Lighten Up with Melanie Dale

Latest Episodes:

Lighten Up #93: Rachel Linden Oct 02, 2018

Show notes

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!

Links from the show:

Check out Rachel's new book, Becoming the Talbot Sisters
Find Rachel on Facebook and Instagram
Rachel's site
The Historian
Hope Dies Last organization
Little Women
Little House on the Prairie
The Art of Racing in the Rain
The Solace of Water
Warm Bodies
The Girl with All the Gifts
You can preorder the Kindle version of Infreakinfertility now, or buy the hard copy on October 23!

Lighten Up #92: Fashion Crossover with Sarah Bragg Sep 25, 2018

Show notes

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.

Links from the show:

Sign up to be email friends with me
Surviving Sarah Podcast – check out the other half of our conversation on contentment!
Go be friends with Sarah Bragg!

Lighten Up #91: Kimberly Stuart Sep 18, 2018

Show notes

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!

Links from the show:

Check out Kimberly's latest book Heart Land
Find her on Instagram
video of audition for The Greatest Showman
Matchmaking for Beginners
Marisa de los Santos books
Same Kind of Different as Me
Pride and Prejudice
The Picture of Dorian Gray

Lighten Up #90: Sarah Clarkson Sep 11, 2018

Show notes

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!

Links from the show:

Check out Sarah's new book, Book Girl: A Journey Through the Treasures and Transforming Power of a Reading Life
Find Sarah on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
Episode #54 with Sally Clarkson
Taking a Hot Bath Burns as Many Calories as a 30-Minute Walk
Faith, Hope, and Poetry
Mariner
David Copperfield
Munich
Thomas Merton
Ready Player One
Sherlock Holmes

Lighten Up #89: Patrice Gopo Sep 04, 2018

Show notes

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!

Episode sponsor:

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.

Links from the show:

Check out Patrice's new book, All the Colors We Will See
Find Patrice on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
Patrice's website
Kate Motaung's interview on Lighten Up

Lighten Up #88: Angry Crossover with Sarah Bragg Aug 28, 2018

Show notes

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!

Episode sponsor:

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.

Links from the show:

Sign up to be email friends with me
Surviving Sarah Podcast – check out the other half of our conversation on contentment!
Go be friends with Sarah Bragg!
The episode with Melanie's engagement story

Lighten Up #87: Liz Ditty Aug 21, 2018

Show notes

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!

Episode sponsor:

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.

Links from the show:

Check out Liz's book, God's Many Voices
Find Liz on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Liz's website
Propel Women "5 Ways to Pray"

Lighten Up #86: Rachelle Dekker Aug 14, 2018

Show notes

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!

Episode sponsor:

Links from the show:

Check out Rachelle's new book, When Through Deep Waters
Find Rachelle on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter
Rachelle's site
Melanie's Edgar Allen Poe boxers

Lighten Up #85: Katrina McCain Aug 07, 2018

Show notes

Today I’m talking with Katrina McCain, a former fashion model and author of the book Beyond Being Good. We talk about her book, her 9-year modeling career, her Beyond Borders Charity Runway Show, and, um, maybe a wardrobe malfunction or two. Katrina is awesome and you’re gonna love her…and you guys will be proud of me because I only made one Zoolander reference the whole time. Whether you’re wearing Gucci, yoga pants, or Derelicte!, listen in and lighten up.

Episode sponsor:

Links from the show:

Check out Beyond Being Good
Katrina's website
Find Katrina on Instagram
Fashion Beyond Borders

Lighten Up #84: Dog Days of Summer with Sarah Bragg Jul 31, 2018

Show notes

This week I've combined our Dog Days of Summer series with our monthly crossover episode with Sarah Bragg of Surviving Sarah! So as always with these monthly episodes, you can hear one half of our conversation here on Lighten Up, and the other half over on Surviving Sarah. Today Sarah shares her favorite dog story, and did she commit a crime or not? You be the judge. Then, we tackle back to school. Back to school. What the heck? How is it already that time?! Here in Georgia, the season in upon us so we might as well talk about it. We cover school supplies (Who IS Dixon Ticonderoga?!), our own back to school memories, the first time we sent our kiddos to school, and how it's changed as our kids have grown up. We share tips for navigating back to school, what not to do (ask us how we know!), how to have reasonable expectations about school involvement, how to partner with teachers, how to stay organized with all your kids' papers, and tackling the morning routine, ugh. So whether your kids go back this week, next week, or not for another month, listen in and lighten up!

Episode sponsor:

Links from the show:

Sign up to be email friends with me
Surviving Sarah Podcast – check out the other half of our conversation on contentment!
Go be friends with Sarah Bragg!
Episode 68 with Wynter Pitts

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