Fresh Take: Genevieve Kingston, DID I EVER TELL YOU?

What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms

What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood

Parenting, Kids & Family, Comedy

4.6 • 962 Ratings

🗓️ 23 July 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A note from Margaret: My family was visiting Kerrville, TX when the flood occurred. Having seen the devastation to the Hill Country first hand, it is impossible to put into words the scope of the disaster. These losses are close to home for my family and I know they have touched so many of you as well. Please join us in donating to the relief efforts by using the following trusted link. This week Amy talks with author and playwright Genevieve Kingston about her acclaimed memoir Did I Ever Tell You? Genevieve's mother died of cancer ten days before Genevieve's 12th birthday. Her mother prepared Genevieve for a life spent without her by creating a chest of letters and gifts to be opened on each of Genevieve's birthdays, until she turned 30, plus other life milestones like graduation and first love. DID I EVER TELL YOU? explores how these profound gifts shaped Genevieve's life and unlocked mysteries to explore as well as healing. Amy and Genevieve discuss how children process grief—and why it often doesn’t look “appropriate”— and why building a community of trusted adults around children facing loss is so crucial. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone parenting through illness, processing loss with children, or simply wondering how to leave a legacy of love. And the book is a must-read for, well, everyone. Here's where you can find Genevieve: www.genevievekingston.com @genevieve__kingston Buy DID I EVER TELL YOU: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9781668006290 We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ mom friends, funny moms, parenting advice, parenting experts, parenting tips, mothers, families, parenting skills, parenting strategies, parenting styles, busy moms, self-help for moms, manage kid’s behavior, teenager, tween, child development, family activities, family fun, parent child relationship, decluttering, kid-friendly, grief, grief and loss, grief support, kids and grief, parent loss, parental loss Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by Indeed.
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0:29.8	Hey everyone, welcome to Fresh Take from What Fresh Hell Laughing in the Face of Motherhood. This is Amy.
0:35.2	Today I'm talking to Genevieve Kingston, a friend of mine who's an
0:38.8	actor and an author and a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. Her essay, she put her unspent love
0:44.9	in a cardboard box, appeared in the New York Times Modern Love column in 2021 and quickly went viral.
0:51.9	Her 2024 memoir, Did I Ever Tell You, is just out in paperback.
0:56.6	Did I Ever Tell You was a New York Times book review editor's choice and is currently being translated
1:02.9	into 16 languages worldwide. It is an absolutely beautiful memoir. Genevieve, thanks for talking to me today.
1:10.4	Thank you so much for having me. I love, love the podcast. Thank you. Genevieve, thanks for talking to me today. Thank you so much for having me.
1:11.7	I love, love the podcast. Thank you. So this book, did I ever tell you, is a story of both of your
1:17.6	parents, particularly your mother and her love for you and her trying to prepare you as a child
1:24.5	for something that seemed impossible to prepare for. So tell us about the story that became this book.
1:30.6	Yes. And my mother thought sick when I was three years old. She had breast cancer and she passed away when I was nearly 12. But she spent some of those years, some of her time putting together a box of gifts and letters for every one of my birthday until I turned 30 and for things like
1:46.5	getting my driver's license and graduating high school and getting engaged and getting married
1:52.1	and having my first child. So she really sort of cored herself into these preparations and
1:58.4	decided that she was so determined to sort of be more than a memory for me, but to
	...

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