<p>Amanda and Sam chat with Lara Ehrlich, author of <em>Bind Me Tighter Still</em>, about domesticity and wildness in motherhood, the fierce love for our children, and feeling like we’re always falling short.</p><p>In <em>Bind Me Tighter Still</em>, the youngest of three siren sisters, Ceto, is weary of an existence driven by hunger. She trades her tail for legs, marries the first man she meets, and bears a daughter—only to discover that domesticity is just as mundane as sirenhood. In search of something more, she flees with her daughter Naia to the ocean, where she establishes a mermaid burlesque called Sirenland and reinvents herself, performing as a siren in a tank built into the limestone cliffs overlooking the sea. She hires and trains human women to perform with her, and Sirenland becomes a national roadside attraction. Her daughter Naia performs as well, until she turns 15 and begins to resist the world her mother has created.</p><p>Lara Ehrlich is the author of the story collection <em>Animal Wife</em> (Red Hen Press, 2020) and the novel <em>Bind Me Tighter Still</em> (Red Hen Press, 2025). Lara is also the host of <em>Writer Mother Monster</em>, a podcast that has featured more than 100 conversations with writer<strong>–</strong>mothers navigating the tension between artistic ambition and caregiving. Her writing has been published in <em>StoryQuarterly</em>, <em>Hunger Mountain Review</em>, <em>SmokeLong Quarterly</em>, <em>Literary Hub</em>, and others, and she is the writer in residence at Connecticut College. She is the founder and director of Thought Fox Writers Den and lives with her family in Connecticut.</p><p><strong>Socials and Links:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.laraehrlich.com/">www.LaraEhrlich.com</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thoughtfox.org/">www.ThoughtFox.org</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/lara.ehrlich">https://www.facebook.com/lara.ehrlich</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/lara.ehrlich/">https://www.instagram.com/lara.ehrlich/</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://redhen.org/book/bind-me-tighter-still/">https://redhen.org/book/bind-me-tighter-still/</a></p><p><strong>Mentioned in the episode:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/712958/nobodys-girl-by-virginia-roberts-giuffre/"><em>Nobody’s Girl</em></a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hans-Christian-Andersen-Danish-author">Hans Christian Andersen</a></p><p>Disney’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097757/"><em>The Little Mermaid</em></a></p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://literarymama.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_1">literarymama.substack.com</a>