This is the second half of my conversation with one of my favorite authors, Melissa Broder. She is the author of several novels, the essay collection So Sad Today, and five poetry collections. She's appeared in the New York Times, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, VICE, and New York Magazine.

In Part 2, we talk about grief, losing a parent, writing her most recent novel Death Valley, our favorite grocery stores, how to tell people what’s going on in the midst of a changing and challenging situation, finding humor, the messiness of bodies and aging, advice to write consistently, the journal prompts she uses daily, and questions from a previous guest.

If you missed Part 1 last week, we talked about about everything from wellness culture and mental health to limerence, long-term relationships, and her writing process.

Show notes:

- Find Melissa on Instagram

- Her books: So Sad Today, Milk Fed, The Pisces, Superdoom, Last Sext & her newest, Death Valley

- Find me on IG: @letitouttt + @katiedalebout | Substack

- PIVOT zine: sign up for my paid Substack & we'll mail you a copy

- The Self-Compassion workbook Melissa mentions

- Speechify (the text-to-speech app I use to edit my writing)

If you liked this episode, try out from the archive:

Episode 407: Bad Thoughts with Nada Alic (part 2 of 2)

Episode 308: Writing, Feelings & Friendship with Leah Clancy