Podcast Summary: Everything Is Fine, I'll Just Work Harder: Confessions of a Former Badass

Podcast: New Books Network – Academic Life
Host: Dr. Christina Gessler
Guest: Dr. Kara Gormaley
Date: January 15, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode features Dr. Christina Gessler in conversation with Dr. Kara Gormaley, author of the new graphic memoir, Everything Is Fine, I’ll Just Work Harder: Confessions of a Former Badass. The discussion centers on trauma, overwork in academia, the healing process through therapy, and art as a mechanism for understanding and transformation. Gormaley candidly reflects on her personal journey—her unexpected path into science, concealed trauma responses, and the radical acceptance that propelled her toward genuine change.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Dr. Gormaley’s Background and Academic Path

• Unexpected Pathway:
  • Didn’t initially like math or science; aimed to be an investigative journalist.
  • Philosophy of science courses in college transformed her perception of science to something creative and question-driven.
  • Research in graduate school became a true passion, eventually leading to a career as a professor and a cartoonist.
  • “It’s definitely one of those things where I didn’t plan for this, and then I found it kind of, I guess, like through a back door.” (03:40)

The Book’s Genesis and Format

• Book as “Book Baby”:
  • The story felt necessary to tell, almost a physical urge. Making it was deeply satisfying.
    • “It felt like it was in my body and essentially kind of like I needed to birth this.” (05:19)
• Comics as Healing:
  • Comics became a coping tool during challenging times (e.g., fertility struggles), blending scientific reading with personal narrative.
  • The memoir’s format—graphic art—was integral, visually portraying trauma responses and lived experience.

Influences and Craft

• Mentor Texts:
  • Inspired by graphic memoirs such as Teresa Wong’s Dear Scarlet, Erin Williams’s Commute, and Tessa Hulls’s Pulitzer-winning work (08:00 – 09:22).
• Elevator Pitch:
  • “Overworked professor… has this kind of trigger that brings to light prior trauma, they go to therapy, have a transformative experience that turns their life upside down—in the best way.” (09:25)

Trauma, Overwork, and Academic Culture

• Busyness as Trauma Response:
  • Overwork, hyper-productivity, and constant “doing” can signal unresolved trauma—not just personal ambition.
    • “We don’t see that this need to be constantly doing, constantly fixing… as a trauma response.” (10:19)
• The Cost of Productivity:
  • The culture of external validation in academia can reinforce these cycles, making it harder to recognize their damage.
    • “…your worth…you don’t have a sense of internal worth. It’s all based on this external validation that you’ll never get enough of.” (12:03)

Therapy: Struggles and Transformation

• Finding the Right Therapist:
  • The right therapeutic fit and rapport are crucial, but often hard to find (13:17).
• Maintaining the Work:
  • Therapy isn’t linear or easy; it requires difficult, ongoing self-reflection, and it’s normal to want to avoid the hardest emotional work.
    • “It’s not just going to therapy. It’s like the work in between sessions… seeing the things that bring a lot of pain and actually being with… feeling the feelings.” (14:01)
• Healing is Relational:
  • Change through therapy ripples out, impacting relationships and communities, not just the individual (15:55).

Academic Life: Disconnect and Dissociation

• Living in the Head:
  • Academia privileges intellectualization at the expense of basic self-care and emotional awareness.
    • “We’re so good at making spreadsheets, and it’s so much harder… academia allows us to really live in our brain… instead of necessarily in our bodies.” (17:13)
• The Visual Language of Comics:
  • The floating head motif represents dissociation—being “disconnected from our bodies” (33:28).

Radical Acceptance and Self-Blame

• Therapist Modeling:
  • Through therapy, learned to accept all emotions and limitations of control (18:47).
    • “It’s okay that I hate this thing… accepting the reality and accepting… that often we have very little control.”
• Self-Blame as Control:
  • Self-blame after trauma can be a misguided attempt to regain predictability in a chaotic world (21:38).

The Journey of Change

• Messy Healing:
  • Memoir structure imposes a tidy arc, but real healing is messy and non-linear.
• Unlearning and New Paradigms:
  • Recovery involved dismantling old habits and learning compassion, presence, and self-care (22:59).
• Art and Community:
  • Sequential Artists Workshop (SAW) and critique groups offered community, feedback, and motivation—paralleling academic peer review but in a gentler, more communal context (29:36 – 32:25).

Hopes for Readers and Academics

• Validation:
  • Hopes readers see themselves and feel less alone, even as her story transitions from private to public (36:00).
    • “I wrote this book… as an act of care for myself, especially for younger parts of myself who didn’t feel seen.”
• Challenging Endless Work:
  • Invites academics to “slow down” and question the assumption that “just working harder is the solution” (37:14).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trauma and Productivity:
  • “It’s all based on this external validation that you’ll never get enough of.” (12:03)
• On Therapy and Vulnerability:
  • “Feeling the feelings… is really hard in the beginning, but… has so many rewards when we kind of allow those feelings and the growth that comes from that.” (17:13)
• On Radical Acceptance:
  • “It can be as simple or as complex as saying something like, ‘It’s okay that I hate this thing,’ and like really allowing the unpleasant.” (18:47)
• On Healing and Change:
  • “You might go into this and then you may come out a totally… not a totally different person, you’re fundamentally yourself, but things you value may shift.” (34:21)
• On the Book’s Purpose:
  • “I hope that it, like, touches people in ways that help them to feel seen and… help them… reckon with their own sort of similar journeys.” (36:00)
• On Academic Life and Busyness:
  • “What would it look like to just kind of notice where we’re at and maybe start to question this idea that just working harder is the solution?” (37:14)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Dr. Gormaley’s Pathway Into Academia: 02:11 – 05:04
• Book Inspiration & Comics Practice: 05:15 – 07:15
• Mentor Texts & Graphic Memoir Influences: 07:15 – 09:22
• Elevator Pitch and Themes: 09:25 – 10:19
• Trauma, Overwork, and Academic Culture: 10:19 – 12:45
• Therapy Struggles and Deep Work: 13:17 – 16:22
• Academic Dissociation and Living in the Head: 17:13 – 18:21
• Radical Acceptance & Self-Blame: 18:47 – 22:35
• Journey and Non-Linear Healing: 22:59 – 24:47
• Art as Healing & Comics Formal Qualities: 27:26 – 29:29
• Community and Artistic Growth: 29:36 – 32:25
• Visual Language and Dissociation: 33:07 – 33:59
• Transformative Experiences & Fears: 34:21 – 35:45
• Hopes for Readers and Message to Academics: 36:00 – 37:14

Conclusion

In an engaging, honest conversation, Dr. Kara Gormaley reveals how academia’s relentless productivity often masks trauma and disconnection, and how therapy, radical acceptance, authentic relationships, and art can spark profound personal transformation. Her graphic memoir offers not just a narrative of recovery, but an invitation for academics and readers alike to question the culture of overwork, tend to their own stories, and embrace slower, more present ways of living.