We Can Do Hard Things

Ashley C. Ford returns to the pod today for a deeply personal, raw, and revelatory conversation about how we can love the world, our people, and ourselves through this trying moment. We explore:  - Why we’re no longer certain that “to be loved is to be known”;  - Why we resent our people when they don’t understand us—and how to find more love, peace, and acceptance in our relationships;  - Abby’s realization that she doesn’t need to “fix” Glennon’s sadness; sometimes partnership looks like staying steady while your person feels it all.  For those of us who feel lost, afraid, or alone: Ashley’s wisdom and clarity are exactly what we need. Snuggle in, open your minds and your hearts. We love you.  For more of Ashley on We Can Do Hard Things:  52. FORGIVING & FINDING PEACE with ASHLEY C. FORD 53. How to Love Yourself & Let Yourself be Loved with Ashley C. Ford About Ashley:  Ashley C. Ford is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER: A MEMOIR. She is also the former co-host of The HBO companion podcast Lovecraft Country Radio, and of Ben & Jerry’s Into The Mix. Ford lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with her husband, poet and fiction writer, Kelly Stacy, and their chocolate lab Astro Renegade Ford-Stacy.

The legendary, hilarious, and ferociously tender Rosie O’Donnell is here for an unfiltered conversation about how to survive the world while feeling it all. We discuss: - Why she left the U.S.—and how her new life in Ireland is healing her for the very first time;   - How to be a mother when you’ve lost your mother; and - The letter Rosie wrote right after Abby’s DUI—and how it helped her heal.   Pod Squad: Keep going hard and staying soft. We love you.  About Rosie O’Donnell:  Rosie O’Donnell is an Emmy Award–winning comedian, actor, producer, and cultural force who has shaped American entertainment for more than four decades. She first rose to national prominence as a stand-up comic and film actor before hosting The Rosie O’Donnell Show, which became one of the most celebrated daytime programs of its era and earned multiple Daytime Emmy Awards. Rosie’s film and television career has spanned everything from A League of Their Own and Sleepless in Seattle to acclaimed roles on The L Word, Curb Your Enthusiasm, SMILF, and And Just Like That. A passionate advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, children and families, and gun violence prevention, she founded Rosie’s Theater Kids and has raised millions for charitable causes throughout her career. Now living in Ireland, Rosie continues to write, paint, make art, and use her voice for justice. 

How do we ever know what is enough – or feel like enough – in a world that pushes us to incessantly perform, perfect, collect, and earn?  The extraordinary duo Suleika Jaouad and Jon Batiste are here for one of the richest conversations we’ve had about art, love, ambition, spirituality, and what it takes to remain ourselves.  Together, we explore:  - The “beast” we all carry: fear, perfectionism, control, or ambition—and how facing it is the only way out;  - How we can all begin to alchemize our pain into creativity; and  - How to hold onto the integrity of art, beauty, and love in a world that’s always searching for “more.”  This conversation will help you take a deep breath and finally feel like it’s all enough – including you.  .  And check out our prior conversations we had with Suleika, the brilliant author of The Book of Alchemy: How to Stay Human; and How to Turn a Mistake into Magic.  About Jon Batiste:  Jon Batiste is a seven-time Grammy and Academy Award–winning artist whose music moves between jazz, soul, classical, and pop.  His ninth studio album, Big Money, was released on August 22nd, and is supported by a national headlining tour with more than 30 stops. Audiences also know Jon from his Oscar-winning score for his chart-topping album Beethoven Blues and the acclaimed documentary American Symphony, which celebrates his artistry, resilience, and love with his wife Suleika at the height of his creative powers.  About Suleika Jaouad: Suleika Jaouad is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoirs The Book of Alchemy and Between Two Kingdoms. She writes The Isolation Journals, the #1 Literature newsletter on Substack, and wrote the New York Times “Life, Interrupted” column. A three-time cancer survivor and visual artist, she appears with her husband Jon Batiste in the Oscar-nominated documentary American Symphony.

Who is your Inner Child, and what are they (still) saying? It’s amazing how strongly our little selves show up in our adult lives.   Buckle Up – in this hilarious, profound conversation, Glennon, Abby, and Amanda invite their inner children to come forward and share their delights, blessings, and curses with the Pod Squad.  Together, we spiral around:  - Why some of us become the family “feeler” and others the “fixer,” and how we can all become more whole;  - How to honor the part of you who planned, dreamed, or disassociated to survive, without letting that little kid run your whole adult life; and  - How Abby is using music, dancing, and play as an antidote to her anxiety. 

Did you know that gospels of women leaders were in the Bible — and then in the Fourth Century, they were literally torn out of all Bibles and destroyed??? Except a few of them were buried and discovered a thousand years later.   This conversation is about those stories … and why they are so powerful – and so dangerous to power – that they were almost erased forever. If you’ve ever felt like something is missing from the stories you were given about God, the Bible, or your own worth—you’re right.  The stories of women’s lives, hearts, and desires have been stolen from us. Now, the brilliant feminist theologian Meggan Watterson is here to help us reclaim them – and it changes everything we know about connecting to ourselves, to faith, and to our own power.  Join us now.  About Meggan:  Meggan Watterson is a Harvard-trained feminist theologian and the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Mary Magdalene Revealed. Meggan’s most recent book, The Girl Who Baptized Herself, is about the first century saint Thecla, and how the scripture that contains her story reads like a manual for defying the patriarchy, and following the voice of our own soul. Follow We Can Do Hard Things on: Youtube — @wecandohardthingsshow   Instagram — @wecandohardthingsTikTok — @wecandohardthingshow