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Book Gang

Book Gang

By: Amy Allen Clark
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Are you looking for your next book recommendation? This book podcast celebrates debuts, backlist, and under-the-radar book selections. Expand your book stack with these recommendations and look at the book industry behind the scenes with Amy Allen Clark (MomAdvice.com). She shares the microphone with her favorite writers and bookstagrammers to help you have your best reading year ever. Art Literary History & Criticism
Episodes
  • The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness (Vault Session)

    The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness (Vault Session)
    Mar 20 2026
    In The Lady’s Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness, Sarah Ramey shares her journey through chronic illness and the medical system’s blind spots. This week, we're bringing forward a powerful 2022 conversation with Sarah Ramey, author of The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness, whose novel was selected as a MomAdvice Book Club Book the year that this conversation was recorded. This discussion remains as urgent and resonant today as when it first aired, offering an unflinching look at chronic illness, medical bias, and the stories women are too often forced to carry alone. In this episode, we also discuss the complexities of the mind-body connection, the role of privilege in accessing care, and the turning point that led Sarah toward healing through functional medicine. Anne Patchett featured The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness in her "If You Haven't Read This Book, It's New to You" series for Parnassus Books. She described it as crackling, electrifying, funny, and fast-paced—a book that will outrage you and one you won't be able to put down. I co-sign this recommendation and am proud to pull this out from our studio vault as we celebrate this month's book club book, The Mad Wife, and the ways women's health has been so misunderstood. In this spoiler-filled conversation: 📚 A deeply personal look at life before and after chronic illness: Sarah reflects on her "B.C." life—before chronic illness—and what it means to lose, grieve, and reconstruct identity when your body no longer cooperates. 📚 Unpacking medical gaslighting and gender bias in healthcare: From being dismissed as "mentally ill" to navigating systemic disbelief, we explore why women's pain is so often minimized—and what must change within the medical system. 📚 Listening to hundreds of women—and finding patterns in pain: Drawing from interviews with over 200 women, Sarah shares the common threads in their experiences, the emotional toll of carrying those stories, and how movements like #MeToo helped create space for this conversation. 📚📚 BONUS BOOK LIST: Don't miss this week's NEW companion list with 24 Medical Drama Books to Get Your Heart Racing, available to reserve now for your best weekend ever. Patrons will receive weekly printable checklists for their next library visit! Meet Sarah Ramey Sarah Ramey is a writer and musician (known as Wolf Larsen) living in Tucson, Arizona. She received an MFA in creative nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and was a blogger for President Obama’s 2008 campaign. She is the recipient of a Whiting Foundation grant for nonfiction, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation residency grant, and has been featured in The Paris Review, NPR, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, Salon, Refinery 29, LitHub, and The Washingtonian. The Lady’s Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness was an Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best Memoirs, it was a starred selection for Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Booklist, and it was chosen as one of the best books of 2020 by BookPage. Sarah has been living with serious chronic pain and illness for seventeen years, and The Lady’s Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness is her first book. Mentioned in this episode: Download Today's Show Transcript Buy Me a Coffee - I'm grateful for your support this year! NEW BOOK LIST: 24 Medical Drama Books to Get Your Heart Racing Join the March Book Club 3/26 at 8 PM ET (The Mad Wife) 2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections) You With the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate The Lady’s Handbook for Mysterious Illness by Sarah Ramey Ann Patchett on The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness Unwell Women by Elinor Cleghorn Chronic Pain is Surprisingly Easy to Treat Sarno The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk Katherine May Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores. Connect With Us: Join the Book Gang Patreon Connect With Sarah Ramey on Instagram or Her Website Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice Get My Happy List Newsletter Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter
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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • March Book Club: The Mad Wife (Reader's Choice Selection)

    March Book Club: The Mad Wife (Reader's Choice Selection)
    Mar 13 2026
    Bestselling author Meagan Church returns to discuss our March Book Club selection, The Mad Wife, and its whirlwind success. This month, we welcome Meagan Church back to Book Gang to celebrate our March Reader's Choice selection, The Mad Wife—the most-voted book by our community. Meagan first joined us earlier in her writing journey to discuss the inspiration behind this story. Now she returns following the novel's breakout success, including appearances on the bestseller lists and recognition as a Barnes & Noble Fiction Pick. In this follow-up conversation, we talk about how Life has changed since The Mad Wife reached readers around the country—from touring and meeting fans to seeing Lulu's story resonate with audiences. We also take a lighter turn with a fun round of writer habits, reading life confessions, and quickfire questions designed to help listeners get to know Meagan beyond the page. In this spoiler-free conversation with my friend, we explore: 📚 Celebrating a bestselling moment: Meagan reflects on The Mad Wife becoming a Barnes & Noble Fiction Pick and landing on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. 📚 Life after publication: From book tours to meeting readers face-to-face, Meagan shares how the response to Lulu's story has shaped her perspective on storytelling and future projects. 📚 Getting to know the writer: In a fun closing segment, Meagan talks about her writing rituals, reading Life, favorite bookstores, and the habits that keep her creative process moving. 📚📚 BONUS BOOK LIST: Don't miss this week's NEW companion list with 24 Medical Drama Books to Get Your Heart Racing, available to reserve now for your best weekend ever. Patrons will receive weekly printable checklists for their next library visit! Meet Meagan Church Meagan Church is the Southern indie bestselling author of The Girls We Sent Away, The Last Carolina Girl , and The Mad Wife, this month's Barnes & Noble Book fiction pick. She writes to tell grounded stories that explore the complexity of human nature. Her historical fiction chronicles the plight and fight of unheard voices of the past. After receiving a B.A. in English from Indiana University, Meagan built a career as a storyteller and freelance writer for brands, blogs, and organizations. She is an adjunct professor for Drexel University's MFA in Creative Writing program, helping authors tell their own stories through editing, coaching, and workshops. A Midwesterner by birth, she now lives in North Carolina with her high school sweetheart, three children, and a plethora of pets. Mentioned in this episode: Gratitude to Our Show Patrons: This week's episode is open to all listeners thanks to generous donations made through Buy Me a Coffee and your community memberships. If you'd like to keep the conversation going, you're invited to join our Patreon Book Club chat on March 26th at 8 PM ET, where we'll dive deeper into spoilers, themes, and reader reactions WITH MEAGAN. Membership is $5 a month, or you can prepay for the year and save 10%. Download Today's Show Transcript (Scroll down to view second episode) Buy Me a Coffee - I'm grateful for your support this year! NEW BOOK LIST: 24 Medical Drama Books to Get Your Heart Racing Join the March Book Club 3/26 at 8 PM ET (The Mad Wife) 2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections) Unmasking Hysteria in The Mad Wife Podcast Meagan's spoiler episode The Last Carolina Girl by Meagan Church The Girls We Sent Away by Meagan Church The Mad Wife by Meagan Church Cleary Bookstore The Mad Wife Spotify Playlist Story Genius by Lisa Cron Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner Everything is Spiritual by Rob Bell The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien Orbital by Samatha Harvey The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett Hit the Road with Annie Hartnett Podcast Shark Heart by Emily Habeck How Shark Heart Transformed Emily Habeck and Her Readers Olivia Muenter - Such a Bad Influence Podcast The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Parnassus Books The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores. Connect With Us: Join the Book Gang Patreon Connect with Meagan Church on Instagram or her Website Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice Get My Happy List Newsletter Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Where the Girls Were Brings a Mother's Haunting Story to Light

    Where the Girls Were Brings a Mother's Haunting Story to Light
    Mar 6 2026
    Kate Schatz joins the show to discuss Where the Girls Were, a novel inspired by the hidden history of maternity homes and the young women sent away during the 1960s. This week, Kate Schatz joins the Book Gang podcast to discuss her adult fiction debut, Where the Girls Were, a novel that explores a little-discussed chapter of American history: the maternity homes that housed more than a million young women during the 1950s and 1960s. Drawing inspiration from her own family's haunting history and years of research, Schatz brings readers into the world of a teenage prodigy sent away to give birth in secret just weeks before graduating high school. In our conversation, we discuss how the story first took shape, the transition from writing nonfiction about activism and history to crafting a deeply researched novel, and the realities of maternity homes in the mid-twentieth century. Schatz also shares some of the surprising details uncovered during her research. In this fascinating conversation, we explore: 📚 From Rad Women to Fiction: Kate shares her journey from bestselling nonfiction author and activist to novelist, revealing how writing Where the Girls Were challenged her craft and deepened her understanding of history, activism, and personal storytelling. 📚 The Family Story Behind the Novel: Schatz shares how learning about her mother's experience with pregnancy and closed adoption in the mid-20th century shaped the inspiration and research behind the book. 📚 Uncovering Hidden Histories: We discuss the surprising and sometimes shocking research Kate unearthed about maternity homes, women's health, and the realities faced by girls in the 1960s, including the curious role of rabbits in pregnancy tests. 📚📚 BONUS BOOK LIST: Don't miss this week's NEW companion list with 27 Books About the 1960s to escape into another timeline, available to reserve now for your best weekend ever. Patrons will receive weekly printable checklists for their next library visit! Meet Kate Schatz KATE SCHATZ is a New York Times bestselling author, public speaker, writing teacher, and queer feminist parent who's been talking, writing, and teaching about race, gender, social justice, and equity for many years. Her books include the novel Where the Girls Were; Do the Work: An Anti-Racist Activity Book, with W. Kamau Bell, the comedian and Emmy-winning host of CNN's United Shades of America; the "Rad Women" book series (including Rad American Women A-Z, Rad Women Worldwide, and Rad American History A-Z), which have sold over 300,000 copies and been translated into four languages; and Rid of Me: A Story, published in 2007 as part of the cult-favorite 33 ⅓ series. Kate has taught writing and Women's Studies at Brown University, Rhode Island College, San Jose State, and UC Santa Cruz. Born and raised in San Jose, California, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her wife, their three kids, and their many pets. Where the Girls Were is her fiction debut and is available on store shelves now. Mentioned in this episode: Download Today's Show Transcript Buy Me a Coffee - I'm grateful for your support this year! NEW BOOK LIST: 27 Books About the 1960s Join the March Book Club 3/26 at 8 PM ET (The Mad Wife) 2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections) Where the Girls Were by Kate Schatz Do the Work: An Antiracist Activity Book by W. Kamau Bell & Kate Schatz Rad American Women by Kate Schatz Rad Women Worldwide by Kate Schatz Rad Girls Can by Kate Schatz Rad American History by Kate Schatz Kate Schatz Rabbit Test Our Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women's Health Book Collective The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler Saints for All Occasions by J Courtney Sullivan When Abortion Was a Crime by Leslie J Reagan Wake Up Little Susie by Rickie Solinger Relinquished by Gretchen Sisson My Mother's Daughter by Tracy Clark-Flory Want Me by Tracy Clark-Flory Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores. Connect With Us: Join the Book Gang Patreon Connect With Kate Schatz on Instagram or Her Website Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice Get My Happy List Newsletter Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter
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    55 mins
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