I'm celebrating my 100th episode! ONE HUNDRED. This reminds me of the 100th day of school shenanigans when our kids have to bring in 100 items and dress up like 100-year-old people. It's basically, "Let's work in another stupid spirit day." I will not make you do homework to observe this 100th episode milestone, although if you want to celebrate by leaving me a review on iTunes, I would love that so much. I'm celebrating the day by sharing some big news that I've wanted to tell you for a while. I've got stuff percolating over here, and it starts with a broken promise. So listen to the episode to find out what's up, and then, my buddy Sarah Bragg and I talk about work, career, and purpose for our final monthly crossover of the year. We share funny stories from our first jobs, chat about what our dream jobs would be, and discuss how we can find our purpose, whether that's parenting, a dream job, or a dream-adjacent job, something you never thought you'd be doing. It's all important, and how do we figure out what we're supposed to be doing with our lives? Join us to discuss all the things, listen in, and lighten up!
Today I'm talking with Alia Joy, author of Glorious Weakness: Discovering God in All We Lack. We start out trading colonoscopy stories. Anytime I can exchange poop stories with someone I'm pretty much in heaven. You know. After that, we chat about how we need to lighten up about grammar, then Alia shares about living with bipolar disorder, how she was diagnosed, and the stigma of mental illness. I know I'm not supposed to have favorite episodes but this one is so good. It's my favorite balance of fun and serious. Mental illness can feel so isolating, and Alia's openness with hers sheds light and helps us understand, empathize, and feel less alone. Whether you've had a colonoscopy, struggle with mental illness, or love someone who does, listen in and lighten up.
Alia's essays:
Today I'm soooo excited for you to get to know Shannan Martin. Shannan is one of my faves. She's wise and fun and I just love the way she's living her life. She's got a new book out, The Ministry of Ordinary Places, and we talk about what led her to move from her dream farmhouse in the country to a life in the city. She shares about adopting four kids, including a 19-year-old son who was incarcerated, putting her kids into a "failing" public school with one of the highest poverty rates in the state, and what she's learning with a son who has been incarcerated about the school to prison pipeline. We chat about standing with our neighbors, how to be a good neighbor, and what it looks like to make yourself available and show up for them. Whether you live in the country, the city, or the suburbs like me, there's good stuff here for all of us, unless you live in a yurt on a mountain by yourself...no, even you, yurt-dweller. There's something here for you, too, so listen in, and lighten up.
Today, Sarah Bragg and I are talking about failure on our monthly crossover episode. We pick all the super fun topics. But first, we give kind of an update about our weird fears, she with her extreme fear of a certain violent woodland animal and me with my terror of airborne mating plants. It's a whole thing. Anyway, then we chat about epic celebrity fails and our own personal fails and you guys, this is all soooo embarrassing and should make you feel better or at least in good company. We discuss how you handle failure and also how do you help your kids navigate failure and build resilient kids. Failure is so fun! Hey, we've all been there, so listen in and lighten up.
Hey and welcome to episode 96 of Lighten Up with Melanie Dale. AND Alex Dale. Because today my husband is joining me to talk about our new book, Infreakinfertility: How to Survive When Getting Pregnant Gets Hard, which is available today! This book has been a dream of mine for many, many years and today I can say, it’s here! Please visit the Amazon and go buy it! Maybe listen to this podcast while you do. Alex and I chat about two main things, our experience with infertility and our experience working together on this book. Lemme just mention here at the beginning in case you’re cranking this podcast around small children, we’re going to be talking a bit about reproductive biology, so…biological terminology ahead. Peach and eggplant emojis, people. Peaches and eggplants. You’ve been warned. So whether you’re dealing with infertility yourself, have a loved one who is, or have experienced the joys and challenges of working with your partner on a project, or appreciate a good penis illustration, there’s something here for everyone, so listen in and lighten up.
Today I'm talking with Tricia Goyer, author of several million books and mother of several billion kids, about her new book, Calming Angry Kids. Um, you guys, does anybody else have some kids who get a little ragey from time to time or maybe a lot? I mean, don't raise your hand, but I will quietly fist bump you without naming names. Tricia has dealt with some serious anger in her home and offers us some great advice. We talk about how to calm your kids down when they're angry, how to handle it when your kid's anger is directed at you, and most importantly, how to build a relationship with your angry kid when it's hard. I wish I had Tricia on speed dial when things heat up around here, but I have the next best thing, our conversation today. If the anger is burning red hot and heavy, listen in and lighten up!
Today I'm talking with author and host of the Say Something Show, Kay Wyma. We chat about that time she freaked out the Secret Service, which was probably a little nerve-wracking in the moment but hilarious now. Then we talk about her book, Not the Boss of Us. Do you ever face overwhelming pressures and expectations or do you find yourself trying to help your kids with pressure at school or with friends? Kay talks about replacing our fears with truth and shares how we can stop feeling so overwhelmed. If the weight of the world is pressing down on you, listen in, and lighten up.
Today I'm talking with Rachel Linden, author of the new novel Becoming the Talbot Sisters. She tells the riveting and hilarious tale of her unexpected encounter with a cycling onesie, and then we shift gears, haha, cycling pun totally intended, and talk about moving to Budapest and working with victims of trafficking. We chat about writing Becoming the Talbot Sisters, and how she set the story in Budapest as a love letter to the country. Her book delves into miscarriage and pregnancy loss, infertility and surrogacy, and Rachel shares about her desire to write strong female characters and the novels that inspired her. Whether you're folding laundry, heading to the office, or going for a jaunty bike ride, listen in, and lighten up!
It's time yet again for our monthly crossover episode with my good friend Sarah Bragg of Surviving Sarah. This month we're shooting the breeze about fashion. Because no one knows fashion like a couple of middle-aged moms living in the suburbs of Atlanta. We share our personal fashion and makeup rules, fashion trends we'd like to see die a fiery death, and our daily routines. Also, we play fashion police and at one point I use the phrase "bubular area." Pull on your sweatiest yoga pants with the hole in the crotch, listen in, and lighten up.
Today I'm talking with Kimberly Stuart, writer of romance and author of the new book, Heart Land. Kimberly is incredibly fun and very patient with me as I ask ridiculous questions about romantic things, cite Fabio on the covers of the books at the grocery store checkout, and unpack my hangups with romance, both as a genre and in my sadly pragmatic actual life. We discuss our feelings about The Greatest Showman, our romantic experiences both on the page and off, "bodice rippers," and her new book Heart Land. I'm dubbing her our "romantic Yoda." Meet us at the corner table with a red rose pressed between the pages of Wuthering Heights, listen in, and lighten up!
Today I'm talking with author Sarah Clarkson, the daughter of Sally Clarkson, who we had on the show last year. Sarah's great and we hear the story of how she moved to London, went to Oxford, and met her Dutch husband. Then we chat about her new book, Book Girl: A Journey Through the Treasures and Transforming Power of a Reading Life. Sarah shares how we can develop imagination and a love of reading in our own lives, and she has tons of ideas for making reading engaging and enjoyable for our kids. Whether you read a hundred books a year or haven't cracked one open since school, listen in and lighten up!
Hey welcome to episode 89 of Lighten Up with Melanie Dale. Today I'm talking with Patrice Gopo, author of All the Colors We Will See. We chat about the importance of storytelling and talking about race and immigration. Patrice has a unique and important perspective and her story is captivating. Her parents are from Jamaica, she grew up in Alaska, moved to South Africa, married a Zimbabwean man, and now she lives in North Carolina. She shares about the complexity of her identity, feeling different, and how she's processed her identity in her new book All the Colors We Will See. Patrice also offers great advice on how we can welcome immigrants around us, in our neighborhoods and communities, so listen in and lighten up!
Today's episode is sponsored by Teami Blends. As you head into fall, try this 30-day, two-step detox process. You drink Teami Skinny tea in the morning and Teami Colon tea every other night and that's it. A two-step process to more energy and less bloat. Teami is offering Lighten Up listeners 15% off any order with code UNEXPECTED so check out teamiblends.com.
Today is our monthly crossover episode with Sarah Bragg of Surviving Sarah. You guys know the drill. Two podcasters, one topic, and we have a ton of fun doing it. You can listen to one half of our conversation here, and then check out the other half over on Surviving Sarah. Today is our very angry episode. So much anger. I know it's called Lighten Up over here, but I feel super comfortable on the dark side of life. Anger! We talk about our favorite angry characters, how anger can be used for good, how to process it and do good things with it instead of stuffing it, how to peel back the anger to see what's underneath it, and times in our lives when we were really angry...in a funny way. So, go Hulk smash a pillow, listen in, and lighten up!
Today’s episode is sponsored by FabFitFun! FabFitFun is a seasonal subscription box with full-size beauty, fitness, fashion, and lifestyle products. It’s basically like getting a birthday present in the mail four times a year. It retails for $49.99 but always contains products totaling over $200, and they’re giving Lighten Up listeners $10 off your first box when you use code LIGHTENUP at fabfitfun.com.
Today I'm talking with Liz Ditty, a spiritual director and teacher at Westgate Church in Silicon Valley and the author of God's Many Voices. We start out laughing about the embarrassing side of meal trains, and then we chat about hearing from God. Have you ever heard from God? Is it a big booming voice in the sky? Does everyone hear God the same way? How do we even talk to God and is God even listening? What if God seems silent? Whether God spoke to you this morning or you'd prefer that he didn't, listen in and lighten up!
Today’s episode is sponsored by FabFitFun! FabFitFun is a seasonal subscription box with full-size beauty, fitness, fashion, and lifestyle products. It’s like getting a birthday present in the mail four times a year. It retails for $49.99 but always contains products totaling over $200, and they’re giving Lighten Up listeners $10 off your first box when you use code LIGHTENUP at fabfitfun.com.
Hey, welcome to episode 86 of Lighten Up with Melanie Dale. Today I'm talking with Rachelle Dekker. You may recognize that last name, because her dad is the author Ted Dekker, and we talk about what's it like to be the daughter of an author. But Rachelle is also an incredible author herself and we talk about her latest supernatural suspense novel, When Through Deep Waters. We chat about everything from where do the worlds she creates come from to dealing with darkness, as her characters wrestle with tragedy, grief, and shame. Oh my gosh I love fiction and the supernatural so I am excited for you to meet Rachelle, so listen in and lighten up!
Today’s episode is sponsored by FabFitFun! FabFitFun is a seasonal subscription box with full-size beauty, fitness, fashion, and lifestyle products. It’s like getting a birthday present in the mail four times a year. It retails for $49.99 but always contains products totaling over $200, and they’re giving Lighten Up listeners $10 off your first box when you use code LIGHTENUP at fabfitfun.com.