Front Porch Book Club

DUST CHILD, by Nguyen Phan Que Mai, catapults us into the interconnecting lives of those caught in the brutality of the Vietnam War. We meet Dan, an American who is returning with his wife to the country where he was a young GI fifty years earlier. We are transported back in time and meet two Vietnamese sisters during the Vietnam War. We meet Fong, an Amerasian man born from a Vietnamese woman and a Black GI and the challenges he faces as an abandoned baby. Nguyen Phan Que Mai based this novel on the stories she heard as she was writing her dissertation about the impact of the Vietnam War.The novel is an international best-seller AND the One Book, One Lincoln selection for 2026.

Dr. Bryan Denny joins us to further our understanding of emotional regulation research, particularly research that combines traditional diagnostic approaches with neurobiology. Bryan is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Rice University and Director of the Translational Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab. Bryan 's research is a fascinating complement to our book this month: Ethan Kross's SHIFT: MANAGING YOUR EMOTIONS SO THEY DON’T MANAGE YOU.Bryan's research seeks to understand the psychological and neurobiological mechanisms that underlie successful and unsuccessful emotion regulation across a spectrum of healthy and clinical populations. He is interested in utilizing the results of basic investigations into these processes in order to design and examine novel interventions focused on improving real-world emotion regulation outcomes in a variety of contexts. Bryan tells us what emotion regulation is and then explains some of the evidence-based techniques used to do so, citing Ethan Kross’ book and also the work of James Gross and Lisa Feldman Barrett. He compares the cognitive basis of emotional regulation to the behaviorist tradition that once dominated psychology.Bryan tells us about his work combining cognitive research and neurobiology. Neurobiology uses technologies, such as fMRIs, to show how the brain is operating. Bryan believes there will always be a place for cognitive counseling and its techniques, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, but that the addition of neuroscience opens up new ways of understanding emotions and creating interventions.Bryan conducts longitudinal emotion regulation research at his lab, and has recently been focusing on populations such as caregivers and bereaved persons.We loved this episode and all the information Dr. Denny shared with us. We are hopeful listeners won't be too distracted by the sometimes poor audio.

A new year means a Front Porch Book Club book that will help us think about who we want to be in 2026 and give us some idea of how to become that person! This year, we chose SHIFT: MANAGING YOUR EMOTIONS -- SO THEY DON'T MANAGE YOU by Ethan Kross.The book was published just last year in February of 2025, and it was an instant national bestseller. It was one of Oprah's daily best self-help books for personal growth in 2025. And it was a Publishers Weekly best book of the year. Ethan Kross is one of the world's leading experts on emotional regulation. He's an award-winning professor at the University of Michigan's top-ranked psychology department, and its Ross School of Business, and he's the director of the Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory there at the University of Michigan.Kross begins the book by telling us that what emotions are and that we have the ability to regulate our emotions. We do not have to be just victims of emotions coming and going. You can lead your life feeling very in control of your emotions and regulating them. And that doesn't mean being a robot. It doesn't mean repressing feelings. It doesn't mean wallowing in feelings. And it doesn't even mean, and this was important to Nancy, that there are bad emotions and good emotions. Rather, he says, emotions are data for us to use and regulation is about experiencing them in the proportion that you want to experience them. Leading a happy life is understanding that there's room for grief and anger and sad. A happy life incorporates the range of human emotions, but it is about regulating them. It's about understanding what it is they are telling us. Kross even talks about the wisdom of emotions. Kross tells us we are not prisoners to our emotions that there are these levers or shifters, the book is called Shift. There are shifters that we have that can be very useful.Throughout the book, Kross reviews internal and external shifters; these are the levers to shift our emotions. He advises us that different shifters work for different people at different times. The challenge for us is to learn what works for us and when. We are all unique individuals. Kross also talks about the important role of emotion in goal setting and achievement.Both Linny and Nancy really enjoyed this book. Linny already was familiar with the shifters, given her education and experience as a counselor. But she definitely liked the illustrations and appreciated the science-based approach and all the citations. For Nancy, a lot of the concepts were new, but she also appreciated the science-based approach.In this episode, Linny and Nancy also review their goals from last year's ATOMIC HABITS book. Spoiler: they both report really good results!The episode ends with Linny and Nancy wrestling over the meaning of the word "peace," and deciding that would be an excellent next book for Ethan Kross to write!

Today we interview Lois Lowry about her book, THE GIVER. Lois Lowry has written more than 20 books for young adults and is a two-time Newbery Medal winner. Lowry was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, elementary school in Carlisle, PA, and attended junior high school in Tokyo, Japan. Lowry attended Brown University and majored in writing. She left school at 19, got married, and had four children before her 25th birthday. After some time, she returned to college and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maine. Lowry didn’t start writing professionally until she was in her mid-30s. We enjoy a wide-ranging and funny conversation with this beloved author.

It’s December, so we are continuing on with our tradition of doing a kid’s book, but this year, the kids are a little older. This is more like a young adult novel. Our book is THE GIVER written by Lois Lowry. It became an instant classic when it was published in 1993. That year, Lowry won the Newbery Award which is given by the American Library Association to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. She also had previously won a Newberry Award in 1990 for her book NUMBER THE STARS.In THE GIVER is set in a dystopian future. It is a sort of speculative work of fiction in which 12-year-old Jonas is selected to become the apprentice of the Giver. The Giver is the protector of memories that have been suppressed in this tightly-controlled community where there are no wrong choices and no competition or conflict and even no war, no music, few feelings, no color. It doesn’t sound like much of a life but this is what they know. Linny says she thinks a message in this book is that knowledge is power that brings us choices and also consequences. When we take away knowledge, such as is found in books, society is weakened. Linny makes an impassioned case for no book banning. Nancy remarks that THE GIVER is a book that has been banned in US libraries. Ironic, right?Nancy said one of the really wrenching part of the books for her was when Jonas asks his mother and father if they love him, they ask him to be more specific, that the word “love” is meaningless. Linny says this is a coming-of-age book that tracks the developmental changes that children/teens face.Linny and Nancy had different ideas of what happens in THE GIVER's ambiguous ending. Then Nancy shares Lois Lowry's examples of how some of her readers have interpreted the ending over the years. Finally, Nancy provides a thumbnail sketch of the remaining three books in the series and this gives Linny and Nancy an idea of what happens with Jonas and Gabe.Linny said she enjoyed THE GIVER and liked that it was an easy read. She feels it is relevant today. Nancy thinks most teenagers would relate to this book and encourages everyone who has a teenager in their life to purchase this book for them.

This is a short, catch-up episode of the Front Porch Book Club. Nancy admits that she ran out of time finding a guest for Crazy Rich Asians. Kevin Kwan was unavailable (!) as were a number of the experts Nancy contacted. Instead, we catch-up on what is going on in our lives. Linny tells Nancy all about her latest paid extra gig, a feature film, based on a documentary about a Washington, D.C. man who begins a boxing club for youth in his neighborhood. Nancy’s recent win was a partner who said she was fun to play tennis with and cooking a successful French progressive dinner to benefit her performing arts center, the Lied. Linny and Nancy talk about gratitude, in this time of Thanksgiving. Nancy is grateful for Linny and loves their time on the podcast, as is Linny. She also mentions family, friends, faith, country, and the Hallmark Channel! Linny saw Nuremberg the afternoon of our recording. She highly recommends it. She thought the extras did a very good job 10/10 stars. Russel Crowe gets a 9/10. Linny muses that the Academy Awards should have a category for the best extras. Linny’s son will not be home for Christmas, so she is deciding she will be grateful for Christmas but she is looking for ideas that will create a happy Christmas without her child. If you have ideas, let us know!!

This month we’re talking about CRAZY RICH ASIANS by Kevin Kwan. This book was published in 2013. This is basically a romantic comedy. In fact, a movie of the same name was released in 2018 based on this book. CRAZY RICH ASIANS is the first book in a trilogy, with the other books being CHINA RICH GIRLFRIEND and RICH PEOPLE PROBLEMS.Rachel is an economics prof and her boyfriend Nick is a history prof at NYU. When Nick invites Rachel to accompany him on a trip back to Singapore where he’ll be best man at his friend’s wedding, Rachel finds out Nick is not just wealthy, but crazy rich. So rich, other rich people haven’t heard about him. Rachel is faced with culture shock, jealousy, prejudice, suspicion, and betrayal as she tries to figure out whether Nick is still the man of her dreams.Linda says this is definitely a beach read type of book. We get love but we also get a lot of glitz and glamour about how the one-percenters live. In the opening chapter, Nick’s mom impulsively buys a hotel when the staff don’t welcome them.Nancy asks Linny, since she loves a good romance, whether this is the kind of book she might typically pick up. Linny says, no, because she typically reads boys meets girl and the conclusion is that they get together. In CRAZY RICH ASIANS, Rachel and Nick are already a serious couple when we meet them. Linny said it was an enjoyable book for her to read, especially given we were in the middle of the Biafran War last month!Linny also tells Nancy about her latest acting gig outside Washington, DC and why she understands the motivation behind arranged marriages.

Today we interview Dr. Taiwo Bello about the historical and contemporary contexts of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's HALF OF A YELLOW SUN. Nancy loves this interview because neither she nor Linda knew anything about the Biafran War. Linny likes that we then talk about lessons we can learn so we don’t repeat those mistakes.Taiwo Bello is an Assistant Professor of African History and an affiliate faculty member of the Africana Studies Centre at Oklahoma State University. His research and teaching interests encompass gender and women's history, war and society, violence and conflict studies, the history of crime, law, and punishment, Black and diaspora studies, genocide, human rights, and humanitarian histories, as well as global and transnational history. He serves on the Editorial Review Boards of the AFRICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION journal, HISTORY IN AFRICA, published by Cambridge University Press; and the CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN STUDIES journal, the CANADIAN JOURNAL OF AFRICAN STUDIES, published by Taylor & Francis. He is a founding editor of SCHOLAR’S CORNER, a subsidiary blog of the journal, GENOCIDE STUDIES INTERNATIONAL, published by University of Toronto Press. He is revising his second book entitled SOLDIERS ON RAMPAGE: GENDER, BLOCKADE, VIOLENCE AND RESISTANCE IN BIAFRA DURING THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR, 1967-1970. The book examines the impact of the wartime violence between the Nigerian and Biafran soldiers on Biafran women and their families, and the women's responses to wartime atrocities. The book demonstrates how food was central to the constant violence unleashed on women in the heartland of Biafra. His forthcoming book, INVENTING ORDER: CRIME, LAW, AND PUNISHMENT IN NIGERIA AND THE DIASPORA, adopts a multidisciplinary approach to examine the evolution of crimes (armed robbery, immigration fraud, financial fraud, drug trafficking) in Nigeria and their local and global implications.

This month we’re reading HALF OF A YELLOW SUN by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Listeners might remember Episode 88 when our guest to discuss Chinua Achebe’s THINGS FALL ABOUT, Dr. Thomas Jay Lynn, mentioned one of his favorite books about Africa was HALF OF A YELLOW SUN. We made a note of that, and here we are! Chinua Achebe’s THINGS FALL apart was one of Linny’s favorite books we’ve read. So, she was interested to read this book that takes place 80 years later. Nigeria is breaking apart and the Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria declare themselves a separate country called Biafra. This novel is set in the late 1960s immediately before and during the Biafran war and we meet a lot of characters, but for Nancy, it is really the story about the private lives of 20-something twin sisters, Olanna and Kainene and the choice they make turning this turbulent time. They come from an affluent and wealthy family and they’ve been educated in England. Olanna is the “beauty” and she is a people pleaser, and lacks confidence. Kainene is not beautiful and is blunt and is successfully assuming leadership of her father’s businesses. Neither Linny nor Nancy knew much about Biafra before reading this book. Linny said she knows there has always been lots of political unrest in Africa. Nancy talks about why she thinks that is a result of colonialization.The war has a huge impact on the arc of all the characters. Olanna, because Odenigbo disintegrates, must step up and help her family survive and also becomes stronger and more confident. Kainene is confident and competent and becomes more so, eventually operating a refugee camp, becoming more a humanitarian.Nancy thinks Ugwu’s journey from innocence to moral disintegration is a commentary on war. What does war do to people? We kill each other and perpetrate other inhumanities. Linny says by the end of the war, the characters have to figure out how to pick up the pieces of who they are and try to move on.

Today we interview Dr. Ted Hamann about EDUCATED, a memoir by Tara Westover. Ted is the Charles Bessey professor of teaching, learning and teacher education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Ted is an anthropologist of education with a primary scholarly focus on the interface between education policy and practice. He is author/editor of 14 books/monographs/journal special issues and has published almost 100 journal articles and book chapters. In 2019, Hamann served as a Fulbright Garcia-Robles U.S. Scholar at the Tijuana campus of the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional studying binational higher education collaborations that were intended to better prepare educators in both the United States and Mexico. He is an AERA fellow of the American +Education Research Association and a NEPC fellow at the National Education Policy Center.Ted tells us education is an aspect of anthropology because it is the way peoples have decided to pass on their humanity. Ted’s work looks at education through the lens of anthropological methods at investigating what is going on in classrooms, in teacher education, in teaching communities, and so on. The imagining of who we are, such as Tara’s quest in EDUCATED, is partially an anthropological question. We delve into what education means, in general, and what it meant to Tara. Linny was mostly interested in what happened outside the classroom, but Nancy keeps insisting what happens in the classroom mattered. Ted acknowledges that "school" is helpful to some but it can also be harmful. Tara brought a unique perspective, as well as a unique set of assets to her college experience. In fact, though difficult, her learned self-reliance and persistence were likely crucial to her eventual success. Linny is skeptical that most students have the sort of engaging and life-changing experience that Tara did, and that Ted and Nancy keep talking about. She just wanted to get through school so she won't have to work in a factory! Eventually, she does talk about her Master's education and how that mattered. Ted agrees that the voluntariness and the reason for being in a classroom matters. Tara had a good reason to be in those classrooms. Ted tells us about his research in school as a community and teacher recruitment from within difficult to staff schools.

Our September book, EDUCATED, is a memoir by Tara Westover. The youngest of seven children, Tara recounts her experience growing up in a survivalist family in rural Idaho, living mostly in isolation with her family, no formal education, not much money, and few ties to the surrounding community. Against all odds, Tara decides to follow the example of an estranged brother who has gone to college. Her quest for knowledge takes her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University, and further divides her from the family that was once her world.Linny says this is the kind of book that Nancy and Linny could talk about for hours, laying on a bed. It was riveting and had so many components. In the end, Nancy thought it was a book about identity. Linny loved the complexity of the family’s dysfunction and mental health issues.Tara is supposed to be home-schooled, but in reality, there is no schooling. Tara’s father owns a junkyard and presses his children into working with him with little regard to their safety. He has a terrible temper, little regard for safety, self-aggrandizing opinions, and expectes unconditional obedience, especially from his wife and his daughters.As Tara gets older, she starts seeing cracks in her father’s edifice. His prophecies don’t come to fruition. She notices her mother, though extremely submissive, allows her to do things, but then won’t stand up to Gene when things blow up. Instead, Tara is left to defend herself. Tara doesn’t like how her family basically disowns her brother, Luke, who decides to go to BYU. The lesson is if you disobey you are expelled. Tara suffers physical and emotional abuse but even in her journals, she downplays the problems and lies to herself about the abuse she is experiencing. Her brother Shawn is like a more violent Gene who is allowed to be physically abusive to (and nearly kill) Tara, her older sister, Audrey, and his various girlfriends and his eventual wife. No one really calls him to task but instead it isn’t happening. As she furthers her education and attempts to come to terms with her family’s view of the world, she is basically given a choice of “believe the family stories of how the world operates or be cast out.”Linny and Nancy both say EDUCATED is a 10/10 read!

We chat with Laura Rudacille, author of this month's book, CATCHING STARS. She is an author and event speaker, specializing in women’s enrichment.  Laura has written five novels and contributed inspirational articles to four publications. She’s a licensed cosmetologist and salon owner in York, Pennsylvania. Yes, that’s where Linny lives! For ten years, Laura served as choreographer for a local high school theater program. Laura tells us she was never too much of a reader because she hated being told in school what she had to read. As a hair salon owner, she observed her clients’ reading books while their hair was drying or processing. Nora Roberts was a favorite. Then Laura found out that Nora lives nearby in Maryland. She went to some events Nora hosted and she found out Nora is just a regular person who took up writing when her kids were driving her crazy during a snowstorm. Later after Laura began trying to write, Laura’s mom brought her a box full of writing she had done that she had forgotten about. So, she was a writer as a youngster. Laura handwrote her first book, but a friend transcribed the book into digital form and urged Laura to get it published. Laura realizes now that she has always been an observer of people. She is a conversationalist, of course, behind her salon chair so she tends to be conversationally-driven. HERE’S THE THING was her first book. Her 9th grade English teacher gave her an exhaustive review that helped her improve it. One year, Laura’s family was vacationing in Chincoteague Island where she was inspired to envision a four-book series. She published SALTWATER COWBOY, the first book of the series. Then LATE TO BREAKFAST, and CATCHING STARS. She wrote INVISIBLE WOMAN, a woman’s fictional celebration about coming into her 40s. She thought another book of the series would be WAITING FOR SOMEDAY, but she skipped it and it is forthcoming, set in Philadelphia but with a visit to Chincoteague Island. Linny regales Nancy with stories of her recent trip to the shore near Chincoteague. Nancy updates Linny on her tennis game. Laughs abound.

It’s the summer of great beach reads on the Front Porch! This month we travel to Chincoteague Island. And, Linny this very next weekend is, in real life, on her way to the shore right near Chincoteague! But, in our book this month, CATCHING STARS, Lindy Colton tries to forget her violent father by leaving her beloved mom and their home on Chincoteague Island to chase her dream of becoming a famous potter. Soon, she seems to be achieving all she could ever desire, including an engagement to the rich, charismatic Hayward Livingston. But, as that relationship curdles into a replica of her mother’s abuse at the hands of Lindy’s father, Lindy travels back to Chincoteague Island to rediscover who she is and where is home. Nancy and Linny talk about the themes of intergenerational domestic violence and why they love the characters of Celeste and Tucker. Nancy recalls her recent pottery throwing class and Linny reminisces about her high school experience snaking a lump of clay into a mug.

In this episode, we’re discussing a brand-new book titled I WILL BLOSSOM ANYWAY by Disha Bose. This is a book about a young expat, Durga, who has moved from her native Calcutta, India to Ireland. Durga comes from an educated, middle-class family that observes traditional Indian ways, including “arranged” marriages. Durga is anxious to escape what she thinks of as the confines of her family and learn who she is without them around telling her who she must be. However, leaving their opinions behind is not as easy as she thinks it will be. This novel explores cultural differences and family conflicts but in a tender way. It would be a great beach read.

Today we interview Erica Slason about THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE, by James McBride, and its setting in Pottstown, PA. Erica Slason joined the Historical Society of Montgomery County as archivist in 2022. Pottstown is in Montgomery County. Erica has written about the historical Pottstown portrayed in THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE. We visit with Erica about the Pottstown portrayed by James McBride and learn there really is a Chicken Hill neighborhood and that Pottstown did experience an immigration boom during the 1910s-30s. In fact, Erica tells us, those interested in learning about Pottstown from that era wouldn’t go wrong in reading this book. Erica and Nancy discover many similarities between them: alma mater, musical instruments, and an affinity for spending childhood recesses in the library. Erica foregrounds for us the experience of those whose stories are not told as often as Christian White men’s stories, and also tells us what an archivist actually does! We also laugh.

We're dropping this episode a week earlier than usual since Nancy is heading to Boulder. And, we can't wait to introduce you to James McBride's recent novel - THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE. This is a book about community and relationships, good and bad, in 1920s-30s Pottstown, Pennsylvania. We meet and grow to love the "outcast" people who live in the Chicken Hill neighborhood. These are the immigrants from other countries, the formerly enslaved people from the South, the non-Protestants (e.g., the Jews and the Catholics), and the poor. The first half of the book is almost a short story collection about these characters, each of whom steps forward for a momentary starring role. About half way through the book, the novel begins circling around the story of two of the characters: Chona, the proprietor of the Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, and Dodo, a young orphan boy recently deafened by an exploding stove. It's almost like a jazz piece, perhaps not a surprise given that James McBride is a jazz musician.

Allegra Goodman, author of ISOLA joins us on the front porch. Allegra is the author of seven novels. ISOLA was a Reese’s Book Club selection. Her novel SAM was a Read With Jenna Book Club selection. KAATERSKILL FALLS was a National Book Award finalist. THE CHALK ARTIST was winner of the Massachusetts Book Award. Her other books include INTUITION, THE COOKBOOK COLLECTOR, and PARADISE PARK. Allegra tells us about the 20-year gestation period for writing ISOLA, the "inspired by a fragmentary true story" novel about Marguerite, an orphaned noble in Renaissance France. We were fascinated to hear about Allegra's exploration of the danger of being a girl and how she wove that into Marguerite's story. We also talked about the realistic portrayal of Marguerite's faith journey. Allegra tells us she enjoys writing about belief and doubt and that was a key part of Marguerite's story. If you've ever wondered about the creative and research process of writing a novel, you'll enjoy this episode. We also have some hearty laughs!

ISOLA, a brand-new novel by Allegra Goodman, takes us to Renaissance France and into the life of Marguerite, a child heir to a fortune. Unfortunately for Marguerite, her deceased parents' choice for her guardian means her life does not unfold as one of prosperity and gentility. Instead, her guardian fritters away her wealth on his desire to settle New France (i.e., Canada). Marguerite is caught up in his ambitious plans and when she objects, she is left to die on a deserted Canadian island with her nanny and a man who loves her. Aside from the beautiful writing, the most amazing thing about this story, perhaps, is it was inspired by a true story. ISOLA was a Reese's Book Club Pick, a national best-seller, and was also recommended by a friend of Nancy's. It's a good one!

We are so excited to interview Eowyn Ivey about her latest book, BLACK WOODS, BLUE SKY. Eowyn was raised in Alaska and continues to live there with her husband and two daughters. Her debut novel, THE SNOW CHILD, has sold more than a million copies worldwide and is a New York Times bestseller published in more than 25 languages and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Our book, BLACK WOODS, BLUE SKY is hot off the presses - having just been published last month. This book transports us to Alaska and the remote wilderness where everyone may not be exactly who they seem to be. Birdie, a young mom, is trying to carve out a life for herself and her 6-year-old daughter, Emaleen. Arthur, a mysterious man who rarely comes to town, seems to offer everything Birdie has dreamed of. In our interview, We have a blast talking with Eowyn about the amazing character and setting of this story. Nancy gets to talk about Sandhill cranes, who also make an appearance. We also talk about the similarities between Eowyn's writing and that of one of our recent author, Louise Erdrich. We are thrilled to hear about Eowyn and Erdrich's relationship. By the end of the interview, Eowyn tells Linny and Nancy they'd fit right in at one of her community's solstice parties. Our bags are packed!!

It's our 100th episode and this is an episode with a lot of laughter. To celebrate we reminisce about why we decided to start the podcast. Nancy and Linny have VERY different reasons! We laugh about some of our early missteps and nervousness. Nancy quizzes Linny about some of the statistics about the podcast. Linny has her own curveball quiz question for Nancy. Nancy and Linny talk about what they've learned, favorite books, and dreams for the next 100 episodes.