two Truths and A Lie in the spirit of lying to protect certain truths as this is a strong theme found within the chosen novel.
Jump into the private lives of Hollywood's hottest starlets (your hosts) as they take on the big screen (their iPhones) to reveal the truth behind the biggest scandals of their lives (situations they have usually created for themselves as a direct result of their actions). Lights... Camera... ACTION!
Featured Episode Topic: How Relationships Have Defined Us, The Competition of Women, and Self-Acceptance/Forgiveness
Featured Episode Book: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
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Say Hi: herbestinterestpodcast@gmail.com
BONUS EPISODE: Crazy Cupid Love
Happy Valentine's Day!
To show their love, your hosts have released a SURPRISE bonus mini-episode for you. There is NO book associated with this mini-episode release. Just giggles, games, and girl talk. You know, the basics.
Join Cecylia and Alexandra as they jump into their favorite book tropes, discuss first celebrity crushes, chat through some questionable icks, play a speed date game, and more!
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Dulling your Pink: The Silent Sacrifice of Motherhood
What pieces of our identify fall away as mothers? Shed some layers with your hosts this week as the topic center around struggling with identity loss in motherhood, comparisons to other women, and the importance of open communication.
Cecylia and Alexandra discuss how social media can warp the image of what it means to be "good enough" in motherhood, how their children shape so much of their identity today, and their own love languages when it comes to communication with those close to them.
The hosts then dive into Emily Itami's debut novel, Fault Lines, and discuss some of Mizuki's choices, their own inner dialogues while reading this mom battle with finding out just how much of her old self she's shed and what that means for her own marriage, and share an admiration for the author's portrayal of Tokyo, Japan.
As a reminder, the first half of the episode only relates to the themes within the hosts' own lives and does not contain spoilers. For the second part of the episode, the hosts will pull the book from the shelf and discuss the themes within the novel.
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Vampires vs. Wizards: The Magic in the Journey
Your hosts decided to time travel to series they loved in their younger years. Looking back as adults, they pulled some emotional themes from the literature that they can reflect on from a different place. This episode discusses codependency, confronting fears, trying to control outcomes, and how all of these themes show up in their own lives.
With this topic, Cecylia and Alexandra delve into their own realizations with people pleasing, anxiety in parenthood and tools used to overcome, learning to let go, and how much the people in their lives pull them through. Once the books are pulled from the shelves, your hosts play a series of games to learn about the series the other did not read. They summarize the series they read, discuss the themes present within the novels, and compare the series. As a reminder, the first half relates to the selected topic in their own lives and will remain spoiler free. The second half of the episode is where the hosts bring the books forward to deepen the discussion.
The books present with this conversation are Twilight by Stephanie Meyer and Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. Time travel with your hosts as they bring the lessons learned on memory lane to the forefront of this discussion.
Featured Episode Topic: Codependency, Confronting Fears, and Trying to Control Outcomes
Featured Episode Books: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer and Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Follow Us on Instagram: @_herbestinterest
Visit our Website: www.herbestinterest.com
Say Hi: herbestinterestpodcast@gmail.com
*The podcast referred to in this show as a tool that Cecylia has appreciated through her facing her anxiety and codependency is titled Help Me Be Me by Cloud10 and can be found on Spotify.*
Like A Sister: The Power of Female Friendships
Announcing the FIRST episode created with Her Best Interest at heart! This kickoff episode will center around female friendships, the support system found there, and what a force we are when we let each other in.
With this topic, Cecylia and Alexandra delve into growing up in friendships, lessons learned, vulnerable moments, navigating friend heartbreak, and what accountability has looked like in their personal dynamics.
As a reminder, the first half relates to the selected topic in their own lives and will remain spoiler free. The second half of the episode is where the hosts bring the book forward to deepen the discussion. The book present with the conversation is A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas and the strong theme of female friendship found within the pages. Discover how one host found Nesta’s journey from cold to kind admirable while another host found it healing and relatable.
Featured Episode Topic: Female Friendships
Featured Episode Book: A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
Follow Us on Instagram: @_herbestinterest
Say Hi: herbestinterestpodcast@gmail.com
A Love Letter of Initial Dedications
We're entering our podcast era with open hearts.
Tune in for this informal introduction to our podcast and the people that we're keeping in our hearts as we embark on this creative journey. Our first episode will air on January 10th, 2024. New episodes drop every Wednesday at 5:30AM (EST).
Follow along on social media via the links in the top right corner of this page.
"You guys should let me do your marketing." - Alexandra's husband who cannot find his emoji keyboard
"You guys should let me do your marketing." - Alexandra's husband who cannot find his emoji keyboard
"What's a podcast?" - John, Cecylia's stepdad
"What's a podcast?" - John, Cecylia's stepdad
"This will be the BEST podcast I've ever heard." - Michelle Obama, probably
"This will be the BEST podcast I've ever heard." - Michelle Obama, probably
photography on this page by: K.R.M. Gallery