Listen Now

If you’ve listened to our show, at all, ever, you know that grief has been a big part of Nora’s life since 2014 when she lost her husband Aaron. Since then, she’s built this show, her writing, and much of her life around helping others navigate their own grief. Despite all this, Nora never felt like she was doing enough, until the events of 2021 forced her to slow down and re-examine her grief once again. Nora recently appeared on the podcast "A Slight Change of Plans" with Dr. Maya Shankar, where she shared for the first time the story of why 2021 was, in Nora’s words, her worst year since 2014. It’s a raw and honest conversation about long-term grief, and we knew we had to share it here. You can find "A Slight Change of Plans" on their website or wherever you get your podcasts. We're coming to your living room on December 6th with a *new* and terrible holiday show! RSVP for Happyish Holidays here. Read the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Death by suicide has long been a problem within the U.S. military, and not just among veterans: In 2020, suicide rates among active duty service members hit a six-year high. On August 28th, 2015, Heather’s husband Tyler became one of those statistics. Theirs is a story of friendship, of love, of family, of service and duty … and of trauma, domestic abuse and mental illness. If you’re experiencing thoughts of suicide, you can call or text 988. If you’re a victim of domestic violence and want out, you can call the National Domestic Violence hotline. You’re not alone. References:  Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide Common Factors in Military Domestic Homicides: Implications for Prevention and Intervention  Military Versus Civilian Murder-Suicide Military Suicide Rates Are at an All-Time High Support our new independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter  and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis. Read the transcript for this episode here. HAPPYISH HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE! Join us for a live show in-person or via livestream on December 6th. Tickets here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Allio was a fan favorite on Katie Thurston’s season of “The Bachelorette,” applauded for the vulnerability he showed as he talked about losing his wife, Laura, to cancer and raising his son James without his mom.  Losing a partner to cancer? Raising a young son on your own? Sounds familiar! Michael came across Nora’s TED Talk shortly after Laura died, and when he reached out to the podcast, we knew we had to get these two on a call together. That call became a TTFA Premium episode.  Now, if you’re a Bachelor Nation fan, you know that Michael is on the current season of “Bachelor in Paradise,” where he’s been speaking to his grief and loss and the difficulty of dating again in general … but especially on national television. We’re re-airing this episode in our main feed here today for all of you Bachelor Nation fans who want some more insight into Michael’s ~*journey*~ (yes, that’s a Bachelor joke).  If you like it, and want more bonus content like this, sign up for TTFA Premium at www.ttfa.org/premium. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early morning hours of June 24th, 2021, an apartment complex in Surfside, Florida collapsed out of nowhere, killing 98 people – including Patty’s mom, Maggie.  It’s difficult enough to lose a loved one to an unthinkable tragedy. It’s exceptionally awful when you’re forced to watch them die over and over again on national television. — Support our new independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter  and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis. Read the transcript for this episode here. References: One year after Surfside condo collapse in Florida, a legal settlement is approved Experienced Team From Israel Helps Search Through Florida Condo Debris Dozens Of People Are Missing After A 12-Story Florida Condo Partly Collapsed — This week's sponsors: KiwiCo: kiwico.com/TERRIBLE Green Chef: greenchef.com/TTFA135, use code TTFA135 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The vibes aren't good. They're not even decent. They're bad. Nora's new book, BAD VIBES ONLY, is available today wherever you buy books! — TTFA is on tour now! Come see Nora perform LIVE! Tuesday, October 11 - Los Angeles, CA Saturday, October 15 - Philadelphia, PA Sunday, October 16 - Brooklyn, NY Monday, October 17 - Washington, DC Tuesday, October 18 - Boston, MA Wednesday, October 19 - Toronto, ON Friday, October 21 - Chicago, IL Saturday, October 22 -  St. Paul, MN  Support our new independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter  and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis. Read the transcript for this episode here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four years ago, Nora sat down with her friend Gigi to tell the story of … Gigi’s face. It was a story about confidence and beauty (and beauty standards) and chronic illness, and it has touched so many people since we first aired it. Today, you’ll hear that first conversation with Gigi, plus an important update on what’s going on with Gigi’s health … and with her face. Gigi runs a shop called Gigi’s Flair Emporium. Check it out! She also has a GoFundMe here. TTFA is coming to your city October 7th - 22nd with an all-new live show, and tickets are on sale now! Friday, October 7 - San Francisco, CA Sunday, October 9 - Seattle, WA Monday, October 10 - Portland, OR Tuesday, October 11 - Los Angeles, CA Saturday, October 15 - Philadelphia, PA Sunday, October 16 - Brooklyn, NY Monday, October 17 - Washington, DC Tuesday, October 18 - Boston, MA Wednesday, October 19 - Toronto, ON Friday, October 21 - Chicago, IL Saturday, October 22 -  St. Paul, MN  Support our new independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here. Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter  and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis. Read the transcript for this episode here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Leah Nixon woke up in the hospital after a construction accident and learned she was paralyzed from the chest down, she wondered how she’d go about starting a family someday. In this episode, she gives us a glimpse into her daily life as a “para-mom” to her 9-month-old daughter, Ellie.  Leah’s company is called Tiny & Snail and they make adorable cards and stationery. Read the episode transcript here. TTFA is coming to your city October 7th - 22nd with an all-new live show experience, and tickets are on sale now! Friday, October 7 - San Francisco, CA Sunday, October 9 - Seattle, WA Monday, October 10 - Portland, OR Tuesday, October 11 - Los Angeles, CA Saturday, October 15 - Philadelphia, PA Sunday, October 16 - Brooklyn, NY Monday, October 17 - Washington, DC Tuesday, October 18 - Boston, MA Wednesday, October 19 - Toronto, ON Friday, October 21 - Chicago, IL Saturday, October 22 -  St. Paul, MN  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Allison Raskin was just 4 years old the first time she told her parents she wanted to die. Within weeks, the preschooler was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder and depression. In this episode, we talk with Allison and her mother Ruth about raising a child with severe mental illness and what Allison’s world looks like today as an adult living with OCD.  You can buy Allison’s book “Overthinking About You” at your favorite book place. TTFA is coming to your city October 7th - 22nd with an all-new live show experience, and tickets are on sale now! Get yours here. Support our new independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here.  Read the episode transcript here. Our social media: TTFA on Instagram TTFA on Facebook Nora on Instagram Nora on Facebook Nora on TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Genna is fat. They are also queer and nonbinary. All of these things can make a person feel marginalized in a straight, cisgender, thin-obsessed society … but for Genna, it’s being fat that’s hardest. TTFA is coming to your city October 7th - 22nd with an all-new live show experience, and tickets are on sale now! Get yours here. For more information about The Hartford, click here. Support our new independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here. (Don’t worry, we send like maybe 1 email a month). Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora here. To read the episode transcript, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The thing about having your life fall apart is that there’s just so much to do, and there’s so much that you don’t know until it’s too late. In today’s episode: What helps when everything goes wrong. For more information about The Hartford, visit thehartford.com/employeebenefits. TTFA is coming to your city October 7th - 22nd with an all-new live show experience. Get your ticket here. Support our new independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here. Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis. Read the transcript for this episode here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're officially in our Taylor Swift era, and we can't wait for what's to come. TTFA is coming to your city October 7th - 22nd with an all-new live show experience. Get your ticket here. Support our new independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here. Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis. Read the transcript for this episode here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chelsea’s mom and unborn brother died in a car accident on Chelsea’s first birthday, leaving little Chelsea and her grief-stricken father behind to piece back together their shattered life. As a child, Chelsea longs for a mom – a living mom – and she’s thrilled when her dad remarries a wonderful woman named Shawna. But even when she’s surrounded by love, Chelsea still finds herself trying to fill a gaping hole in her heart. TTFA is coming to your city October 7th - 22nd with an all-new live show experience. Get your ticket here. Support our new independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here. Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis. You can read the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When romantic relationships end, there’s usually a clean cut – a moment, a conversation, an argument that ends things for good. When friendships dissolve, the break is usually way less clear, if it’s clear at all. Support our new independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here. Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis. Read the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back with another Terrible Reading Club episode, sponsored by BetterHelp Online Therapy. Think of it as our book club for truly terrible times. Haven’t read the book we’re discussing? Good news: In this reading club, that’s not a requirement. Today, we’re chatting with Drew Magary, formerly of Deadspin and now of Defector, about his new memoir, “The Night The Lights Went Out: A Memoir of Life After Brain Damage.” There’s quite a bit of adult language in this episode, so you *might* not want to listen while driving around in the car with your kiddos (unless your kiddos are cool with curse words). Support our independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here. Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four years ago, we published a Father’s Day episode called “About Bob,” about a woman named Laura and her dad named – you guessed it – Bob. It ended with father and daughter trying to navigate their complex (but hopeful!) relationship. In this episode, Nora sits back down with Laura to find out if things with her dad are still as complicated as they were back in 2018. Support our new independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here. Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis. Read the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why do we hold on to things we no longer need? For many of us, it’s because they remind us of who we were and who we thought we might become. Support our new independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here. Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis. Read the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year, we did a virtual live show on Valentine’s Day, and Nora — who considers herself a bit of a matchmaker — did some matchmaking. And while she was doing that, the live show comments section was popping off with other Terribles looking for love. This gave Nora the harebrained idea to make … a matchmaking episode. Consider this the podcast version of that “Great Expectations” video dating service from the ‘90s.  We're no longer taking submissions for these daters, but we hope you enjoy the episode anyway! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Girlboss culture is now, as they say, cringe, but during the 2010s, SO MANY of us thought we were on the precipice of busting through that glass ceiling. We thought we could rise and grind, hustle our way to the life of our dreams, and as long as we loved what we did we wouldn’t work a day in our lives. Leigh Stein is also a recovering girlboss, who went into debt building an organization that supported women but left her burned all the way out. Support our new independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here. Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis. Read the transcript for this episode here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back with another Terrible Reading Club episode, sponsored by BetterHelp Online Therapy. Think of it as our book club for truly terrible times. Haven’t read the book we’re discussing? Good news: In this reading club, that’s not a requirement. Today, we’re chatting with Kathleen Glasgow about her YA novel “You’d Be Home Now,” which tackles substance abuse and the opioid crisis. Note that we also talk about self-harm in this episode. Support our new independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here. Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis. You can read the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In March, a New York Times article made the rounds titled, “How Long Should It Take to Grieve? Psychiatry Has Come Up With an Answer.” And if that sentence alone makes you roll your eyes and want to punch an inanimate object, you’ve come to the right place. Nora read the article (twice) and had … some thoughts. So did her friend — and former TTFA guest — Brittany Freeman Jean-Louis. Support our new independent production (and get bonus content galore!) by joining TTFA Premium. We now offer tiers as low as $4.99 / month. Sign up. Our email subscribers get first dibs on ticket sales, new merch, show announcements and more. Join our mailing list here. Did you know we’re on TikTok? Yep, it’s true. Follow Nora. You can catch up with TTFA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using @ttfapodcast. Nora's Instagram is @noraborealis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices