Memoir Snob
Episodes
Episode 63: Andrea Leeb
06 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with the author of Such A Pretty Picture:Andrea Leeb was told by multiple agents that her book needed more reflection, more self-examin...
Episode 62: Stacey Hettes
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with the author of Dispatches From The Couch: A Neuroscientist and her Therapist Conspire to Reboot Her Brain.When including flashbacks...
Episode 61: Wayne Scott
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with the author of The Maps They Gave Us.Wayne Scott refers to himself in the third person when discussing his memoir. I asked if that ...
Episode 60: Michael Dean
21 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with my editor, Michael Dean. Our biggest tension, in the eighteen months we’ve worked together on my book, is Show vs. Tell. I want...
Episode 59: Joanna Rakoff
30 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with the author of My Salinger Year.How many characters do you really need? Make a list. Every character needs to be fully-fleshed, eac...
Episode 58: Virginia DeLuca
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with the author of If You Must Go, I Wish You Triplets:-When you include your thoughts that are unkind, immature, or that you’re emba...
Episode 57: Kate Gies
28 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with the author of It Must Be Beautiful To Be Finished.-The key to writing about someone you love who you’ve also been hurt by, is to...
Episode 56: Amy Wilson
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with the author of Happy To Help: Adventures of a People Pleaser.LINKSBooks:Happy To HelpWhen Did I Get Like This?Essay:Why I Didn't Wa...
Episode 55: Happy To Help by Amy Wilson
28 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s what I learned from Happy To Help: Adventures of a People Pleaser by Amy Wilson:Include your fantasies. It’s especially funny if you can in...
Episode 54: Here After by Amy Lin
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Memoir deep dive #21Here’s what I learned from Here After by Amy Lin: One way to treat your audience like a genius is to not say the next obvious th...
Episode 53: Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction
31 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Here's what I learned from Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction by Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd: -When writing memoir, never insert present knowled...
Episode 52: Sandra Schnakenburg
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s what I learned from my conversation with Sandy Schnakenburg, author of The Housekeeper's Secret: When you’re writing about a tragic or sh...
Episode 51: Long Live The Tribe Of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s what I learned from Long Live The Tribe Of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden: First lines should make the reader curious to read more. The...
Episode 50: Still Life At Eighty by Abigail Thomas
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s what I learned from Still Life At Eighty by Abigail Thomas: Revealing the dark parts of yourself in writing makes those things less scary a...
Episode 49: My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff
11 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s what I learned from My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff: How to write dialogue in a novelistic or cinematic way: Include details about the su...
Episode 48: Sam Returns
21 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam is back to discuss more marital arguments, though he insists they rarely argue while Charlie insists they argue plenty.
Episode 47: Modern Love
21 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I submitted a personal essay to the New York Times weekly column, Modern Love. In this episode I talk about how I learned about the column, how I dec...
Episode 46: Three Sobriety Memoirs
01 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s what I learned from three sobriety memoirs: The Night of the Gun by David Carr: Interview the people from your past. It doesn’t have to be ...
Episode 45: Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp
27 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Heres’s what I learned from Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp AND The Elements Of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth. Anaphora is when you start eac...
Episode 44: Writing Under A Pseudonym
13 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Do you want to write under a pseudonym or not? I have been writing as Charlie Bleecker for over four years. If you want to give it a real go, commit...
Episode 43: Life On Delay by John Hendrickson
31 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s what I learned from Life On Delay by John Hendrickson: On Structure: When you open with a big event, where something big is about to happen...
Episode 42: How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart by David Foster Wallace
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s what I learned from How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart by David Foster Wallace: Rather than tell us how bad the memoir was, he lists eight (ei...
Episode 41: My Fair Junkie by Amy Dresner
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s what I learned from My Fair Junkie by Amy Dresner: Amy Dresner is the second memoirist I’ve read who had a life changing moment with a br...
Episode 40: Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz
18 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Here's what I learned from Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz: Create tension by pairing repetition with opposites. Add playfulness by pairing...
Episode 39: In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
02 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s what I learned from In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado: I can write a cohesive story that is made up of little stories, all strung ...
Episode 38: A Life's Work by Rachel Cusk
18 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Here's what I learned from A Life's Work by Rachel Cusk: -Sometimes your experience of something is enough, sometimes it’s all there is. You...
Episode 36: The Liars' Club by Mary Karr
15 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s what I learned from The Liars’ Club by Mary Karr: If I want to tell stories from my past that involve family members, I can ask them how th...
Episode 35: Cheryl Strayed: On Memoir
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s what I learned from Cheryl Strayed: “The hardest part about memoir is the unfortunate fact that other people exist.” Every time she write...
Episode 34: What Remains by Carole Radziwill
12 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here's what I learned from What Remains by Carole Radziwill: -The best prologue I’ve read so far because of her journalistic style of writing. ...
Episode 33: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
27 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Memoir deep dive #8 Here’s what I learned from The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls: -When you leave out thoughts and feelings it evokes big emotions...
Episode 32: Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
13 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Memoir deep dive #7 Here's what I learned from Born Standing Up by Steve Martin: -Breaking the 4th wall is when the writer addresses the reader di...
Episode 31: Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle
30 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Memoir deep dive #6 Here's what I learned from Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle: -Her book structure was as follows: Prelude (her wedding day) Part 1...
Episode 30: The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer
17 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Memoir deep dive #5 Here's what I learned from The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer: - Repetition can have a lyrical effect, which makes your writing...
Episode 28: Viola Davis, Norm Macdonald, and David Sedaris
12 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here's what I learned from Finding Me by Viola Davis: - Never write: "Words can't describe..." because that's what writing is. I...
Episode 26: Crying In H Mart by Michelle Zauner
21 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here's what I learned from Crying In H Mart: -Food is a very visual theme she uses throughout the book. What's a visual theme I could use in m...
Episode 24: Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
02 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In these memoir deep dives I highlight my takeaways from the book and how I can apply what I learn to writing my own memoir. Here's what I learne...
Episode 22: Wild by Cheryl Strayed
11 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Charlie is going to write a memoir. What better way to learn about memoir than to read them and reflect on them? In this episode, Charlie talks about...
Episode 21: Polina Marinova Pompliano
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Charlie forgets to press record on the first hour of her conversation with Polina. No matter! Polina is a gem. They talk about how they write and thei...
Episode 19: A Confession
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Charlie hates hates hates hates hates feeling stupid. And she did something REALLY stupid this week. References: I Hate Feeling Stupid Shrinking on ...
Episode 9: COVID, addicted to sweets and alcohol, and struggles feeding a toddler.
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Bleeckers got COVID. It sucked, but it could be worse. Charlie and Sam talk about their bad habits with sweets and their relationship with alcohol...
Episode 8: The ups and downs of sleep training your baby, working towards happiness, and a lullabye.
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Charlie and Sam discuss the mindfuck that is sleep training your baby. Then Charlie opens up about her chronic neck pain and anxiety and explores what...
Episode 5: Letting the nanny go, Sam loses his shit, a recent investment, and how Charlie and Sam met.
24 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Charlie struggles with her need to be liked and Sam admits a recent parenting fail with the newborn. They excitedly discuss a new purchase: suitcases!...
Episode 3: The honeymoon phase is over, finding the perfect nanny, and a rich life.
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The podcasting honeymoon phase is over for Charlie and Sam! They got into a massive argument this week and things got ugly before they eventually (fin...
Episode 2: Cringe moments, an unresolved parenting conflict, brushing a toddler's teeth, money talk, and The Bachelor.
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Charlie sticks her foot in her mouth once again and lives to tell the tale. She and Sam finally resolve a conflict that occurred almost two years ago....
Episode 1: Charlie and Sam kick things off.
03 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Charlie is joined by her husband Sam to rehash their latest argument (it's not Charlie's best look). Then they discuss what they learned recently abou...