Hi, I'm Zivie Owens, and I am the host of this podcast. Moms don't have time to read books.

I am also a newly minted USA Today bestselling author of the novel, Blank.

I've created a whole community of book lovers around this podcast, a publishing company, reading retreats, a bookstore, and more.

Learn more at zivimedia.com or follow me on social at Zivie Owens or join the community at

Zivie Readers.

Jessica Fine is the author of Breastaking, a memoir of Family Dreams and Broken Genes, Jeans with a G.

She's also an essayist advocate speaker and host of the I Don't Know How You Do It podcast, which features people whose lives seem unimaginable and who triumph over seemingly impossible challenges.

I was actually a guest on her podcast.

Jessica is a working mother and a relentless warrior in the memory of her dynamic daughter,

whom she lost to the ultra-rare disease M-E-R-R-R-F, MIRF syndrome in 2022.

Her work encompasses hope and humor, grit, and grace, the tools that make up her personal survival kit.

She's the mother of three, who she and her husband adopted from Guatemala.

Welcome, Jessica. Thank you so much for coming on moms. I don't have time to read books. And also, for, by the way, already having me on your show as well. Breatthaking, a memoir of family dreams and broken jeans by Jessica Fine. Thanks for having me here. Literally your book, I was like, no, no, that's not going to happen. Oh, no, that couldn't possibly happen to. No, no, no, no. And then at one point, I literally said out loud, are you kidding me? All the things that have happened in your life, it's unreal, all the loss, all the stuff. I mean, it's, I don't even know. Anyway, my heart goes out to you is all I'm trying to say here.

Thank you. Thank you. And I have to say that, are you kidding me? I feel like I have like turned to the skies and, you know, just shouted into the air so many times in my life as well. Are you kidding me? Because, you know, it just, it does seem unimaginable, even to me as it's happening.

Oh, my gosh.

Well, if nothing else, what comes across, I mean, so much comes across, but the thing that

is most apparent is the resilience that you have and the generosity of spirit, your endless love for those who care about,

it just like pours off the page. Like there's nothing you wouldn't do for somebody you care

about, particularly your children as we saw in the book. But man, you're just, I mean,

it's really quite astounding your capacity for, you know,

getting back up again and all of it.

It's great.

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