What if you wrote something, something that was true and significant to you, and those words launched a media attack of shame and judgment that rendered you nearly silent - how would you feel? What would you do? 

Melissa Petro is a writer, a mom, and a wife. Her book, Shame on You, How to Be a Woman in the Age of Mortification, is a brilliant examination of how society, and people in general, mortify women that we don't understand.

It happens every day. Taylor, JLo, Britney, to name a few well-known ones. Artists living in the public eye until, for some reason, the media decided to take them down. Melissa and I connected on a quote: “I think we become whoever would have saved our younger self.”

Originally, Melissa and I were going to discuss how she and her mother became estranged, but we only touch on that briefly and don't dig into the reasons why. In reflection, that is okay. What you witness when listening to Melissa is someone becoming the person that she needed when she was young. This is Melissa’s story.

Resources Mentioned

Forest For the Trees by Betsy Lerner

Judith Herman

The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler

Mother Hunger by Kelly McDaniel

Connect With the Guest

Melissa’s Book, Shame On You