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Love, Loss and the Power of Grace in Storytelling with Melody Carlson (E135)
Description
In today’s episode, I sit down with award-winning author Melody Carlson, whose prolific career includes over 250 books with more than 7.5 million copies sold. Best known for her beloved Christmas novellas, young adult fiction, and contemporary romances, Melody’s latest novel, Welcome to the Honey B&B, explores themes of family, second chances, and the power of community—all in the face of dementia.
This conversation is especially personal, as Melody shares her own experience of losing her husband to Frontal Temporal Dementia (FTD), a rare and early-onset form of the disease. We discuss how book serendipity plays a role in her writing journey, how faith and storytelling intersect, and the ways humor and classic films have helped her navigate grief.
Melody also offers heartfelt advice for caregivers and widows, drawing from her own journey with loss and healing. Plus, she gives us a sneak peek into her upcoming novel, All Booked Up, and shares her current TBR picks in a special book flight segment.
Key Highlights:
📖 The Inspiration Behind Welcome to the Honey B&B – A personal journey through dementia and family resilience.
💡 The Role of Faith and Book Serendipity – How the right books and writing projects come into our lives at the perfect time.
🎥 Healing Through Humor and Classic Films – Finding joy in tough times.
❤️ Advice for Caregivers and Widows – Lessons learned from love, loss, and resilience.
📚 Melody’s Book Flight – A glimpse into her TBR and what’s next in her writing journey.
Connect with Melody Carlson:
Books and authors mentioned:
- Caring for Carol by Caring by Caring for Me by Andrew P. Mauro, Sr.
- The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy
- The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher
- Elizabeth Berg books
- L.M. Montgomery books
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
- A Man Called Peter by Catherine Marshall
- Christy by Catherine Marshall
Book Flight
- A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas
- The Warsaw Sisters by Amanda Barrett
- Beyond Our Selves by Catherine Marshall
The BFF Book Club is becoming a family affair! ❤️ This our FREE virtual book club, where we read together each month and have live author chats.
Each Family Book Flight pairs our BFF Book Club pick with:
- One chapter book for growing readers
- One picture book for our littlest readers
- A few family conversation starters + a simple activity
Three books. One common theme.
→ Join us here: https://bookishflights.kit.com/bfffamily
Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!