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Embodied: No Happy Endings For Nora McInerny

Nora McInerny is an author and hosts the podcast 'Terrible, Thanks For Asking.'
Nora McInerny is an author and hosts the podcast 'Terrible, Thanks For Asking.'

When something bad happens people often hear the same advice: “everything happens for a reason” or “time heals all wounds.” But Nora McInerny says that advice is useless and that grief is a chronic condition that you can’t just “get over.” She should know.

Nora McInerny, author of 'No Happy Endings: A Memoir' and host of the acclaimed podcast 'Terrible, Thanks For Asking,' joins host Anita Rao for this episode of Embodied.

In 2014, McInerny had a miscarriage, lost her father and lost her husband, all in the span of six weeks. After that she became a reluctant grief expert and grief author. Her latest book is “No Happy Endings: A Memoir” (Dey Street Books/2019) and she hosts the acclaimed podcast “Terrible, Thanks For Asking.”

McInerny joins host Anita Rao for a conversation about how her grief has evolved over the last five years and how to support those who are facing loss. Their discussion is part of The State of Things’ series “Embodied: Conversations About Sex, Relationships And Your Health.” McInerny will be at the first-ever Grief Fest at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 1 p.m.

Copyright 2019 North Carolina Public Radio

Anita Rao is the host and creator of "Embodied," a live, weekly radio show and seasonal podcast about sex, relationships & health. She's also the managing editor of WUNC's on-demand content. She has traveled the country recording interviews for the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps production department, founded and launched a podcast about millennial feminism in the South, and served as the managing editor and regular host of "The State of Things," North Carolina Public Radio's flagship daily, live talk show. Anita was born in a small coal-mining town in Northeast England but spent most of her life growing up in Iowa and has a fond affection for the Midwest.
Amanda Magnus grew up in Maryland and went to high school in Baltimore. She became interested in radio after an elective course in the NYU journalism department. She got her start at Sirius XM Satellite Radio, but she knew public radio was for her when she interned at WNYC. She later moved to Madison, where she worked at Wisconsin Public Radio for six years. In her time there, she helped create an afternoon drive news magazine show, called Central Time. She also produced several series, including one on Native American life in Wisconsin. She spends her free time running, hiking, and roller skating. She also loves scary movies.