Best-Selling Novelist J. Courtney Sullivan and Becky Friedman (Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood) on Mom Friends, Babysitters, and Moving Away

Bestselling novelist J. Courtney Sullivan, known for Commencement, Maine, The Engagements, and Saints For All Occasions, chats with host Ellie Knaus about Friends and Strangers (Knopf, June 30, 2020).

Best-selling novelist J. Courtney Sullivan, known for Commencement, Maine, The Engagements, and Saints For All Occasions, chats with host Ellie Knaus about Friends and Strangers (Knopf, June 30, 2020). Ellie loops in their mutual mom-friend, Emmy-nominated children's show writer Becky Friedman (or Daniel Tiger’s Becky as she’s known on the pod). We get a glimpse into Becky and Courtney’s pre-kid friendship in NY, and we share our personal experiences related to the novel’s themes, such as fertility, privilege, and the fuzzy boundaries found between lonely new moms and the caregivers who love their children so much. 

Also, don’t miss our recent Atomic Moms podcast: “Let’s Go There: Anti-Racism, The Pandemic , and Parenting Right Now”, guest co-hosted with Candace Trinchieri. (You can submit your fertility stories for Candace’s upcoming book Dream Redefined: The Struggle and Success of Infertility as a Woman of Color at infertilitystory.com.) We speak with Sophie Salvatore, who also happens to be Smith College ’04. Huzzah! My 15 year college reunion got cancelled so interviewing J. Courtney Sullivan ’03 and Sophie Salvatore ’04 this month felt like such a treat!

Like most, the pandemic is crushing my workflow. So join our newsletter atomicmoms.com so you don’t miss our next episode release. And chat with me on instagram @atomicmoms.

x Ellie

Show Notes Link

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Sound engineer: Owen O'Neill

Original theme music: Jeremy Turner