When Writing Gets Personal: Two Authors on Vulnerability and Voice
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra
4.8 • 842 Ratings
🗓️ 20 November 2025
⏱️ 86 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In part one of this week’s author interview, CeCe Lyra connects with clinical psychologist, couples therapist, and bestselling author Dr. Tracy Dalgleish to talk about her new book ‘You, Your Husband and His Mother’—a candid look at one of the biggest sources of relationship tension: in-laws. It’s a conversation about courage, creativity, and the messy beauty of human connection—plus a peek behind the curtain of the book world.
In part two of this week’s episode, CeCe chats with Dr. Jonathan Mathias Lassiter — psychologist, author, and polymath — about his debut book ‘How I Know White People Are Crazy (and Other Stories): Notes from a Frustrated Black Psychologist. They talk about why he fought to keep his bold, unforgettable title and much more! It’s raw, inspiring, and full of wisdom for any writer learning to stand firm in their voice — even when the world gets uncomfortable.
Learn more about Dr. Lassiter:
Jonathan Mathias Lassiter, PhD is a polymath whose mission is to help others heal and thrive. He is a licensed clinical psychologist, author, speaker, and educator. Dr. Lassiter has been featured on NBC, PBS, Sirius XM, Forbes, and more. His psychotherapy practice is based in New York City.
Follow Dr. Jonathan Lassiter:
Instagram: @lassiterhealth
Book: How I Know White People are Crazy and Other Stories: Notes from a Frustrated Black Psychologist
Private Practice: Lassiter Health Initiatives
Note: CeCe Lyra is a literary agent at Wendy Sherman Associates. If you’d like to query CeCe, please refer to the submission guidelines at www.wsherman.com. Carly Watters is a literary agent at P.S. Literary Agency, but her work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly on this podcast are solely that of her as a podcast co-host and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | What's up, everyone? This is Cece. If you're a longtime listener of this podcast, then chances |
| 0:05.7 | are you've heard me talk about the importance of writing on a line level. And of course I have. |
| 0:11.0 | Because while movies get to rely on lighting, soundtrack, acting, and special effects, books rely only |
| 0:17.6 | on words to make a story come to life, which is why the writing matters so much. |
| 0:23.6 | My question to you is, are you confident about your writing? |
| 0:27.7 | Do you feel like it's at the level it needs to be to stand out in the competitive publishing landscape? |
| 0:34.0 | If you're like most writers, I know, then you're always looking for ways to improve. |
| 0:38.3 | Well, what if I told you that there's a way to supercharge your learning experience by hacking, writing on a line level? |
| 0:46.3 | That's right, hacking it. |
| 0:48.3 | I've developed an original four-day course, Hacking writing on a Line Level, that will show you specific techniques |
| 0:56.5 | to elevate your writing on a word level, |
| 0:58.7 | sentence level, paragraph level, and scene level. |
| 1:02.8 | This course begins on December 4th. |
| 1:05.2 | My favorite part about it is that there are clear, |
| 1:08.2 | specific examples in every single slide. No fluff, all actionable content. |
| 1:14.6 | And for the first time ever, we'll have an optional, interactive component. |
| 1:19.6 | Students are invited to submit excerpts from their work for a chance to have them critiqued live during a class. |
| 1:25.6 | I'm super excited about this new format because I've |
| 1:29.0 | seen it yield results in writers' works. And it works for writers of any genre as long as you're |
| 1:34.8 | serious about improving your writing on a line level and as long as you're a reader. So if you're |
| 1:41.0 | ready to take your writing to the next level, join me for this four-day course. |
| 1:46.7 | It's a fan favorite. |
... |
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