The Book Case Podcast - Episode Summary

Episode: Catherine Newman and Bittersweet Motherhood

Host(s): Charlie Gibson, Kate Gibson
Guest: Catherine Newman
Date: November 6, 2025

Overview

This episode of The Book Case features an in-depth conversation with author Catherine Newman about her latest novel, Rec, which continues the story of the beloved "Sandwich" family introduced in her previous book. The discussion explores themes of motherhood, anxiety, humor in the face of life's unpredictability, and the bittersweet nature of raising children who will eventually leave. The hosts and Newman delve into how fiction can capture the complexity of family, grief, living in the present, and letting go.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Revisiting the "Sandwich" Family

• Continuation from "Sandwich":
  • Catherine Newman shares that the characters were so "familiar" she couldn’t let them go, and even failed at writing new characters for Rec ([07:18], Catherine Newman):

    "I tried to write this book with different characters... It was not the right thing. They were the same characters. And so then I just allowed it to go that way."

• Rocky (Rachel), the Protagonist:
  • Focuses on her love for family and the looming sense that “she could lose everything” ([07:50], Catherine Newman):

    "This is a woman who is completely smitten with her kids, with her husband, with her parents... it's about her perceived threats... she could lose everything."

2. The Drama of Ordinary Life

• Universal Fears:
  • Newman and the hosts agree that the drama is in the "achingly normal" ([08:32], Charlie Gibson), where the anxiety comes from loving deeply while knowing loss is inevitable ([08:58], Catherine Newman):

    "All the drama of the human condition, which is that everybody's going to die... There are some moments where it drifts right smack in front of you, and you can see nothing but the existential threat to everything you care about."

3. Humor as Survival and Style

• Laughter in Darkness:
  • Both book and author are commended for their humor, preventing the subject matter from being overwhelmingly heavy ([10:40], Catherine Newman):

    "Humor is a strategy, a coping strategy. Michael and I once saw a couples therapist who told us that we seemed to use humor as a crutch, and we were like, screw you. It's the best part of our marriage."

  • Catherine conducts a personal "humor audit" of her drafts to ensure balance ([11:02], Catherine Newman):

    "I did do, like, a humor audit at some point. I read it to make sure it was funny enough."

4. The Infamous Medical Portal

• Modern Medical Anxiety:
  • All participants commiserate on the stress caused by the patient “portal” ([11:50], Catherine Newman):

    "If there were Dante now, the portal would be one of the circles of hell, and you would just be in your patient portal, like, for all of eternity..."

5. Anxiety and Control

• Writing as (Illusory) Control:
  • Newman reflects on whether writing is a way to gain “illusion of control” over anxieties about health, children, and mortality ([14:14], Catherine Newman):

    "Her whole problem is the fact that she doesn't control anything, right?...writing is like the ultimate control. I control everything...maybe it's just like an illusion of control."

• Personal Reflections on Anxiety:
  • Catherine admits her anxiety closely mirrors her protagonist’s, including therapy and medication ([12:55], Catherine Newman):

    "I have all that anxiety, all the kinds of anxiety that Rocky has. I also have. I take the same anti-anxiety medication she takes."

6. The Role of the Writer

• Autobiographical Elements:
  • Newman candidly jokes about making Rocky a writer to “do some of these bits” that reflect her own experiences ([15:13], Catherine Newman):

    "I make her be a writer so that I can do some of these bits. It's just a vehicle for humor for me because I have written so much for so many magazines..."

7. Grief: Living with Loss, Practicing for the Future

• Preemptive and Lasting Grief:
  • The hosts and Newman discuss her poignant analogy:

    "Grief is like the sound of the exhaust fan over the stove. A constant hum that recedes a little to the background over time, though you never get to turn it off."
    ([16:06], Charlie Gibson reading from Newman)

  • Catherine shares that preemptive grief is “humming in the background all the time” as we try to brace ourselves for loss ([16:37], Catherine Newman).

8. The Impossibility of Living Fully in the Present

• Being Present vs. Nostalgia and Anxiety:
  • Kate Gibson brings up her experience with mindfulness and the tension of living in the moment ([18:02], Kate Gibson).
  • Newman responds realistically:

    "I do think that's possible. I don't think that's the only mode, though. I think then there's also, like, for me, there's tons of wallowing, which is past oriented, and anxiety, which is usually future oriented."
    ([18:51], Catherine Newman)

  • Beautiful passage on maternal love and memory, referencing how mothers "carry" the image of their children on their hearts ([20:35], Catherine Newman).

9. On Raising Readers and the Importance of Choice

• Letting Kids Read What They Love:
  • Newman shares regrets and insights from raising her own kids to be readers, emphasizing the importance of letting them read whatever brings them joy—even if it’s "crud" ([32:11], Catherine Newman):

    "If it's like a book in their hands, if it's a graphic novel or a crappy comic book or the same picture book they've read a hundred times... just let them read it."

  • Kate and Charlie reinforce this, insisting that early joy in reading carries into adulthood ([35:13], Kate Gibson).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the drama of ordinary life:

  • "The drama is just the human condition…pedestrian drama. The fact that people are gonna die, the fact that you could lose anybody that you care about."
    —Catherine Newman ([08:58])

• On the medical portal:

  • "If there were Dante now, the portal would be one of the circles of hell, and you would just be in your patient portal, like, for all of eternity..."
    —Catherine Newman ([11:50])

• On living with anxiety:

  • "Holding the fact that we're gonna lose everybody — holding it loosely while we love everybody totally recklessly. Cause what are you gonna do?"
    —Catherine Newman ([12:55])

• On humor as necessity:

  • "Humor is a strategy, a coping strategy... It's the best part of our marriage."
    —Catherine Newman ([10:40])

• On living in the present:

  • "I think her being a writer makes sense in terms of the book... she does move through the world as a person who notices pretty much everything."
    —Catherine Newman ([15:13])

• On the lasting impact of maternal love:

  • "If you can cut open a mother without the likeness of their children on their heart. And I thought, boy, no, no, right."
    —Kate Gibson reading from the book ([20:35])

• On promoting lifelong reading:

  • "Just let them read it."
    —Catherine Newman ([32:11])

Timestamps of Major Segments

• Discussion of “Sandwich” & Introduction to “Rec”: [03:10]–[07:18]
• Crafting “normal” yet dramatic families: [08:32]–[09:57]
• Use of humor and “the portal” woes: [09:57]–[11:50]
• Anxiety in parenting and writing: [12:23]–[14:14]
• Writer as protagonist & autobiographical writing: [15:09]–[16:06]
• Grief—anticipating, living with, describing: [16:35]–[18:02]
• The impossibility of pure presence: [18:02]–[20:35]
• Maternal connection and memory: [20:35]–[21:13]
• Future for Rocky & Newman's writing process: [22:06]–[22:39]
• Rapid Fire Questions (“book person” segment): [25:13]–[32:11]
• Making readers out of children (advice for parents): [32:11]–[35:45]
• Closing thoughts & emotional resonance: [36:47]-[37:12]

Tone and Style

The conversation is warm, deeply personal, lightly irreverent, and suffused with humor even in the face of anxiety and existential dread. The hosts and their guest balance moments of poignant vulnerability with laughs, practical advice for readers and parents, and literary admiration.

Conclusion

This episode stands as a testament to the richness of everyday life, the paradox of loving within the shadow of loss, and the importance of both humor and storytelling in making meaning. Catherine Newman's reflections on motherhood and grief—and the capacity of fiction to hold these truths—offer listeners a moving case for embracing both the sweet and the bitter in parenting, reading, and living.

Recommended for:
Anyone interested in the complexities of motherhood, family dynamics, modern anxieties, and the power of laughter and literature to navigate them all.