Terrible, Thanks For Asking

Subscribe to TTFA Anthologies here. 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.  Plus, stories of some of the worst holidays ever.  _ Come see the Happyish Holidays Live Show: A Petty LIttle Christmas at The Parkway Theatre in Minneapolis on December 4th and 5th, or join the livestream on December 5th! _ It’s the most wonderful time of the year… um, but is it really? The holiday season can be complicated. Sometimes instead of cozy nights with hot cocoa and meaningful moments, we get tears, ruined plans, and nights spent hiding in the bathroom at family parties. If the holiday season hasn’t always lived up to your expectations, join us for Happyish Holidays, a collection of holidays gone wrong presented by Terrible, Thanks for Asking. Happyish Holidays to you and yours! Terrible, Thanks for Asking tells the real stories of real people who have lived through the terrible things in life. TTFA Anthologies are a curated collection of some of our best stories; released in seasons that focus on a specific topic. You can find our entire episode catalog ad-free on Apple+ or Patreon.  Created and hosted by Nora McInerny. - Find Nora’s weekly newsletter here! Also, check out Nora on YouTube. _ The Feelings & Co. team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Marcel Malekebu and Grace Barry. _ Find all our shows at www.feelingsand.co.

Subscribe to TTFA Anthologies here. If the holidays make you want to tear your hair out or cry on the bathroom floor, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. It's a hard time for a lot of people, and still we have to force a smile and say through gritted teeth, "Happy Holidays!" But the holidays aren't always happy. Most of the time, all we can ask for is HappyISH Holidays.  In this episode, Nora McInerny and producer Marcel Malekebu dive into AITA stories of holidays gone wrong. You can play judge, jury, and executioner with them.  If you need a holiday survival guide, we're sorry, this isn't it. But it just might make you feel better about your holiday blunders! _ Come see the Happyish Holidays Live Show: A Petty LIttle Christmas at The Parkway Theatre in Minneapolis on December 4th and 5th, or join the livestream on December 5th! _ It’s the most wonderful time of the year… um, but is it really? The holiday season can be complicated. Sometimes instead of cozy nights with hot cocoa and meaningful moments, we get tears, ruined plans, and nights spent hiding in the bathroom at family parties. If the holiday season hasn’t always lived up to your expectations, join us for Happyish Holidays, a collection of holidays gone wrong presented by Terrible, Thanks for Asking. Happyish Holidays to you and yours! Terrible, Thanks for Asking tells the real stories of real people who have lived through the terrible things in life. TTFA Anthologies are a curated collection of some of our best stories; released in seasons that focus on a specific topic. You can find our entire episode catalog ad-free on Apple+ or Patreon.  Created and hosted by Nora McInerny. - Find Nora’s weekly newsletter here! Also, check out Nora on YouTube. _ The Feelings & Co. team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Marcel Malekebu and Grace Barry. _ Find all our shows at www.feelingsand.co.

In case you didn't know, we're still making two episodes a month for our Patreon and Apple Plus subscribers. We wanted to give all of our listeners a little preview of our most recent episode! Consider joining our Patreon to listen to the rest of the episode(or watch the episode!), get additional bonus episodes, ad-free episodes, and join a community of Terribles. (Or, if you’re an Apple Podcast listener, you can sign up for TTFA Premium right in the app!) _ Refamulating, one of our other shows at Feelings and Co, is back today with its second season! To celebrate, we wanted to share one of their episodes from season 1. It’s called “Seahorse Dad” and features former TTFA guest Liam Magan (from Liam and the Letters).  When Nora interviewed Liam a few years ago, he shared his experience of coming out as trans and the conflict that caused with his evangelical family. Liam is in a very different place in his life these days, and in this episode of Refamulating he talks about his journey of trying to get pregnant as a trans man.  Listen to the new season of Refamulating now! _ Please send us your questions and comments about this episode or any other! You can email us at ttfapremium@feelingsand.co or leave us a voicemail at 612-568-4441.  — Check us out on YouTube. Find all our shows and more at feelingsand.co

Today is Election Day in the U.S. and for many of us that means…getting through the day is going to feel like watching water boil. So we have an idea: delete the news apps off your phone today, don’t check social media, and press play on this multi-hour, politics free chat between Nora and Kate Kennedy.  When you finish this episode, don’t worry, THERE’S MORE. Head over to Kate Kennedy’s Patreon to get more of this conversation.  And if you need MORE distractions, we got you:  Listen to our It’s Going To Be Okay playlist to combat anxiety Watch our YouTube videos! _ In case you didn't know, we're still making two episodes a month for our Patreon and Apple Plus subscribers. We wanted to give all of our listeners a little preview of our most recent episode! Consider joining our Patreon to listen to the rest of the episode(or watch the episode!), get additional bonus episodes, ad-free episodes, and join a community of Terribles. (Or, if you’re an Apple Podcast listener, you can sign up for TTFA Premium right in the app!) _ Please send us your questions and comments about this episode or any other! You can email us at ttfapremium@feelingsand.co or leave us a voicemail at 612-568-4441.  — Check us out on YouTube. Find all our shows and more at feelingsand.co

In case you didn't know, we're still making two episodes a month for our Patreon and Apple Plus subscribers. We wanted to give all of our listeners a little preview of our most recent episode! Consider joining our Patreon to listen to the rest of the episode(or watch the episode!), get additional bonus episodes, ad-free episodes, and join a community of Terribles. (Or, if you’re an Apple Podcast listener, you can sign up for TTFA Premium right in the app!) _ Three years ago we published a TTFA episode called ‘Don’t You Want Somebody To Take Care Of You?’, an interview with Gina Demillo Wagner about her experience growing up in a dysfunctional family and being a caregiver as a child.  Gina’s brother Alan had a rare genetic disorder that caused him to veer from loving to violent. His illness put stress on the entire family, including her parents, whose mental illnesses went untreated.  Since that episode, Gina’s written a book about this experience called Forces of Nature: A Memoir of Family, Loss and Finding Home. On this episode, Gina and Nora catch up about writing the book, how writing helped her process and how some of the Real Housewives helped give her the courage to cut off contact with some family members. _ Please send us your questions and comments about this episode or any other! You can email us at ttfapremium@feelingsand.co or leave us a voicemail at 612-568-4441.  — Check us out on YouTube. Find all our shows and more at feelingsand.co

In case you didn't know, we're still making two episodes a month for our Patreon and Apple Plus subscribers. We wanted to give all of our listeners a little preview of our most recent episode! Consider joining our Patreon to listen to the rest of the episode(or watch the episode!), get additional bonus episodes, ad-free episodes, and join a community of Terribles. (Or, if you’re an Apple Podcast listener, you can sign up for TTFA Premium right in the app!) _ Have you thought at some point in your adult life, I wish I had more friends?  Maybe you moved to a new city, saw your social life dwindle after having kids, or spent all your time and energy on your romantic relationships. No matter how you got there, trying to make friends as an adult is a really hard task! To try and help us all be better friends, we called in an expert:  Marisa Franco is a professor and studies and writes about friendship and human connection. She is the author of Platonic: How the science of attachment can help you make- and keep- friends. Marisa and Nora discuss how important friendships are to our mental health and how we can all strengthen our friendships.   Please send us your questions and comments about this episode or any other! You can email us at ttfapremium@feelingsand.co or leave us a voicemail at 612-568-4441.  — Check us out on YouTube. Find all our shows and more at feelingsand.co

In case you didn't know, we're still making two episodes a month for our Patreon and Apple Plus subscribers. We wanted to give all of our listeners a little preview of our most recent episode! Consider joining our Patreon to listen to the rest of the episode(or watch the episode!), get additional bonus episodes, ad-free episodes, and join a community of Terribles. (Or, if you’re an Apple Podcast listener, you can sign up for TTFA Premium right in the app!) _ Earlier this year we did a bonus episode showcasing obituaries from your dead loved ones. Nora cried throughout the entire episode, so we wanted to do it again! There were so many obituaries we couldn’t read the first time, so we’re honored to share more of your beautiful loved ones and we wanted to give all of our listeners a little preview of that bonus episode! It’s truly an honor to learn about all of the people you loved, so thank you for sharing them with us.  _ Here’s the full article from Shiri, who wrote about the abortion she had to save her son’s life. _ Also, check out Nora on YouTube. _ Please send us your questions and comments about this episode or any other! You can email us at ttfapremium@feelingsand.co or leave us a voicemail at 612-568-4441.  — Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co

Subscribe to TTFA Anthologies here. This is an episode about two letters. One of those is the letter Jim left for his wife, Annie, before he died by suicide. The second is the letter Annie wrote to Jim after his death — and as she dealt with her own mental health issues and suicidality in the wake of it. When someone dies by suicide, people want it to be someone’s fault, so they can (hopefully) feel less like it’s their fault. But the thing is … it’s never anyone’s fault. _ Terrible, Thanks for Asking tells the real stories of real people who have lived through the terrible things in life. TTFA Anthologies are a curated collection of some of our best stories; released in seasons that focus on a specific topic. You can find our entire episode catalog ad-free on Apple+ or Patreon. – Find Nora’s weekly newsletter here! Also, check out Nora on YouTube. _ The Feelings & Co. team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Marcel Malekebu and Grace Barry. _ Find all our shows and our store at www.feelingsand.co.

Subscribe to TTFA Anthologies here. Terrible, Thanks for Asking tells the real stories of real people who have lived through the terrible things in life. TTFA Anthologies are a curated collection of some of our best stories; released in seasons that focus on a specific topic. You can find our entire episode catalog ad-free on Apple+ or Patreon. – Find Nora’s weekly newsletter here! Also, check out Nora on YouTube. _ The Feelings & Co. team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Marcel Malekebu and Grace Barry. _ Find all our shows and our store at www.feelingsand.co.

Years ago, when Nora was in the worst phase of her life (dead husband, dead dad, lost pregnancy) she heard a lot of people describe her as resilient. Those people meant it as a compliment, but to Nora it didn’t feel that way. She was tired, grieving, and lost so much in her life- the “resilience” people saw was often just…the privilege she had to survive it.  So when Nora got the new book, The Resilience Myth by Soraya Chemaly, she devoured it. In this episode, Nora and Soraya talk about different ways to think about resiliency and how celebrating it can be a little toxic.  We are still on hiatus! But this episode in the main feed was brought to you by our TTFA Premium subscribers. Since the hiatus, we’ve been producing two episodes a month for people who support us on Patreon and Apple Premium (join in your Apple podcast app). If you want more TTFA, consider joining us on one of those platforms.  _ Check out Nora on YouTube! __ Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co. — Find TTFA on social: TTFA on Instagram | TTFA on Facebook

When Nora was about to marry her first husband Aaron, they were in the thick of his cancer treatment. So the day before the wedding, she got a small tattoo to remind her to stay in the present moment.   This was an excerpt from Nora’s first book, It’s Okay To Laugh (Crying is cool, too) which is available here. _ If you have anxiety, depression or any sense of the world around you, you know that not *everything* is going to be okay. In fact, many things aren’t okay and never will be! But instead of falling into the pit of despair, we’re bringing you a little OK for your day. Every weekday, we’ll bring you one okay thing to help you start, end or endure your day with the opposite of a doom scroll. Created and hosted by Nora McInerny. Find Nora’s weekly newsletter here. We’re on YouTube, with new videos twice a week! Subscribe here. _ “It’s Going To Be OK” is brought to you by The Hartford. The Hartford is a leading insurance provider that connects people and technology for better employee benefits.  Learn more at www.thehartford.com/benefits.  _ Share your OK thing at 612.568.4441 or by emailing a note or voice memo to IGTBO@feelingsand.co. Start your message with “I’m (name) and it’s going to be okay.”  _ The IGTBO team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Marcel Malekebu, Amanda Romani and Grace Barry. _ The transcript for this episode can be found here. Find all our shows and our store at www.feelingsand.co.

Two years ago Julia Winston was asked to help a gay couple start a family by donating her eggs. At the time, she was 38, single, and had no idea if she’d start her own family. Sometimes that made her feel insecure, so the opportunity to donate her eggs allowed her to help create a family, just not the one she imagined in her head. Since the donation, she’s gone through an emotional transformation that opened her eyes to all the different ways a family can look.  Julia is the host of Refamulating, the newest podcast from the Feelings and Co universe. Listen to Refamulating now, wherever you get your podcasts. Follow the show on Instagram.  _ This is our last episode of Terrible Thanks for Asking for a while. If you want to get new episodes of TTFA through August, consider joining our Patreon. (Or, if you’re an Apple Podcast listener, you can sign up for TTFA Premium right in the app!) Our Substack is a great way to connect with us and other listeners (and get more Terrible in your inbox). Join us here. The episode transcript can be found here. — We’re lucky to only work with sponsors and brands we know and love. Using our links and codes saves you money and supports our independent production! Foria: Experience your juiciest and deepest sensual experience with a bottle of Foria. FORIA is offering a special deal for our listeners. Get 20% off your first order by visiting foriawellness.com/TERRIBLE OR use code TERRIBLE at checkout. I recommend trying their new Massage Oil combined with their Awaken Arousal Oil. You’ll thank me later. BetterHelp: Learn to make time for what makes you happy, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/TTFA today to get 10% off your first month. You can find our full sponsor list here. — Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co. — Find TTFA on social: TTFA on Instagram | TTFA on Facebook  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we prepare for our indefinite hiatus, we wanted to remind you that we will still be making TTFA episodes on our Patreon and Apple Premium feeds. If you aren't a premium member, we wanted to show you what kind of episodes we make over there by bringing one of our bonus episodes to the main feed. Recently, we asked listeners to send in obituaries about your dead people, and boy oh boy did you all deliver some gems that made us laugh, cry and reeeeeally want to double fist a Dr. Pepper with a Miller High Life.  In this bonus episode, Nora reads some of her favorites. _ Find Nora’s weekly newsletter here. _ We’re lucky to only work with sponsors and brands we know and love. Using our links and codes saves you money and supports our independent production! Foria: Experience your juiciest and deepest sensual experience with a bottle of Foria. FORIA is offering a special deal for our listeners. Get 20% off your first order by visiting foriawellness.com/TERRIBLE OR use code TERRIBLE at checkout. I recommend trying their new Massage Oil combined with their Awaken Arousal Oil. You’ll thank me later. BetterHelp: Learn to make time for what makes you happy, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/TTFA today to get 10% off your first month. You can find our full sponsor list here. — Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co. — Find TTFA on social: TTFA on Instagram | TTFA on Facebook  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2015, Sarah Super was raped by her ex-boyfriend Alex Neal. And she channeled that act of violence into a mission-driven organization that helped survivors of sexual violence feel seen and heard. 9 years after the night that changed her life, Sarah reflects on what it means to move forward with her life and to reclaim her identity as more than a survivor. Sarah was a guest on the first season of our podcast. To hear Sarah's original episode, Unbroken, click here. — Want more TTFA? Become a member of our Patreon!  Patrons get bonus episodes, invites to monthly office hours with Nora, and access to the full back catalog of episodes. Patrons are the only people who get other perks like discounted live event tickets or opportunities to sit in on an editing session for future episodes.  __ Our Substack is a great way to connect with us and other listeners (and get more Terrible in your inbox). Join us here. __ Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co. — Find TTFA on social: TTFA on Instagram | TTFA on Facebook  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have a big update about the future of TTFA, and something a lot of you have been asking about since the last episode, where I mentioned *casually* in the credits that we were going to be taking an indefinite hiatus. I wanted to talk more about what that means going forward, and thank all of you for listening and supporting our show.  xo, Nora — You can read the transcript of this update here. — We’ll be creating *NEW* episodes on Patreon through August 2024. Consider joining us on Patreon if you want to hear new episodes and access our back catalog.  — Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co. — Find TTFA on social: TTFA on Instagram | TTFA on Facebook    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newsletters from an abandoned safe deposit box set host Paul Ditty on an investigation to learn all he can about The Silver Chain – a suburban Minnesota swing club from the 1970s –  and its members.  Minnesota journalist Jack El-Hai paints a picture of what suburban life was like in the 1970s and how this sparked a delayed and secret sexual revolution among middle-aged couples.  Paul attempts to reach several of the club's members. No one will talk until finally he reaches Carol. She hangs up on Paul, then eventually agrees to talk. But just as Paul is on his way to Modesto for the interview, an email from Carol’s daughter changes his course. Don't forget to subscribe to the Time Capsule feed wherever you listen to podcasts!Links: Time Capsule Substack TimeCapsulePodcast.com Jack El-Hai's Article See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For years, Nancy could picture her ideal partner. She wanted someone who would make her laugh, who would love her son, and who would make her feel confident and empowered. When she met Noa, he checked all the boxes. Everything she thought other people made up about love suddenly came true. But…this perfect love didn’t last forever.  Today we hear from both Nancy and Noa as they perform an autopsy of sorts on their relationship and why it didn’t work.  –  Listener support makes our independent podcast possible. Consider joining our Patreon to get bonus episodes, ad-free episodes, and join a community of Terribles.  Our Substack is a great way to connect with us and other listeners (and get more Terrible in your inbox). Join us here.                       The episode transcript can be found here. — We’re lucky to only work with sponsors and brands we know and love. Using our links and codes saves you money and supports our independent production! Foria: FORIA is offering a special deal for our listeners. Get 20% off your first order by visiting foriawellness.com/TERRIBLE OR use code TERRIBLE at checkout.  Sundays: Get 40% off your first order of Sundays. Go to sundaysfordogs.com/TERRIBLE or use code TERRIBLE at checkout. You can find our full sponsor list here. — Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co. — Find TTFA on social: TTFA on Instagram | TTFA on Facebook  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the early 1990s, a cache of abandoned newsletters found its way from a safety deposit box in Minneapolis, Minnesota to the state’s historical society, where they were left to gather dust. The newsletters detailed the inner workings of a secret 1970s swingers society: The Silver Chain Social Club. Fifty years later, TV writer and host Paul Ditty tracks down the club’s surviving members to uncover the group’s mysterious history and the ties that connected its members long after the swingers club closed its doors for good. For a deeper look inside Time Capsule, read Paul's newsletter. Learn more about Time Capsule at timecapsulepodcast.com.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greetings, loved ones. We’re back with one of our time honored Terrible traditions: The Grudge Book. Sit back, get cozy, bring your petties, and enjoy this selection of listener grudges featuring the wisdom of Nora and Marcel.  THEE Bath and Body Works Peach Bellini Rant Video — Listener support makes our independent podcast possible. Consider joining our Patreon to get bonus episodes, ad-free episodes, and join a community of Terribles.  Our Substack is a great way to connect with us and other listeners (and get more Terrible in your inbox). Join us here. The episode transcript can be found here. — Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co. — Find TTFA on social: TTFA on Instagram | TTFA on Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jenni was raised Mormon, and for the first part of her life, was a dutiful follower. She got married young, attended church, and was a loyal wife. But life got messy and complicated for Jenni, and she eventually made a choice that surprised her. A choice considered a sin in her culture, and a pretty hurtful thing to do by the rest of society: she cheated. For the last year, Jenni’s been grappling with the shame and guilt of this choice and how parts of her dating history led to this choice.  — Want more TTFA? Become a member of our Patreon!  Patrons get bonus episodes, invites to monthly office hours with Nora, and access to the full back catalog of episodes. Patrons are the only people who get other perks like discounted live event tickets or opportunities to sit in on an editing session for future episodes.  — Our Substack is a great way to connect with us and other listeners (and get more Terrible in your inbox). Join us here. The episode transcript can be found here. — Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co. — Find TTFA on social: TTFA on Instagram | TTFA on Facebook  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.