In this episode, I chat with Courtney Kocak about her debut memoir Girl Gone Wild! She shares how it is both a personal reckoning and a cultural critique, tracing her journey from a “too much” small-town girl to a woman navigating ambition, sexuality, religion, and creative identity. She reflects on how early influences—strict religious messaging, shame around the body, and a lack of role models—shaped her relationship to power, pleasure, and self-worth, while her experiences in Hollywood and the entertainment industry reveal the harsh realities behind the myth of “making it.”

Listen to hear about:

• How the memoir evolved over 15+ years, requiring both craft development and personal growth to fully process her past experiences
• How early religious and cultural messaging created deep tension between bodily autonomy and imposed shame
• The empowerment vs. exploitation dynamic for young women, especially in entertainment
• The way Hollywood’s success narrative often hides the economic struggle, privilege, and sacrifices required to sustain creative work
• How Kocak shifted from chasing external validation and fame to prioritizing artistic fulfillment and an integrated, authentic identity

Learn more about Courtney or purchase Girl Gone Wild here

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Other Co-hosts On Instagram:

Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

In this episode, I talk with Jeremy Jernigan about his deeply personal and intellectual journey behind The Edge of the Inside, unpacking how Jeremy’s lifelong love of writing evolved into a healing-driven project that blends memoir and theology. We discuss how time and emotional distance were necessary to move from bitterness to clarity, allowing Jeremy to structure the book into reflection, belief, and application. We also discuss shared experiences as pastor’s kids, the disorienting process of deconstruction, and the realization that faith is far broader than what we were taught.

Listen to hear about:

• Writing as healing, not just storytelling
  Jeremy describes the book as a form of therapy, something he had to live through and process before he could write honestly and help others.
  
• The “edge of the inside” concept
  Inspired by Richard Rohr, this idea captures the experience of still belonging to a system while holding a perspective that challenges it.
  
• Deconstruction and expanding belief systems
  We both reflect on realizing that what we were taught wasn’t the full picture, leading to curiosity, questioning, and broader exploration.
  
• How language shapes belief (and confusion)
  The same words, faith, truth, provision, can mean completely different things depending on who’s using them, especially in religious and political contexts.
  
• The “life quake” moment
  Jeremy shares the pivotal realization that doing the “right” things doesn’t guarantee success—and sometimes leads to losing everything, forcing a complete redefinition of faith and identity.

Grab a copy of Jeremy's book here!

Check Out Author Social Media Packages

Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack

Get Bookwild Merch

Follow @imbookwild on Instagram

Other Co-hosts On Instagram:

Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

In this episode, MacKenzie Green and I talk with Ashley McGirt-Adair about her new book, The Cost of Healing in Silence, and the deep, often overlooked impact of racial trauma within healthcare systems. Ashley shares how her personal experiences, her grandmother’s legacy, and over a decade of work as a trauma therapist shaped her approach to culturally responsive care.

Listen to hear about:

• The concept of racial trauma as real trauma, and why naming it explicitly matters in both therapy and broader cultural conversations.
• How systemic bias in healthcare shows up in real, life-threatening ways (misread medical devices, dismissal of symptoms, lack of advocacy).
• The burden of self-advocacy in medical spaces, especially for Black patients and families navigating emergencies or chronic illness.
• Ashley’s idea of moving from “hope” to “commitment,” and how small, individual actions create meaningful systemic change.
• The idea of “homecoming to self” through culture, ancestry, music, food, and joy as a necessary counterbalance to generational trauma.

And grab a copy of The Cost of Healing in Silence here!

Check Out Author Social Media Packages

Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack

Get Bookwild Merch

Follow @imbookwild on Instagram

Other Co-hosts On Instagram:

Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba