Katie Russell Newland, A SEASON WITH MOM: Love, Loss, and the Ultimate Baseball Adventure

[1:19]Zibby Owens: This is Zippy Owens, and you're listening to the award winning podcast, Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books. I'm also the host of Moms Don't Have Time to Lose Weight, and I'm the editor of the anthology, which you should run out and buy, called Moms Don't Have Time to A Quarantine Anthology. All proceeds of that book go to COVID nineteen vaccine research. And I'm the editor in chief of Moms Don't Have Time to Write, a new publication on Medium, and we're accepting submissions, so please send your personal essays there. And if all that isn't enough, you can follow me on Instagram at Zibby Owens, and my website is zibbyowens.com. Okay. Now back to this amazing podcast. Katie Russell Newland is the author of A Season with Love, Loss, and the Ultimate Baseball Adventure. She is a writer and sports enthusiast with a PhD in language and literacy from the University of Texas at Austin. A survivor of both Hodgkin's lymphoma and melanoma, she is now in remission and lives with her family in Austin, Texas. Katie's story has been featured by ESPN, People, Good Morning America, The Today Show, Conde Nast Traveler, The Huffington Post. All right. Welcome, Katie. Thanks so much for coming on Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books to discuss A Season with Mom, Love, Loss, and The Ultimate Baseball Adventure with Forward by Peyton Manning, which is quite impressive.

[2:35]Katie Russell Newland: Aw, thanks, Zibby. Thank you for having me today. Of course. I love the epistolary

[2:40]Zibby Owens: form of this memoir. It's like a memoir in letters versus a memoir in essays. And it's so great. Like, there aren't that many books like that these days. Tell me about how you decided to do it like this. Like, did you write these letters as you went on this trip? Or did you like sort of in retrospect, take your experiences and make them into letters? Tell tell listeners the whole premise of the book and how you how you pulled it off. Sure.

[3:04]Katie Russell Newland: So like you said, A Season with Mom is a memoir in photographs and letters about a journey I took to see all 30 Major League Baseball parks in one season. And there's one letter for each ballpark. So there's 30 letters to my mom. And I chose to write it that way because I felt like letters are an intimate language, and I wanted readers to feel like they were sort of eavesdropping on our relationship. And I did not set out to write a book when I did the journey, and it was only a few years later that I made the decision to do it. So I certainly didn't write them as I went along. I was journaling along the way and posting on Instagram some and sort of the my entry into social media when I did the the journey. And one thing that a lot of readers have asked me is, did I write them in order? And I didn't. I didn't write each letter as they are in the book currently. I sort of went where the, you know, emotion was or the energy was, and I wrote them in a different order and different times.

[4:03]Zibby Owens: That's interesting. Yeah, I would have thought it would have been chronological too. Wait, tell me so first of all, how did your mom pass away? And you mentioned you were 32, I think, at the time. And tell me what happened there. And then I want to hear about your own illness, which you wrote about. So which I hope you don't mind going into. I always like hearing all the dramatic

[4:23]Katie Russell Newland: bits. No, of course, it was certainly genesis of of the book and the journey, so it's an important an important piece. My mom and I actually had a dream to go see all 30 Major League ballparks when I was a kid. And my mom was exuberant personality. She was a go getter. She was spontaneous. She was everything that I wasn't. And Cubs and and baseball were the one thing that bonded us. And so I grew up in New Orleans, and we followed the Cubs because WGN televised all their games. So that was sort of our special bond that we had. And being one of six kids, it was my way into getting some attention from her. And so one summer, we decided to go see the Cubs play when I was 13, and we were eating at Harry Carey's restaurant. And she turned out of the blue, And at the top of her lungs shouted, let's go see all the ballparks. And the whole restaurant turned. I was mortified, as many 13 year olds are, by their mom, and I sort of hid behind the menu. But secretly, I was kind of excited and wondered, you know, are we gonna be able to do this? And we started on our journey. We had seen about 10 ballparks. And unfortunately, when I was about 29, she was diagnosed with colon cancer, and she passed away from that a few years later. And three years after she passed away, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and melanoma. And I think it wasn't until those two life altering experiences that I realized why hadn't I done that dream we wanted to do? You know, life is short and facing my own mortality. I was determined to start living my life and following those dreams I had. And so I thought, you know what? I'm gonna go and do it. And so I I went to on the journey sort of in search of my mom and to understand my mom and process her death. And in the end, I sort of found myself and learned a lot about who I am and what I want out of life. And that's what the book is a lot about. Wow.

[6:21]Zibby Owens: And you mentioned that when your cancer was in remission, you got a nerve disordered?

[6:27]Katie Russell Newland: Yes. Tell me about tell me what that was Yeah. It's called Lermit's sign. And my oncologist, I remember telling me, it's like, woah, this only happens in, like, one or two percent. And don't quote me on the percentage, but it was a very low percentage of people who got it. She's like, Oh, you're the lucky one. And it's when radiation gets to your spinal cord. And so about three months after treatment, I was back in Austin from having lived in Houston and going to MD Anderson every week. I thought, yes, I'm going to go live my life. I'm so excited. I was in the middle of a PhD program. I needed to write my dissertation. Three months outside of my treatment, which is typically the onset of Lermites, I would get this shock down my body every time I would hang my head. So even my oncologist was like, Yeah, not a good idea to run. Some people have sort of fallen when they try. Exercising. I wasn't moving. And in some small way, it was a a gift as I try to find the gifts in every moment, even the the challenging ones because I sat in my seat for, you know, three or four months and wrote my dissertation. So But it fun, especially when, you know, you felt like, or I felt like it was time for me to go live my life. Wow.

[7:39]Zibby Owens: That's a lot to go through at a relatively young age. I mean, you're not so how why did you end up writing this? Like, why is this coming out now? What do you think it like, why are you ready now? Or was it just how did it happen today?

[7:55]Katie Russell Newland: Yeah. I think it happened organically. As I said, I had no intention of writing a book. And actually, I've always wanted to be a children's book author. And I was attending conferences with agents and editors to pitch my picture books. I would I would tell them the story and they'd say, yeah, yeah, that's cute. That's that's a lovely story. But the story you really need to tell is the baseball story. And so I kept getting signs from the universe. And, you know, three years after my journey, people would still reach out and write to me. And it seemed like it had hit a a note with people. And I thought, you know what? I think I need to follow the signs. And if I'd learned anything from the baseball journey, it was to get quiet, to get still, to listen to what's, you know, coming in from the universe. And so I taught myself how to write a proposal and went off and wrote it and found an amazing agent. And I feel like it was really lucky. And also, I feel like I have gotten better at learning, you know, what's my next move from the baseball journey.

[9:00]Zibby Owens: Wow. So you and you saw an actual game at all these places, right? Because you have the who's playing who and the whole thing. Yes. I mean, look at how cute. Like, what this

[9:12]Katie Russell Newland: That's actually my niece too, and she looks so similar to me. There were people who like, Is this you as a child or what? Like, Oh my gosh. Sorry. People have said, Oh, I love that picture of you as a kid. And I'm like, That's not me. Oh my gosh. So all of your

[9:27]Zibby Owens: chapters are centered around certain lessons that you learned from those places. So like from everything from being calm to being grateful, all of that. Tell me about like, were those obvious to you when you started writing the chapters? And which of those things do you feel like you actually still do and, like, incorporate in your life?

[9:46]Katie Russell Newland: Yeah, it's such a good question. I had no idea that that would be the framework that would come out. What I did was, because I had just spent seven years in a research program, I my qualitative researcher self came out, and I sort of went back to all of the images I had taken. So I had thousands and thousands of images, and I stepped back and I looked across the data, and I started to see what themes emerged at each ballpark. And for me, I think that was important because I was so close to the story. I needed to detach from it a little bit in order to see what was really there and and what would resonate with readers. And so that's what I did. And then the themes emerged from that sort of qualitative research look across the images. I actually selected the images first before I did any of the writing, which I thought was kind of interesting. And when I went to write the the letters, I didn't actually know what story I would use. So when I approached the writing, I I used a lot of spreadsheets and had a big outline and plan. But when I actually went to write the letter, I let all of that go, and I was open to whatever the writing would uncover as I was in the act of writing. And so, yes, there were certain stories I knew were important in this journey. I didn't actually know where they would go in the book or when they would sort of, you know, see themselves. So in that act, I just realized and what I learned by going through the whole thing was that and my mom was trying to teach me my whole life was just be Katie. Just be let go and be and be present, be in the moment. And so I think that's what the whole message of the book is. And so I thought, oh, well, that's what it is. It's these little be themes. You know? It's, you know, be in the moment and be present and be compassionate. You know, my parents were always teaching me about compassion and giving to others. And and so I think that's how it emerged. I certainly didn't set out for that to be the case, but that's what it became. Wow. And what did you get your Ph. D. In? Language and literacy in the education department. So I work with teachers who want or students who want to become teachers. So, like, how to teach reading and writing to elementary kids. And did you end up doing that at all? I did. So after I returned from the journey, I I went back to UT and was a clinical assistant professor there and and did that work and loved it every second of it. But as anyone who's a teacher knows, it's a full time job beyond nine to five. And if I were ever gonna write the book, I knew I had to step away in order to do that that work. I'm I'm not great at boundaries and and helping others. And so I thought, let me give it a shot and take some time off and do it, and and it ended up working out. So how long did it take to write the book? I actually wrote a large percentage of it during the pandemic. And so in some ways, it was a gift to have that time and space to be in my chair. And in other ways, was challenging because I don't know about you, but it stifled my creativity a bit not being in community with others and talking about ideas. And that's where I generate thoughts and ideas in writing is talking and in connection with others. So it was an interesting space, as I'm sure most authors have talked about, to write in the pandemic. Today's episode is sponsored by Quince.

[15:55]Zibby Owens: so funny. Like, in some ways, I don't feel like much time has gone by since then. But then everyone recently I've been interviewing is like, I wrote this during the pandemic. So I'm like, Oh, okay. Like clearly, like a lot of time has passed because now I'm reading what everybody was thinking or doing then. It's kind of interesting, right?

[16:15]Katie Russell Newland: It is interesting. And you did a lot of writing during the pandemic, right? I did. Yeah, I did a of reading

[16:22]Zibby Owens: and writing and interviewing and, you know, crying, crying and all the rest. But yeah. Well, it's so cool. I had a friend from college actually who this was their I should put you in touch with him. He did the same thing. He toured all the stadiums. Oh, wow. Yeah. So he's wonderful, one of my oldest friends. So I will Did he do it in one season or did he over time? Something happened and he had to postpone or something. I mean, I don't know. It was going to be right after college. I feel like he waited. Have I mean, anyway. Aw, I love that. It was definitely a goal. So I was like, Oh, great. She did it. So do you like to read a lot? Then if you like, what do you like to read? And did any of the books you read during this time sort of like inform how you approach this book or anything like that?

[17:13]Katie Russell Newland: Oh, yeah. Definitely. I think we all lean on authors for mentor texts in how we write and our ideas. Certainly, I there was a little bit of a Brene Brown quality in in the way I approached it, the sort of qualitative researcher part of her. I'm a huge fan, obviously, as many people are of her and her work and and the way she talks about relationships and compassion and how to cultivate those things in your life. And so I think there was that piece of, you know, her her work being based in qualitative research that sort of guided me in a lot of ways. I think that, you know, oftentimes, any whatever I'm reading at the time shows up in my writing. It's fascinating. It doesn't matter what it is or why I grabbed it. I don't know. But I will start reading and it somehow shows up in my writing, whether it was during this book or in journal entries or in social media posts, or I feel like words and authors come to you at the exact time they're supposed to.

[18:13]Zibby Owens: I love that. I always hope that's the case. Like, I'm just gonna keep putting it out there and see what happens. Yes. So are you going to do more books? Like, what's your plan now? Do you wanna go back to teaching?

[18:27]Katie Russell Newland: Yeah. So I certainly want to get back into classrooms. I my life's work has been around kids centered around children's literature, and I'm actually working on a picture book, which is very exciting, which is a sort of fictionalized retelling of a season with mom about a little girl and her mom who go to the ballparks. And she's named Wrigley, and have to find out whether she strikes out or she has the follow through to, you know, see it come true. So I'm working on that, which would be a dream of mine to get back into schools with kids and reading and doing that work. And so that's going on. And then I optioned the movie rights, actually, to the book right when the book came out, and I feel very fortunate to be able to do that. That's exciting. And not only to option it, but that it's with Kaylee Cuoco. And she's just such a amazing actress. She's so talented. But more than that, she I I didn't know her, obviously, prior to her reaching out. And she's just such a kind human being, and her whole team is just they care about the world and people. And to have your you know, it's one thing to write a you know, work a fiction that gets optioned, but when it's your life, it is super scary and anxiety producing. But to have Kaylee and her team and her production company, Yes Norman, take it under their wing is just been such a bright light and I'm very grateful.

[19:49]Zibby Owens: Wow. So when you said you optioned it, I thought you meant you optioned it yourself. Oh, no, no, no, no. Okay. No. She Kaylee optioned the rights. Got it. I was like, oh, that's interesting. I was like, do you have to option your own rights? I was like, man, this is a whole new thing. Alright. I was like going down, like, a whole intellectual

[20:07]Katie Russell Newland: spiral there. No. No. I mean, I know nothing about the industry. I'm a first time author. All of this is new to me, so I wouldn't even know how to go about doing that. But no. Yes. Norman Productions, which is backed by Warner Brothers is and Kaylee. Yeah. That's great. Awesome. Right. So yeah. It's exciting.

[20:26]Zibby Owens: Yeah. That is so cool. Amazing. And so do you have plans? Are you still going out? Maybe

[20:33]Katie Russell Newland: this is a stupid question. I don't follow sports at all anymore. I was going to say, are you going to baseball games? There are baseball games on, right? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay. They're back. And, like, they didn't They're back. Yeah. Okay. Good. Great. Yeah. And they're back to full capacity. My husband and I just got back from the San Diego area, and we went to the Padres game. And, you know, I talk in the book about the Padres, and, you know, they have a long history of of not really doing well. And they've, in the last two years, really, you know, built a great team and an exciting team. And so we got to go see that game. And so the contrast between watching a Padres game with my husband this year compared to when I watched during my baseball journey. It was just such a stark contrast. And I think it's it was it's kind of a reminder to to readers too, right, that, like, life, you know, in some points are challenging and and and difficult. And but beyond the hardship is, you know, light and an opportunity to go after your dreams. And so I I think, you know, with the Padres, they they were so down, and they were not very good. And now all of a sudden, they're just, you know, fantastic. And it's it was fun to go see an actual live game given that we haven't been in public really much in the last year and a half.

[21:46]Zibby Owens: I used to go to baseball games a lot as a kid. My brother was a huge Mets fan. So we were like and I'm gonna date myself here, but, like, we were huge fans of the 1986 Mets. And we would like watch the Let's Go, Mets Go videos all the time. I love it. I knew everybody on that team. And actually, was it a couple years ago, maybe within the last five years, was in an airport and I ran into Darryl Strawberry, who was on the Mets at that time. Yes. Anyway, I freaked out. And I was like, I have to go talk to him. And I don't usually talk to anybody I see who's, like, famous in any way. Like, that's just not what I I'm like I, like, went right up to him, and I was like, oh, my God. You're like, I loved you in 1986. Like, we got our picture taken. It was so embarrassing. Aw. Do you still have that photo? Oh, yes. Yeah. Oh, I love it. You'll have to send that to me. Okay. I'll send you the photo. I didn't like photo because like, I looked bad in the photo. Do you know what mean? I'm like, Oh, but my arm, you know. Sorry. We can find all kinds of reasons to not like our photos of ourselves, right? Ridiculous. Yeah. But that was a highlight. So, yeah, there's something about being in a baseball stadium and like just chilling out and like being outside and the smells and the sounds and, you know,

[23:01]Katie Russell Newland: how rare it is that something exciting happens and, like, you all have to, like, get up. I don't know, it's just like, you know, I get it. Like, you can go and not even watch. It's like a really great place to be. It is. It's sort of a meditative experience. It's certainly a meditative experience for me doing the journey. And I think that that what you're talking about with baseball with, like, the sights and the sounds and and the feeling of being connected to one another. So it doesn't matter who you're sitting next to. Right? You don't know when you go to the game who's gonna be surrounded by you, and it doesn't matter your religious preferences, your political beliefs, even your team affiliation. They could be rooting for the other team. But in that moment, you feel connected to the people around you. And I think that's such a powerful thing and and such a thing that we need right now, right, is is to feel connected to people that are different than us. And I think baseball and music does that. Right? And so I think I think that's the appeal for me at least for for being at a baseball game. And what do you think your mom would say

[24:05]Zibby Owens: now that she read the book?

[24:07]Katie Russell Newland: No. It's such a good question. She I I think she would be super excited. But more than anything, I think she would just be proud of me. I think that she would be proud of the patients that I that I had during some really challenging times. I think she'd be proud of my persistence in actually completing the dream. I think that, you know, dreams often fade over time. They lose their original inspiration, and life nudges us to go in a different way. And I think that, you know, oftentimes we think that dreams can't happen, but maybe they can, and maybe they can be reimagined. And so the dream my mom and I had certainly was not gonna happen in the way in which we dreamed it. But in the end, you know, I was able to reimagine it. And I went on a journey of a lifetime, and it was bigger and better than anything I could have ever dreamt up myself. And so I think that's kind of what the message and what she would be proud of. Uh-oh. That's great. Okay. Last question. What advice would you have for aspiring authors? Oh, gosh. Lots. Having just sort of entered this world. One thing that I think is really important and was important for me is know your process and stick to it and be confident in it. No right to writers, I think, write the same. And so if you're someone who, like, writes in the morning or you need it to be, you know, 50 degrees in your house when you write, I have a friend and author here who always has the scarf that she wears when she's writing. And, you know, we live in Austin, Texas. There is no need for a scarf ever in Austin, Texas, except for when we had the big freeze recently. That's about the only time in the last twelve years I've been here that you might need a scarf. And she wears her writing scarf, like, every time. You know, are you someone who writes with an an outline and then, you know, writes off of that? Are you someone who's a freighter? And I just think that no matter what it is that you that you need to make your writing happen, just stick to it and trust in it. And if you trust in the process, I think magic can happen.

[26:21]Zibby Owens: Awesome. Well, Kelly, thank you. Thanks for coming. Oh, Kelly, Katie, I'm so sorry. No worries. Like the other day, like earlier today, I just had a call with somebody and we were trying to schedule something. Was like, Well, my book's coming out in February. And they were like, We thought it was coming out in November. And I was like, Oh, God, you're right. I was like, I can't even open my mouth today. Every word I say has been coming out the wrong way. But it's just going to be one of those days. So I'm sorry. Obviously, I'm know your so sorry. Katie, thank you for coming on. And, you know, I think your mom would be really proud of you too. I think it's amazing. I think if my kids were to do something like this, it would just I mean, it would be mean absolutely everything to me. So I don't know. Thank

[27:03]Katie Russell Newland: you. And thank you for what you do for especially new authors, but all authors. I mean, I've listened to your podcast a lot, and it's so great. And I've listened to some of my favorite authors on your podcast. So the idea that I would actually be talking to you right now is just such a dream, and thank you. I'm super grateful. No. You're so welcome. Thanks for saying that. Thanks. Have a great day. Bye, Zibby. Bye, Kitty.

[27:40]Zibby Owens: and sign up for my virtual book club and meet lots of authors on Zoom every other week. Thanks so much to Steve and Ryan at Texture Sound for the sound editing, and thank you to Morning Moon Productions for providing this fantastic intro and outro music.