Sheri Salata, THE BEAUTIFUL NO
[0:00]Hi, I'm Zibi Owens, and you're listening to the Webby-nominated podcast, Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books.
[0:15]Please also check out my other podcast Kids Do Have Time to Read Books.
[0:19]I'm on Instagram at Zibi Owens and at Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books, and at Kids Do Have Time to Read.
[0:26]So please follow me, and if at any time you have suggestions, my email is ZibiatZibi Owens.com.
[0:33]Thanks for listening.
[0:34]Thanks so much to my latest sponsor, the Mermaid Pillow Company.
[0:38]mermaidpillowco.com.
[0:40]They make these amazing pillows with sequins on the back and positive messages on the front, and they now even make custom pillows and blankets.
[0:49]It's an amazing company, and if you enter the code Zibi, Z-I-B-B-Y, you'll get 10% off, which is super cool.
[0:55]So please check them out mermaidpillowco.com.
[0:59]Welcome again, Jerry.
[1:00]I'm starting to have time to read books, take two.
[1:03]Hi, everybody. Oh my gosh, I'm so happy to be here with you.
[1:06]I'm so happy you're here. This is so fun.
[1:08]On her, you've had all the big authors on the show, and I'm just a little first timer with my little publication day-to-day, but I'm so happy to be here.
[1:18]I'd so special to interview you on your pub day, so thanks for making the time today. It's really awesome.
[1:23]And for showing me how to set up this little tripod so we can now have video as well as audio, like, up close and personal.
[1:29]I mean, look at this room. Oh my goodness.
[1:32]Now we have to do the door, but the dream room. Thank you.
[1:36]So the beautiful now, tell me about this book.
[1:39]I know because I read it, but tell listeners, how did you come up with the idea for this book?
[1:43]What inspired you to write it? What does it really about?
[1:46]Really what inspired me to write it was a conversation that I had with my publisher, who's also my editor Karen Renaldi at Harper Wave.
[1:53]And she felt like I had something to say, and then I had a story to tell.
[1:58]And certainly I had a front row seat to all the most prolific wisdom keepers of our time.
[2:06]I had the ride of my life, and I found myself at 56, realizing that, you know, a rough rocky start of my 20s, but by 35 I had finally manifested the beginnings of the career of my dreams.
[2:23]And at 56, the reckoning I had to do was that I hadn't manifested the life of my dreams.
[2:30]And one area, being someone else is something, someone's mother, someone's employee, someone's spouse or partner, that does not a full life make.
[2:44]I had to have a real moment with myself, and I had to say, listen, I deserve to live the life of my dreams.
[2:54]Nobody knows more about making dreams come true than me.
[2:57]Live your best life.
[2:58]That's right.
[2:59]And it's high time I start doing that.
[3:02]And that's kind of what the book is about.
[3:05]It's lots of stories on my adventures along the way.
[3:09]The little gems, little gems that I've, you know, put in my treasure box, things that have become my spiritual foundation and the beginning of a reimagination of the middle of life.
[3:23]And I loved how when you were writing it, I could really see you'll be like, I closed my journal and I that was enough for today.
[3:29]And then, you know, like I felt like I was in it with you, like you were using the book to help yourself.
[3:34]And we got to sort of come along with you.
[3:36]Oh, I'm so glad.
[3:37]I mean, you know, here's the truth.
[3:40]I, and I come to this conversation with you filled with humility.
[3:46]And I'm really only talking to myself.
[3:49]When we have, I have a conversation like this, like with you, or even when Nancy and I talk to people on our podcast, I'm inspiring myself.
[3:58]This is all I want to talk about.
[4:00]How do we elevate our lives?
[4:02]How do we have that full on joy ride that all of us are dreaming of?
[4:06]What are the little practices we can put in every day that are, that's really going to catapult us to that life of our dreams.
[4:13]We say we want to live.
[4:14]And I need inspiration.
[4:16]I need reminders.
[4:18]I need tools.
[4:19]I need to make this conversation part of my every day vibrational atmosphere.
[4:25]So I'm really just having the conversation with myself.
[4:28]And I'm just going to eavesdrop on your conversation.
[4:31]I know.
[4:32]I'm just going to be ahead.
[4:33]I know.
[4:34]And what it does though is it's so unbelievable to me how it just lands on other women.
[4:40]It's almost like, it's almost like we're so all in this together.
[4:44]Yeah.
[4:45]And we just need somebody to say, okay, I know I had the big crazy glamorous, fabulous job, but it's not enough.
[4:53]And I didn't make all the right choices.
[4:56]And I don't always put myself first.
[4:58]And I'm shitty at boundaries.
[5:00]And I need to, I need to really learn how to love and treasure myself.
[5:05]So the second half of my life are even more glorious days than the ones I've already lived.
[5:11]And then during this book you somehow discover this new business of yours.
[5:16]Yeah.
[5:17]Which I love how you just kind of wove it in.
[5:19]Yeah.
[5:20]And it's like this whole big thing.
[5:21]So tell me about the pillar life's beginnings.
[5:24]So Nancy Hala is one of my BFFs for 30 years.
[5:28]She was, she was my pal in Chicago.
[5:31]She was like the Friday night Chardonnay friend.
[5:33]We had our own two person little book club.
[5:35]Yeah.
[5:36]Which you'll appreciate.
[5:37]Appreciate it.
[5:38]We go to Barbara's bookstore in Old Town.
[5:39]We get our book sign K Gibbons, Wally Lam.
[5:42]Those were the days.
[5:43]And then we go have our Chardonnay and we have a chat.
[5:46]And you know, she was married.
[5:48]I was single.
[5:49]So when men would come up to buy a string, we'd be like, away with you, sir.
[5:52]We're having our book club so crazy.
[5:55]So she and I were both at this crossroads.
[5:59]That I had had the big huge job and very little else.
[6:02]She was a freelance business writer and who had raised these two fantastic kids.
[6:07]But we both had similar longings.
[6:10]Like, wow.
[6:12]What if this is only halfway?
[6:14]What are we doing with ourselves now?
[6:16]You know, are we like retiring?
[6:18]Are we like, is this all we get?
[6:21]Because we both want homemade love.
[6:23]And we both want like health and vitality and wellness.
[6:28]And we both want a really solid spiritual foundation.
[6:32]And even though our dream lives look different,
[6:37]we decided that we were going to shift our relationship to become super intentional.
[6:42]We were going to inspire each other and support each other and uplift each other.
[6:46]and uplift each other.
[6:47]And that that was going to be our business.
[6:49]We were going to literally figure out a guidance system to help us stay on track
[6:55]for everything that we said we wanted.
[6:57]And that's when the pillar life was born.
[6:59]Wow.
[7:00]I know.
[7:01]It was so crazy.
[7:02]So now you have a whole website.
[7:04]Yeah.
[7:05]You have all your pillars spelled out.
[7:06]Yes.
[7:07]Yes, we do.
[7:08]I feel like some, I know I was looking.
[7:09]I'm like, do I get to pick and choose what I need to do?
[7:10]Do you want to say what?
[7:11]Here's what I know for sure.
[7:13]I mean, I might have a chance to have a little tribute to Oprah.
[7:18]But after many, many, many, many fits and starts in my life and trying everybody's programs,
[7:25]like I'd closet full of books and programs and memberships and things.
[7:30]And what I've realized now, and you know, this may seem fairly obvious once I say it,
[7:35]but nobody else's program is going to just work for me.
[7:39]I need to be the creator of my own program.
[7:42]And I'll take bits of wisdom from you and you and you and this piece,
[7:47]this tip, this practice.
[7:49]I'll try this, I'll sample things.
[7:51]But at the end of the day, at a certain point,
[7:55]we all have to become the experts of our own lives.
[7:58]We have to.
[7:59]There's nobody else that's going to come in as much as I wanted it,
[8:03]as much as I prayed for it, as much as I searched and searched and searched
[8:08]for the expert who is going to be the expert on me.
[8:11]Nobody is.
[8:13]So that must mean that I'm supposed to be.
[8:16]And that is really the shift that I made three years ago.
[8:20]And now you're helping others.
[8:21]And you even have this whole workbook I saw where you can craft your dream quest.
[8:25]Yes.
[8:26]It's like so action focused and it sounds like you just want to help people
[8:29]through what you've been there, which is amazing.
[8:31]Yeah.
[8:32]If it's valuable to other people, I say,
[8:34]read the book, download the free companion workbook.
[8:38]And if the language resonates with you as it stirs your spirit,
[8:42]then maybe it'll be super helpful.
[8:44]And do you find yourself at all sliding into some of the other habits
[8:48]with your big old job with Oprah and the whole rest of it,
[8:51]now that you're focused on this?
[8:53]Totally.
[8:54]Yeah.
[8:55]Totally.
[8:56]It's one of the things that I think really caused a lot of struggle for me.
[9:03]And caused a lot of unhappiness, quite frankly,
[9:07]was the idea that I was going to sort this out perfectly.
[9:11]That every day I was going to be so perfect,
[9:14]but I could only hang on to perfection for this much time.
[9:18]And then like, you know, two, three weeks, two months, six months,
[9:22]until I run the half marathon, and then it would all fall to pieces
[9:26]because I was almost white knuckling it.
[9:29]And a couple things that I did that might be helpful
[9:32]to other people, but certainly is changing the game for me,
[9:35]is finding that tender voice, that compassionate understanding tender voice,
[9:40]and using that voice in my head instead of the critical,
[9:46]you know, you're unworthy, you look really fat in that.
[9:49]That was a stupid thing to say.
[9:51]You know, you'll never do this.
[9:53]That voice that somehow gets automatic play
[9:57]when you don't pay attention to it.
[9:59]Totally.
[10:00]So tender voice and then really understanding that it's going to be a game of net net,
[10:09]meaning there are, there's a month when I will make eight steps forward, like everything is
[10:15]humming. You know, my meditation, my plant-based eating, my workouts are going great.
[10:21]I'm easily able to reach for great feeling thoughts and stay in a really high energy mode.
[10:28]And then all of a sudden, I'll just be drowning in cheese and chardon it for two days.
[10:34]And, but I, but I used to do that for like long periods of time. So it's like two days. And I say,
[10:40]oh gosh, it's so interesting. That's why I really don't feel that well by the second day. I'm
[10:44]not in the little despondent. You know, things look a little blue or gray. And then I go, okay,
[10:49]so we made this many steps forward. We took three steps back, but it's a four step gain.
[10:57]And if I'm going to be unconscious, which I will be because I'm a human being,
[11:01]it's going to be for two days, not two years.
[11:04]I had a similar sort of moment the other day. I've been trying to like,
[11:08]what happens if I don't eat a lot of sugar? And then of course, like, you know, I end up like,
[11:12]and I had a cupcake, right? And I was like, oh, I blew it. And I was like, oh my gosh,
[11:15]one cupcake. Do you know, like last week, I would have had like, maybe three cupcakes.
[11:20]And at least I ate it slowly. And like, it's like all about like the progress.
[11:25]And I'm like, well, I would have had a lot more cupcakes last week. At least I had one.
[11:28]I don't see every week. No, they're such a thing. Also, I'm using being a little sweeter.
[11:32]Like, oh, my goodness, don't be so silly. Yeah, exactly. Let's keep going. Go have a glass of water.
[11:38]You had so many funny things in your book. You said that ways for you is a world class
[11:44]reinvestor. Yes. And I love that. Can you explain that a little more?
[11:47]Well, here's what I think happens to us. And if you're a little bit older, like in your
[11:52]40s and 50s, here's my cautionary note to one and all. You might not even know you're in a big
[11:58]fat rut because I sure didn't. I had moved to a new city, LA. And, and I, you know, had been
[12:06]doing this job at own for five years since the show had ended. I had no idea that I was in.
[12:13]You don't know you're in a rut because when you're in a rut, you've got can you any sides
[12:17]then either side of you? You've got to get out of your rut to go, oh my God, I was in a rut.
[12:22]And what was so funny in LA was I didn't know where I was going. I couldn't get from here to there
[12:28]without an app on my phone. Otherwise, I would have been old fashioned with maps, paper maps
[12:34]out all over the place, but I didn't know where anything was. I moved to LA after college and
[12:38]I had a Thomas Guide. It's even though it's that it was a book with bound spiral bounds.
[12:42]Oh, my God. I would go like a few feet and then I would pull over and then I had to flip the page
[12:46]on Thomas Guide and get to another page on the map. And then I'd like get on the 10 and then I'd
[12:51]pull over. Oh my gosh. You know what I'm saying now? I'm like, this is the greatest invention.
[12:54]No, ever. No. And, and, and the great thing about ways is it never took me the same place the same
[13:00]way. Yes. So I was like, well, why aren't we going that way ways? And I'm like, okay,
[13:05]but I couldn't go the old way because I could remember how to do it. So I'd have to go the new way.
[13:09]And, and that's when I kind of realized at a certain point, once you're out of your 20s and
[13:14]if you have children, you're done having them and you've had the first grade, the second grade,
[13:18]the third grade, all of a sudden there's not a whole lot new coming into your life, new experiences.
[13:25]And that, that feeling of newness, that's the life force, my friends. That's the, that's the,
[13:30]oh my God, life is so delicious. And you, you've got to feed yourself those new experiences.
[13:36]So that's when I, you know, ways got me thinking about that. And then I, I signed up and I took
[13:41]an Italian class and I, I was the worst one. I went to knife skills class at Surletab. I was the
[13:48]worst one. But what I could feel was in my brain and in my, the energy of my body was now flowing
[13:56]more forcefully. I called it fresh joy. I was like, wow, there's so much to do in life in a way that
[14:06]I think that I was maybe like in a rut, maybe borderline depressed because it was just like,
[14:13]same old, very old. I make my coffee the same way. I drive to the store the same way.
[14:18]You know, my, I'm so habitual and patterned. I don't even realize how rootinized I've made my
[14:25]life. Interesting. And tell me also about your passion for your English Bulldogs because you
[14:30]you had this great chapter in the book about all this was a bad topic. Yeah. Okay. Okay.
[14:36]Okay. Now it's a good one. Yeah. I wrote about kissy, kissy, the underdog. Um, I have two
[14:41]English Bulldogs, Bella, who I adopted when she was a baby. She was 11 weeks old. And, and then
[14:48]two years later, I adopted her mother. There was a series of coinky dinks and mystical things
[14:55]that happened. And she was really like a, a farm animal. She wasn't, you know, not not, um,
[15:03]you know, a puppy mill, but it was, she was a farm animal. She wasn't a pet. So all of a sudden,
[15:08]there I had the, I was the EP of the Oprah show. And I have this farm animal that I have to help become
[15:15]of real princess. And, um, and I love how you asked the doctor if he could do plastic surgery for
[15:21]like her underwent, they were like, no, like it was too expensive or whatever. No, the, you know,
[15:26]yeah, cause she arrived and all her nipples were dragging on the ground. And I was like,
[15:30]only moly. I don't think I've ever even seen anything like this. And we live in the city,
[15:36]you know, what am I going to do? Strap her up with like a English Bulldog puppy bra. I'm like,
[15:41]oh my God. This is so terrible. And when I asked the vet, um, are there, are there any procedures
[15:46]that can be done? And that looked at me. She goes, well, that would be like a massive mastectomy.
[15:52]I go, well, that doesn't sound like that's a good thing to do to a dog. And, you know, eventually,
[15:57]eventually her body kind of sprang back into shape. But, you know, for those of you who are animal
[16:02]people and have, and have pets, you know, my Bella and kissy, I look at them as my little,
[16:09]my little Buddhas and masters. They bring forth things in me that would not, that nobody else could.
[16:17]They just bring that there is always wherever I go when I'm with them. I'm always in a space of
[16:24]unconditional love freely given from me and received from them. And even if I don't do that perfectly
[16:31]in my human relationships, that unconditionally, at least I have a way to surround myself with that
[16:38]you should do a children's book. Bella and kissy. Oh my gosh, I should, right? Wouldn't that be good?
[16:44]It would be amazing. I mean, they're super cute too. Yeah. Like the mom and the
[16:48]yeah. And I don't know. I can like see the whole thing. Okay. Good idea can come back to that later.
[16:55]You had this great line about the way that age 56 looks on different people, which I still
[17:00]think you could really do this for 42 because I feel like I can see the differences already.
[17:04]You wrote, you can tell by the way we move by the way we talk and the language we use.
[17:08]You can tell by the way we dress. You can tell by our energy the smile in our eyes or the
[17:13]list list exhausted state of disappointment. And what you're saying is how it looks different on
[17:18]everybody. Yeah. Had these are the things that make you tell people apart. And there's this
[17:22]whole, you've been to the ball and had your chance moment. Right. It's just written on people's faces.
[17:27]How do you think people get there? And how can I know this is the pillars is sort of the answer
[17:33]this. But how can you when you're in it and you're and you have the walls? Yeah. And you know
[17:40]you're in this disappointed state. What are little things people can do? Right. Well, first of all,
[17:44]I'm going to say to all of you who have human children that I have enormous compassion for you
[17:50]because children truly do put you in a state of aging because you start with a little baby and
[17:58]next thing, you know, they're five feet, five feet, five, six feet tall. And you can't help but
[18:03]compare yourself on the human aging plane to them. So, you know, you're surrounded by proof
[18:10]that you're aging constantly. I can kind of forget about it. You know, my Belen kissy look the
[18:15]same as they did 10 years ago. So I'm not as reminded constantly about that. So that's something
[18:22]to be aware of. But I would also say though, I'm so focused on my kids aging that sometimes I
[18:28]don't look up. Like, I feel like sometimes you're so looking down and you see other people and
[18:33]then you're like, oh, my gosh, where's last? Well, see, that's another issue too. Like, oh, my other
[18:39]Lord. That's another piece. That's not how I feel in my head. Right. I feel like I look like, you know,
[18:44]28, but I know I'm not. And here's the thing that I think is really interesting. You talk to
[18:50]women who are 85. They still feel like they're 25 too. Yeah. So that's so that is always going to be
[18:56]our state of being. But if you feel like you are one of those women who are kind of cloaked
[19:04]in disappointment, you feel let down by life, you kind of feel like you're out of gas.
[19:11]I would say this, excavate, create, cast, create that tender voice and just begin to coax
[19:20]yourself to little practices, little things, little victories, little wins. And what you're trying to
[19:26]do is you're trying to stir the hope pot. You're trying to get the energy of a little bit of hope
[19:31]going in your life. Because once you get that little bit of fire started, all of a sudden it's like,
[19:38]well, maybe I could do this. Maybe I could make a new recipe. Maybe I could go for a walk after dinner.
[19:44]Maybe I could have four glasses of water. Gosh, I feel so much better when I'm hydrated. Maybe I can
[19:49]take a hot bath. Maybe I can read a new book. All of a sudden, those dreams, they start, they can
[19:56]start really small. You know, the recipe for failure is to,
[20:00]is to just go so over the top that you feel like it's impossible
[20:03]creating more stress on yourself.
[20:05]Just little bit of hope stirring you want to do
[20:09]and one thing leads to another and pretty soon you're like,
[20:12]wow, what else can I do?
[20:14]I feel like you revealed in your book
[20:16]that you had sort of been in denial of dealing
[20:19]with a lot of your own stuff for very, very long time.
[20:22]Yes, you have this book that you have to write.
[20:24]How do you think you were finally able to access
[20:27]all the stuff that you had smushed down over the years?
[20:31]Like, what let you at that point of life
[20:33]let it all come out and one thing after, you know,
[20:36]like dealing with your death of your brother
[20:38]and like all these horrible things that you just maybe
[20:41]didn't have the bandwidth to focus on at the time
[20:44]or like grieve then.
[20:45]Right.
[20:46]What let you do at that?
[20:47]Oh, there were so many things that I had been unconscious about
[20:50]or I had shelved or put in drawers for another day.
[20:53]I'll deal with that another day.
[20:55]You know, I had massive weight issues.
[20:57]I, the death of my brother, the sudden death of my brother,
[21:01]I completely compartmentalized and went in survival mode.
[21:05]My mom was dying of cancer for five years during that as well.
[21:09]And I had a big, big job.
[21:11]So it was easy for me to use that job
[21:15]that's all massive, beautiful, sparkly job
[21:21]to go unconscious about everything else
[21:23]because at least I had that.
[21:25]Right. At least I have that.
[21:26]So the beginning of being willing to tenderly look
[21:31]at the rest of my life and say, OK, let's go.
[21:35]Was really a sense of a little bit of a sense of fear.
[21:41]As Nancy and I were kind of crafting
[21:43]what our company, what our work together was going to be.
[21:46]We both said it's never too late to live the life of your dreams.
[21:51]We believe that.
[21:52]And then kind of in perens and if not now went.
[21:57]If not, now went.
[21:59]And then for me, I would ruminate on that.
[22:01]And I would keep saying that over my head.
[22:03]And I'd say it's never too late to live the life of your dreams.
[22:06]And if not now, when.
[22:08]And then I would whisper to myself.
[22:10]And if not now, maybe never.
[22:13]Because this is what we have.
[22:16]We have this now.
[22:17]Yeah.
[22:17]And you kind of have to decide if you're feeling disappointment
[22:21]and a little broken and tired and kind of that feeling of being out of gas.
[22:28]And there is no more new for you.
[22:32]Let's say that you're lucky enough and you're 85 and 88 and 90.
[22:37]And oh my gosh, you just never want to say to yourself,
[22:40]why didn't I do that?
[22:42]Once I really had that decision and I was willing to like become more
[22:47]conscious, why didn't I?
[22:49]Yeah.
[22:50]So that's kind of, that's kind of like the emotional background
[22:56]and how you can make that possible.
[22:58]I recently read, I think it was Katie Arnold's memoir running home,
[23:01]but it was another book where they were dealing with their kids.
[23:04]And it was some horrible situation.
[23:06]And she says someday we're going to laugh about this.
[23:09]And the husband says, it might as well be today.
[23:11]Yeah.
[23:12]Like, and so she thinks about that all the time.
[23:15]Like, why wait to let, like let's just make it.
[23:17]That's right.
[23:17]So it was just a different approach to.
[23:19]Yeah, every day moments, you know, there's, there's also something
[23:23]about when you're getting ready to like kind of take a good, hard look.
[23:26]What are the griefs you haven't processed?
[23:28]So for me, it was my brother's death.
[23:30]I was went into survival mode.
[23:34]He had four kids, a beautiful wife, my parents were devastated.
[23:38]And I had to go back to work because it was season 24 of the Oprah show.
[23:43]And I saved that chapter for last.
[23:47]Interesting.
[23:47]Because it wasn't writing a chapter about how I had processed something.
[23:53]It was, I was going to have to write the chapter about him to process that grief.
[23:59]And I just kept putting it off.
[24:00]Like, I'd be like, let's write that chapter about John today.
[24:03]And I'm like, nope, not today, not happening today, not happening today.
[24:06]And finally, like I'm out of time, I have to sit down and I have to do it.
[24:10]And it was deep and dense and painful and cataclysmic as I knew it would be.
[24:16]But that's the ride to the other side.
[24:19]That's the ride to the other side.
[24:21]I love that.
[24:22]It's so nice.
[24:23]Yeah.
[24:25]Do you find time to read?
[24:26]I do.
[24:27]When do you read?
[24:28]Oh my gosh.
[24:28]I do.
[24:29]Well, I usually read a little bit, I read a little nonfiction before I go to bed.
[24:33]I don't want to get immersed in a huge story of fiction.
[24:38]Except I did make an exception for City of Girls Liz Gilbert's new books.
[24:42]She's a dear friend.
[24:43]Oh, it's such a good summer romp.
[24:46]It's fantastic.
[24:48]And I'm reading everybody who shares a book birthday with me.
[24:51]I've been reading.
[24:52]I've been reading and that's, it's been fun.
[24:56]There's, but there's a little.
[24:57]It's a Nicola Harrison and Lisa Barr also have books that come out today.
[25:00]Oh, really?
[25:01]Unbreakable and Montauk.
[25:02]Okay, I'm going to read those.
[25:03]So for book birthday, I'm going to read everybody on my, on my same book
[25:07]birthday.
[25:08]So yeah, I'm really, really enjoying that.
[25:10]And I go back and reread.
[25:12]You do.
[25:13]I do, I do.
[25:14]I go back and reread my favorites over time.
[25:17]And I'm a big fan of the Gore Vidal series, the, the Lincoln series, the Civil War
[25:22]stuff.
[25:23]I'd love to read that.
[25:25]Impressive.
[25:26]That's, that's tough to read before, but yeah, no, I just, little bits, little bits.
[25:31]So what's coming next for you?
[25:32]Any other books?
[25:34]The show that you're going to write the children's book, I mentioned.
[25:36]Yeah.
[25:37]Oh, let's talk about that.
[25:38]What else?
[25:39]We'll talk about the answer.
[25:40]You can guide me on.
[25:40]I think that's a great idea.
[25:42]Um, I, you know, I'm going to enjoy this.
[25:45]Nancy and I have big plans for the pillar life.
[25:48]Uh, we, we, we're putting together a proposal for a whole series of pillar
[25:52]life books and kind of, um, inviting in all these great experts that we've
[25:58]discovered for ourselves.
[25:59]And, um, maybe I will.
[26:01]I just moved to a small town.
[26:03]Big city girl.
[26:04]I just moved to a small valley town.
[26:06]And I'm planting my own crops.
[26:08]Oh, and I might write about that.
[26:10]Who knows?
[26:11]I might do some writing about that.
[26:13]Our podcast is super fun.
[26:14]We love doing it.
[26:15]The Sherry and Nancy show and, you know, people call.
[26:20]And then I'm, I'm happy to consider opportunities and things.
[26:24]I feel like I finally understand that you can do what you love with people
[26:28]you love for people you love.
[26:31]And it can be super easy.
[26:33]It's very inspiring.
[26:34]And do you have any advice to aspiring authors who are sitting down now to try to
[26:39]do what you did?
[26:41]Well, here, well, I, I will say to inspiring authors.
[26:44]This was very hard for me.
[26:45]Like the, the first year, um, I was a year late, I'm delivery, um, that what
[26:51]it was changed about three times.
[26:53]And without the unwavering, compassionate heart of Karen Ronaldo, my
[27:00]publisher, I probably would have just shelved the whole thing.
[27:04]Because, you know, I have my producer, perfectionist.
[27:08]It's not, you know, thing.
[27:10]And I, I just kept getting, um, a little jangled by how deep I had to go.
[27:16]Like, God, I'm going to feel like I don't have any skin on when I go watch it
[27:19]around the world.
[27:20]That's what made it so good.
[27:21]I'm so glad.
[27:22]Yeah, that's those are the best parts.
[27:24]I, I, I skinned myself a little bit.
[27:26]So yeah, so we'll see.
[27:28]Awesome.
[27:29]Yeah.
[27:30]Well, thank you so much for coming on, mom.
[27:31]So I have time to read books and for sharing your story with everybody.
[27:34]Hi, moms.
[27:35]Hi, everybody.
[27:36]I'm so, um, I'm really, I'm so
[27:38]honored you asked me and it was so great to be with everybody.
[27:41]Oh, you too.
[27:42]Thanks for coming.
[27:42]Great.
[27:44]Thanks again to my sponsor, mermaid pillow co mermaid pillow co dot com slash
[27:51]zibi and her code Zibi for 10% off.
[27:54]Thanks so much.
[27:55]Check out those really awesome giftable pillows and blankets.
[27:58]Thanks for listening to moms.
[27:59]Don't have time to read books.
[28:00]You can follow me on Instagram at moms.
[28:03]Don't have time to read books and at Zibi Owens and my new podcast at
[28:07]kids do have time to read.
[28:09]Thanks so much to Steve and Ryan at texture sound for the sound editing.
[28:13]And thank you to morning moon productions for providing this fantastic intro
[28:16]and now trim music.
[28:17]Thanks for listening.
[28:18]You can always email me at zibi at zibi Owens dot com.