Summary
As the conversation unfolds, Joe and guest Hilary Frank delve into the themes of her new thriller, "Wedlocked," which explores the pressures faced by women in the fitness industry. The story centers on Zara, a fitness influencer married to the founder of the app she works for, who grapples with the expectations of constant positivity while facing sinister events that challenge her seemingly perfect life. Frank highlights the societal pressures on women to project happiness and the consequences of suppressing negative emotions, drawing parallels to her own experiences with stress and health issues.
Frank also discusses the evolution of her podcast, "The Longest Shortest Time," which has transitioned from focusing on early motherhood to addressing perimenopause and reproductive health. She emphasizes the importance of creating a platform for women to discuss their experiences and challenges openly. The conversation touches on the impact of misinformation surrounding women's health and the need for nuanced discussions, particularly as women navigate significant life changes. Frank encourages listeners to seek out her audiobook and the relaunch of her podcast, which aims to provide valuable insights and support for women facing similar issues.
Show Notes
This week we talk with Hillary Frank, the creator of The Longest Shortest Time, a podcast that got us through the miserable, sleepless, who-is-this-tiny-alien early days of motherhood.
Hillary has a new thriller out called Wedlocked, an original audiobook
that is Promising Young Woman meets Get Out. The protagonist, Zara is an instructor on Uplift, a fitness app that promises to lift your weights and your spirits, and she’s married to Ezzy, the app’s founder. (Do not mix work and pleasure, people. It never ends well.) Her job is to stay relentlessly peppy no matter how sore, sad, or furious she is. Then something shifts, and Zara starts feeling genuinely, wildly happy for the first time in forever. She also starts getting scary symptoms, suspects someone is stalking her, and has to deal with an ex who shows up and thinks her new bliss is seriously weird. We won’t spoil anything, but let’s just say her happiness probably isn’t coming from a good place.
We talk about why women are expected to smile through everything, from chronic pain to random dudes on the street telling is to smile to the Instagram algorithm that only promotes youth and beauty, and what it actually costs our bodies when we stuff down our anger.
Plus, we found out The Longest Shortest Time is back and now covering perimenopause and reproductive health!
Wedlocked is available wherever you get audiobooks, and that includes your library, y’all.
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Today we're talking about one of our favorite things in the world. BOOKS.