Living Life on Our Own Terms w/ Molly Wizenberg

Living Life on Our Own Terms w/ Molly Wizenberg

From Heart of the Story by Nadine Kenney Johnstone

March 8, 2026 · 59 min · Episode 238

About this episode

This episode features a conversation with Molly Wizenberg about living authentically and navigating midlife challenges.

238 This encore chat w/ bestselling memoirist Molly Wizenberg covers it all: partnership, parenting, writing, teaching, navigating midlife, and taking brave action. At its heart though, it's a chat about following our desire, even when it disturbs the status quo. Join Nadine, Molly, and Hallie in Spain from Oct 26-Nov 2 for Tiny True Stories and Sketches: A Micro-Memoir Retreat (just a few spots left). Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just wanting to preserve impactful memories on the page, remember that every story—no matter how small—is worth capturing. Covered in this episode: Why The Fixed Stars had such a big impact on Nadine How to develop self-trust even when the path forward is unclear Why we must not abandon ourselves How to grow as individuals within a partnership How Molly and Nadine (both mothers and teachers) prioritize their writing time How to become an emboldened writer even when we're afraid What Nadine's and Molly's mid-life journeys have looked like The impact of books on their lives and on the mainstream conversation around women and mid-life Mid-life body empowerment The brave action they've taken this past year About Molly: Molly Wizenberg is a memoirist…

People in this episode

Host: Nadine Kenney Johnstone

Guest: Molly Wizenberg

Topics covered

  • midlife empowerment
  • writing
  • partnership
  • parenting
  • self-trust
  • personal narrative

Keywords

  • memoir
  • writing retreat
  • self-improvement
  • personal narrative
  • midlife
  • empowerment
  • storytelling

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Washington Book Award

Books & works: The Fixed Stars, A Homemade Life, Delancey

More episodes of Heart of the Story

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Heart of the Story podcast page.