Mega-bestselling author of The Help is back! Kathryn Stockett on The Calamity Club
Totally Booked with Zibby
Zibby Owens
4.5 • 643 Ratings
🗓️ 5 May 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
I remember reading The Help in 2009 when it came out and absolutely loving it! Back then I was a stay-at-home mom of twins under age two. To think that by the time they graduated high school I’d be interviewing the author is insane; I wouldn’t have believed it. The Calamity Club is set in Mississippi in 1933 and spins an immersive tale about strong women who have to get through the Great Depression. It’s about a wealthy family’s fall from grace, a child’s never-ending resilience, loss, betrayal, family, hard work, and, ultimately, love. Kathryn and I spoke about it all including her own daughter’s influence on the characters. At the end of our interview, she said, "You are probably the best reader I've ever talked to.” Wow!
Key quotes:
- "How do we get through our darkest times without humor?”
- "As a writer, it is our job to truly imagine what it feels like to stand in someone else’s shoes."
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, this is Zibi Owens, and you're listening to Totally Booked with Zibby. Formerly, moms don't have time to read books. In my daily show, I interview today's latest, best-selling, buzziest, or underrated authors and story creators, whose work I think is worth your time. As a bookstore owner, publisher, author, and obviously podcaster, I get a comprehensive |
| 0:24.0 | look at everything that's coming out and spend my time curating the best books so you don't |
| 0:29.3 | have to. |
| 0:30.3 | Stay in the know, get insider insights, and connect with guests like I do every single day. |
| 0:36.2 | For more information, go to zibbimedia.com and follow me on Instagram at Zibby Owens. |
| 0:44.6 | Okay, did you read the book or see the movie called The Help? |
| 0:49.3 | It was out in 2009 written by Catherine Stockett. |
| 0:53.6 | I was obsessed. It's an amazing book. You probably read it. |
| 0:57.2 | Over a million copies of it were sold. If not, go back and read it. But actually, you can read |
| 1:01.4 | The Calamity Club, which is a novel. And this is her second book after the help. Catherine |
| 1:07.2 | Stockett was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. And she lives between New York and Mississippi now. Be warned, this book is over 600 pages. It is beautiful. It is heavy. It is immersive. It took me a while to get through the whole thing because it's like reading three books in one. However, you have to have a really amazing plot to be able to propel someone to keep going. |
| 1:27.9 | The Calamity Club by Catherine Stockett. |
| 1:30.1 | This is going to be a huge book. |
| 1:31.7 | And I am honored and honored and honored to have had Catherine on the podcast to talk about it before it came out. |
| 1:37.6 | Welcome, Catherine. |
| 1:38.9 | Thank you so much for coming on totally booked to talk about the Calamity Club. |
| 1:43.1 | So exciting. Congratulations. Thank you, Zibby. |
| 1:46.0 | I'm so excited to be here. So first of all, how does it feel? I'm sure everyone's going to be |
| 1:51.4 | asking you this. But as a follow-up to the help, here we are, what, 15 years later, more than 15 |
| 1:56.6 | years later, how are you feeling about having another book coming out into the world? |
| 2:01.6 | I'm really excited. You know, it's, it's been a long time. The world has definitely changed |
| 2:07.4 | since I last had a book out in the world. So I'm really, I'm just excited to share my work |
... |
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