It's Worse. I'm Blabbering.

It's like being stuck in an elevator with a very annoying person.

Born Fat

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Genna is fat. They are also queer and nonbinary. All of these things can make a person feel marginalized in a straight, cisgender, thin-obsessed society … but for Genna, it’s being fat that’s hardest. TTFA is coming to your city October 7th – 22nd with an all-new live show experience, and tickets are on sale […]

Anything Can Happen

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

The thing about having your life fall apart is that there’s just so much to do, and there’s so much that you don’t know until it’s too late. In today’s episode: What helps when everything goes wrong. For more information about The Hartford, visit thehartford.com/employeebenefits. TTFA is coming to your city October 7th – 22nd […]

We’re Going On Tour!

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

TTFA is going on tour! Get your tickets here! Want (sporadic) emails from Nora and Team TTFA? Sign up here.  Sign up today for TTFA Premium! For $7.99 a month, you get access to exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes *and* the knowledge that you’re keeping our show afloat! Visit TTFA.org/Premium to get started. When you shop our Bookshop.org […]

Independence Days

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

We’re officially in our Taylor Swift era, and we can’t wait for what’s to come. Want (sporadic) emails from Nora and Team TTFA? Sign up here.  Sign up today for TTFA Premium! You get access to exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes *and* the knowledge that you’re keeping our show afloat! Click here to get started. […]

The Missing Puzzle Piece

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Chelsea’s mom and unborn brother died in a car accident on Chelsea’s first birthday, leaving little Chelsea and her grief-stricken father behind to piece back together their shattered life. As a child, Chelsea longs for a mom – a living mom – and she’s thrilled when her dad remarries a wonderful woman named Shawna. But […]

Asking for a Friend

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

When romantic relationships end, there’s usually a clean cut – a moment, a conversation, an argument that ends things for good. When friendships dissolve, the break is usually way less clear, if it’s clear at all. You can read Jennifer Senior’s article from The Atlantic here. — Want (sporadic) emails from Nora and Team TTFA? Sign […]

Listen to This: “History is US”

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Today, we’re bringing you something special: a new podcast by C13Originals Studios and Jon Meacham called “History is US.” History is US is a six-part series that journeys back to face the truths about race at the heart of the American story. From the aftermath of the Civil War, to the mid-twentieth century struggle for […]

I’ve Been Cursed by a Sea Witch with Drew Magary

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

 We’re back with another Terrible Reading Club episode, sponsored by Betterhelp Online Therapy. Think of it as our book club for truly terrible times. Haven’t read the book we’re discussing? Good news: In this reading club, that’s not a requirement.  Today, we’re chatting with Drew Magary, formerly of Deadspin and now of Defector, about his […]

About Laura

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Four years ago, we published a Father’s Day episode called “About Bob,” about a woman named Laura and her dad named – you guessed it – Bob. It ended with father and daughter trying to navigate their complex (but hopeful!) relationship.  In this episode, Nora sits back down with Laura to find out if things […]

The Nemo Feeling w/ Mary Laura Philpott – TTFA Premium

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll get when you join us on TTFA Premium. For $8 a month, you can support our show AND get ad-free episodes and bonus content — including mailbag episodes like this one. Sign up today at TTFA.org/Premium. Join the TTFA reading club: TTFA.org/readingclub Our twice-monthly newsletter features behind-the-scenes content, […]

Saved As Draft

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Why do we hold on to things we no longer need? For many of us, it’s because they remind us of who we were and who we thought we might become. — Want (sporadic) emails from Nora and Team TTFA? Sign up here.  Sign up today for TTFA Premium! For $7.99 a month, you get access […]

Matchmaker, Make Me a Match

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Last year, we did a virtual live show on Valentine’s Day, and Nora — who considers herself a bit of a matchmaker — did some matchmaking. And while she was doing that, the live show comments section was popping off with other Terribles looking for love.  This gave Nora the harebrained idea to make … […]

Girlboss or Bust

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Girlboss culture is now, as they say, cringe, but during the 2010s, SO MANY of us thought we were on the precipice of busting through that glass ceiling. We thought we could rise and grind, hustle our way to the life of our dreams, and as long as we loved what we did we wouldn’t […]

We Want To Feel Seen with Kathleen Glasgow

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

We’re back with another Terrible Reading Club episode, sponsored by Betterhelp Online Therapy. Think of it as our book club for truly terrible times. Haven’t read the book we’re discussing? Good news: In this reading club, that’s not a requirement.  Today, we’re chatting with Kathleen Glasgow about her YA novel “You’d Be Home Now,” which […]

How Long Should Grief Last?

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Description: In March, a New York Times article made the rounds titled, “How Long Should It Take to Grieve? Psychiatry Has Come Up With an Answer.” And if that sentence alone makes you roll your eyes and want to punch an inanimate object, you’ve come to the right place.  Nora read the article (twice) and […]

My Dad Died, and All of My Friends Disappointed Me. Is This Normal? – TTFA PREMIUM

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

 Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll get when you join us on TTFA Premium. For $8 a month, you can support our show AND get ad-free episodes and bonus content — including mailbag episodes like this one. Sign up today at TTFA.org/Premium. Join the TTFA reading club: TTFA.org/readingclub Our twice-monthly newsletter features behind-the-scenes content, […]

Brettina Has BPD

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Our language surrounding mental illness has evolved a lot over the past couple of decades … to a point. There are still some mental illnesses that exist outside of the bounds of most people’s understanding and compassion, that are not so easily accepted and are really scary to people who don’t have them. Illnesses that […]

Motherless Day

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Some holidays are just more loaded than others, depending on our individual experiences. When you’re grieving the loss of your mother — either because they’ve died or because you don’t have a relationship with them — what the heck are you supposed to do with a holiday like Mother’s Day?  When a listener reached out […]

Friendship Is the Guiding Force With Christine Pride

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

We’re back with another Terrible Reading Club episode, sponsored by Betterhelp Online Therapy. Think of it as our book club for truly terrible times. Haven’t read the book we’re discussing? Good news: In this reading club, that’s not a requirement. Today, we’re chatting with Christine Pride about her book co-authored with Jo Piazza, “We Are […]

The Gal Pals – TTFA Premium

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll get when you join us on TTFA Premium. For $8 a month, you can support our show AND get ad-free episodes and bonus content — including mailbag episodes like this one. Sign up today at TTFA.org/Premium. Join the TTFA reading club: TTFA.org/readingclub Our twice-monthly newsletter features behind-the-scenes content, […]

Between Two Widows with Michael Allio – TTFA Premium

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Michael Allio was a fan favorite on Katie Thurston’s recent season of “The Bachelorette,” applauded for the vulnerability he showed the literal world as he talked about losing his wife, Laura, to cancer and raising his son James without his mom.  Losing a partner to cancer? Raising a young son on your own? Sounds familiar […]

Widowed*

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Grief comes with so much judgment. Everybody is sure that there’s a right way to do it, and only for a certain length of time. If our grief doesn’t neatly fit into a category, we worry that it’s illegitimate. Erin knows this judgment very well. She’s a widow … or is she? Can’t get enough […]

Empathy Is Not Endorsement with Dylan Marron

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

We’re back with another Terrible Reading Club episode, sponsored by Betterhelp Online Therapy. Think of it as our book club for truly terrible times. Haven’t read the book we’re discussing? Good news: In this reading club, that’s not a requirement. Today, we’re chatting with Dylan Marron about his soon-to-be-released book, “Conversations With People Who Hate […]

How’s It Going In There? 2022 Edition

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

In 2020, we asked how it was going in there … wherever it was you were isolating, quarantining, social distancing. Somehow, it’s been *checks watch* TWO YEARS of COVID and so much more, so we thought it was time for another check-in. How *is* it going in there, Terribles? Can’t get enough TTFA? Sign up […]

The Della Diaries

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Danielle’s daughter Della was a quintessential “good baby.” She slept through the night almost from the get go. She rarely cried! But when Danielle started weaning her, little Della would just … not eat. Could not eat. Her tiny body rebelled against her with every food she tried. When your baby lives with a chronic […]

More Grudges! – TTFA Premium

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll get when you join us on TTFA Premium. For $8 a month, you can support our show AND get ad-free episodes and bonus content — including mailbag episodes like this one. Sign up today at TTFA.org/Premium. Join the TTFA reading club: TTFA.org/readingclub Our twice-monthly newsletter features behind-the-scenes content, […]

Lacuna

Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA

Growing up, Dani Shapiro never felt like she truly belonged to the orthodox Jewish community she lived in. All around her were kids who dressed and prayed and looked alike … and then, there was Dani — a fair-skinned, fair-haired, blue-eyed little Jewish girl.  Dani spent much of her early writing career authoring fictional stories […]