The Other F Word Team gathers to talk about where they are in their individual lives, as well as their podcast life, and what it’s like to sit in uncertainty when it comes to the future.

www.theotherfwordpodcast.com

Legendary comic strip writer Cathy Guisewite of the world renowned comic strip "Cathy" and author of "Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault: Essays from the Grown-Up Years", explains how her own life failures led to the creation of this beloved character and how the real Cathy’s daily failures inspired the fictional Cathy’s storyline. From love life failures to the challenges of finding jeans that fit, Cathy the character expresses what every woman has felt or experienced at some point in her life, making her an essential icon of female struggles. In doing so, this character offered solidarity and hope for millions of women around the world.

Find out more about Cathy & "Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault" @ www.cathyguisewite.com

Follow Cathy on Facebook: @CathyGwite and Instagram: @cathygwite

Rebecca Kitt shares her story about her problematic marriage and the challenges she faced throughout her divorce. Failure became a constant theme that led her to feel overwhelmed and defeated, and yet she persevered and found strength she didn’t know she had. In looking back, she shares her insight as to why the struggle was so hard and how disparate personalities approach conflict and resolution so differently. Rebecca offers thoughtful and concrete advice on how to steer your way through conflict with a difficult partner.

Director and former musician and actor Bill Watterson shares his struggle of ambition and a passion to create art with the ability to make a living at what he loves. In this honest discussion, Bill tackles important questions about following his dreams, living a life full of rich experiences, but never arriving at a place where he can sustain himself financially. He questions his self-worth in a society that does not value artists and yet wonders, why can’t he just quit his artistic endeavors and find a job that pays enough to live comfortably? A hard and important conversation about sitting in the middle of failure.

Find out about Bill's movie "Dave Made a Maze" @: www.davemadeamaze.com

Follow Bill on Twitter @: www.twitter.com/billtweeterson

Follow Bill on Instagram @: www.instagram.com/not_that_bill_watterson

Author and editor  Michele Filgate discusses her recent anthology “What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About” which grew out of her essay of the same name. Michele was abused by her step father growing up but she and her mother never talked about it, leaving Michele to struggle on her own. In this episode she shares how she worked through her fractured relationship with her mother and the feelings  of failure that run deep in their dynamic. The stories she shares from her book of essays further explores this important yet often complicated relationship with mothers.

Learn more about Michele @: www.michelefilgate.com

Hollywood executive Jeff Goldman describes how he is challenged by living with severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). He struggled throughout his childhood with undiagnosed OCD that controlled much of his life and often left him feeling like a failure. Only as an adult was he finally officially diagnosed and able to get the help he needed. Jeff describes with honesty his often painful battle managing his obsessions and compulsions and how he learned to come to terms with the ongoing challenges. His ability to share such a personal experience is both informative and inspiring.

Jeff is also the Head of the OCD SoCal Awareness Committee. You can find out more about OCD at the below links.

International OCD Foundation: www.iocdf.org

OCD SoCal: www.ocdsocal.org

Prolific author of adult and children's fiction and non-fiction, poetry, musicals, and countless magazine articles, Judith Viorst shares her journey through many decades of both success and failure. Known for her bestselling adult book “Necessary Losses” as well as the iconic classic “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”, which speaks to kids about failure, Judith’s latest book called “Nearing 90” shares her experience of growing into the next decade of her colorful life. Her insight, honesty and sense of humor about family, relationships, aging, death and especially failure is refreshing and inspiring.

Find out more about Judith @: www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Judith-Viorst

Find out more about Judith's latest book @: www.amazon.com/Nearing-Ninety

As a record breaking and award winning open-water marathon  swimmer, including the Ocean's Seven, which consists of seven long-distance open-water swims, Kim Chambers shares what it’s like to conquer goals she never thought she could attain. After sustaining injuries from falling down stairs and learning that she may never walk again, Kim saw some of her darkest, most terrifying moments. As part of her healing, both mentally and physically, she found the ocean water to be a powerful source of possibility, where no one judged her scars, scoffed at her limp or saw her as a failure. Instead, she found the community of swimmers to be a reinvigoration of her mind, body, and soul and push through adversity, not only to walk again, but to swim marathon races all across the world. Her story is one of incredible inspiration, where she was able to see the gifts in failure and harness the power of ordinary people doing extraordinary things in order to push past your limits to grow and thrive.

Find out more about Kim @: www.kimswims.com

And follow Kim on Instagram @: www.instagram.com/kimberleyswims

Entrepreneur, consultant and author of the book “55, Underemployed and Faking Normal”, Elizabeth White describes how she went from a Harvard MBA and a hugely successful business career, to being "55, underemployed and faking normal”. She describes her experience about how she had followed the rules and done all the things she had been told would get her ahead in life, and yet she still got jettisoned out of the workforce. She was in her 50’s, without any income, overnight, the one with her “nose pressed up against the glass looking at a world you’re not part of”, and yet she was not alone. When White shared an article which told of her struggle, it went viral and she was  bombarded by people sharing the same story.  She then went on to write her book, sharing her experiences in more detail. Her insight offers practical tips of how to get through life at such a critical stage, while managing feelings of being a failure.

Learn more about Elizabeth @: www.55andfakingnormal.com

Editor-In-Chief of Ventura Blvd Magazine and Host of the Podcast SheSez, Linda Grasso speaks about her career in journalism, including longtime correspondent, anchor and host for E! Entertainment TV and the struggles she faced navigating the industry on and off camera. Her candid take on the challenges she encountered and her insight into what it takes to persevere is inspiring. From her own life experience, as well as her many podcast interviews with forward thinking women, Linda offers a fresh and honest perspective on learning from failure.

Find out more about Linda & SheSez @: www.shesez.com

And learn more about Ventura Blvd Magazine @: www.venturablvd.goldenstate.is

Entrepreneur, coach and author of “Stories of Elders”, Veronica Kirin shares her fascinating story of experiencing an anticipated tsunami while working as a humanitarian aid in a coastal Village in Samoa in 2009. Despite the fact that the tsunami never came, the anticipation and terror, confusion and chaos that she experienced side by side with the villagers that day led her to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Injury (formerly post traumatic stress disorder). Because the tsunami never actually came, her reactions to the trauma were minimized by those around her and she was expected to go on with life as usual. As a result she hid her suffering, for fear that her struggle would be seen as a failure to cope. Veronica’s untreated trauma eventually caught up with her and in her darkest moments, she realized that she needed help. Her journey towards healing lead her on a quest for self care, which she now shares with others in her work as a coach.

Find out more about Veronica @: www.veronicakirin.com

Find out more about "Stories of Elders" @: www.storiesofelders.com