Ep. 63: Helena Dea Bala (author of Craigslist Confessional) + Book Recommendations

Sarah's Bookshelves Live

Sarah Dickinson

Arts, Books

4.7 • 785 Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2020

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In Episode 63, Helen Dea Bala (author of Craigslist Confessional) shares why she started Craigslist Confessional, how she decided to quit her job to pursue Craigslist Confessional full-time, and shares her own story of immigrating to the U.S. from Albania.

This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).

Announcement [00:55]

Y'all know I had always planned to air the podcast bi-weekly through the summer. As the summer has progressed, I've realized how burned out I am (this probably isn't a surprise to y'all if you've been reading between the lines of my recent posts). The last couple months of quarantine with 2 young children, having to manage all their distance learning, and lacking any childcare completely drained me. I pushed through because there was an end point. It's now becoming apparent that school will not resume as normal in the Fall, which will require me to put structure in place to make sure our lives can run smoothly for the longer-term.

I need some time and space to be able to think clearly (rather than frantically turning my wheels to keep churning out content) and plan for how the podcast will look and how my family's life will run in the future. So, I've decided to take a FULL break from the podcast following today's episode…most likely until mid-August.

My plan at this point is to return with a new full length episode on August 19 and resume a normal schedule from that point on.
In the meantime, I'll still be sharing what I'm reading on the blog and sometimes on Instagram.
AND, my bonus podcast content for patrons (support the podcast on Patreon here) will NOT change during my break. I'll still be releasing 2 bonus episodes per month…one book recommendations episode and one Superlatives episode.

I consider this podcast a marathon, not a sprint. I'm committed to it and want to ensure I'm able to give it my all over the long term. Thank you all so much for your understanding and know that I appreciate every one of you so much! I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback in the comments.

Highlights

How a conversation with a homeless man in front of her D.C. office building gave Helena the idea for Craigslist Confessional.
The story of quitting her job as a lobbyist to pursue Craigslist Confessional full-time.
How her parents (who were extremely proud of her job as a lobbyist) felt about her quitting to do Craigslist Confessional full time…and how their feelings were shaped by their immigrant experience.
How / why she decided to just listen to her Craigslist subjects without offering advice and what that was like.
The logistics of getting these personal conversations into book form.
How she cared for her own mental health while being enmeshed in these oftentimes horrific stories.
What it was like to listen to stories told by the person who was doing the harm (rather than the victim).
The two subjects she's kept in communication with since their initial conversations.

Helena's Book Recommendations [36:43]

Two OLD Books She Loves

Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill | Buy from Amazon [37:02]
Stay Up With Me by Tom Barbash | Buy from Amazon [40:00]

Two NEW Books She Loves

Make It Scream, Make it Burn by Leslie Jamison | Buy from Amazon [42:42]
No One Tells You This by Glynnis MacNicol | Buy from Amazon [44:06]

One NEW RELEASE She's Excited About

Want by Lynn Steger Strong (Release Date: July 7, 2020) | Buy from Amazon [45:47]

Rate It Game [48:47]

Other Books Mentioned

Craigslist Confessional by Helena Dea Bala | Buy from Amazon [7:34]
Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed | Buy from Amazon [7:50]
This Is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill | Buy from Amazon [37:38]
The Girl on the Plane by Mary Gaitskill (Short Story) [37:51]
The Mare by Mary Gaitskill | Buy from Amazon [38:37]
Stray by Stephanie Danler (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [39:32]
The Dakota Winters by Tom Barbash | Buy from Amazon [40:10]
The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison | Buy from Amazon [42:52]
All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister | Buy from Amazon [45:07]
Why We Can't Sleep by Ada Calhoun (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [47:40]
Mindhunter by John E. Douglas | Buy from Amazon [50:29]
Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed | Buy from Amazon [12:45]

About Helena

Website | Instagram | Twitter

Helena Dea Bala immigrated to the United States as a child. To make ends meet during those difficult first years, she helped her mother clean houses on the weekends. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from George Washington University and worked to become a lawyer and lobbyist in Washington, DC. After her day job left her feeling disconnected and unfulfilled, she deferred her student loans, applied for a credit card, and gave herself one year—one year to just listen. Five years in, she now does Craigslist Confessional full time. Find out more at CraigslistConfessional.com.

Next Episode

The podcast will be on hiatus through mid-August.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Sarah's Bookshelves Live. I'm Sarah of the blog Sarah's Bookshelves. Each week I'm
0:15.5	talking with one bookish guest about two old books they love, two new books they love, one book they don't love, and one new
0:22.7	release they're excited about. We're going to get real and sometimes a bit snarky about all things
0:28.3	books. If you like the show, I'd really love your support. Spread the word to your reader friends,
0:33.8	subscribe to the show, rate and review it wherever you listen to podcasts, or get bonus podcast episodes
0:40.8	by supporting the podcast on Patreon. There's a link in the show notes and in my Instagram bio to my
0:47.5	Patreon page. Let's get rolling. Hey everybody, welcome to a full-length episode of Sarah's Bookshelves Live.
0:55.2	Before we get to today's guest, I have an announcement to make.
0:58.6	Y'all know that I plan to air the podcast biweekly through the end of the summer.
1:03.8	But as the summer has progressed, I've realized just how burned out I am.
1:09.5	I think maybe I might not be the only one coming out of quarantine,
1:13.4	especially if you had little kids. But I have been feeling this way. And I've also been thinking
1:19.0	it's going to go away and been thinking that the summer will help slow things down. But
1:25.2	it hasn't gone quite as I have expected. I have two young kids.
1:30.5	During quarantine, I was supporting their distance learning, which was incredibly labor intensive.
1:37.5	I also did not have any child care whatsoever. And I was completely drained. But I pushed through it because there was an end point.
1:46.2	And I knew an exact date when distance learning would go away and at least that piece of it would
1:51.1	improve. But now that summer has started, life is definitely a bit better, but it's still not
1:56.7	remotely back to a level where I can comfortably manage my family, the podcast while maintaining
2:03.7	a high level of quality, and actually have time to read and therefore provide you all with
2:09.9	content and find books and authors who I want to have on the podcast. And it's becoming quite
2:16.4	apparent that school is unlikely to
	...

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