How to Heal Eczema and Chronic Skin Rashes with Jennifer Fugo

Hey, J.J. here. Can you believe how fast the holidays are knocking at the door this year? One minute it's pumpkin spice season, the next you're getting your guest room ready and wondering where their wrapping paper went. And that's when I turned to Wayfair. From bedding and towels to holiday decor and last minute stocking stuffers, Wayfair has everything you need to get your home and holidays together fast. And for way less. With Wayfair, I know I can refresh my guest room in no time. Maybe I'll add a soft new comforter or a few holiday throw pillows. With Wayfair, it's so easy and everything arrives super fast. Plus, there's free shipping for any order over $35 easy and total peace of mind. So whether you're hosting, gifting, or just adding those final festive touches, Wayfair has your back. And when the holidays wind down, Wayfair has everything you need to tuck it all neatly away. Smart storage solutions for every room from the kitchen to the closet. Get organized, refreshed and ready for the holidays. For way less head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. Wayfair Every style, every home. That's W A Y-F-A-I R.com hey, it's JJ here. You know, I've been talking about environmental toxins forever, and laundry detergent is a sneaky one. A lot of them contain harsh chemicals like dyes, preservatives, and even UV brighteners. Those brighteners don't actually clean anything. They just coat fabric so your eyes think things look whiter or brighter. That's more chemicals I don't want on my family sheets or skin. And if you've got sensitive skin or allergies around the house, this can be a big problem. That's what got my attention about Earth Breeze. It looks like a dryer sheet, but it's actually laundry detergent. You toss one in the washer and that's it. No pouring, no mess, and no heavy plastic jug. Their packaging is lightweight cardboard, which helps reduce plastic waste. And if you choose the fragrance free option, it's gentle, hypoallergenic, non irritating and non sensitizing. I really like how simple it is and how fresh and clean everything comes out without those unnecessary chemicals. Right now you can try Earth Breeze for up to 40% off with free gifts@earthbreeze.com virgin that's earthbreeze.com virgin for up to 40% off plus free gifts on your first order.

Ray Ban Meta Glasses come with open ear audio so you can listen to your favorite music without blocking out the world around you.

Hey Meta, Play Gorgeous.

Here's Gorgeous by Doja Cat.

You can also ask Meta AI questions.

Hey Meta, when's Doja Cat's next concert?

Doja Cat is playing at the Los.

Angeles Theater next Tuesday.

Sweet Ray Ban Meta Glasses Available at Ray Ban stores and other authorized retailers.

Welcome to the JJ Virgin Lifestyle show with celebrity nutrition expert, fitness hall of Famer and four time New York Times best selling author, JJ Virginia. JJ is a warrior mom whose knowledge and expertise have helped change hundreds of thousands of lives. With over 3.5 million podcast downloads and appearances on Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, the Today Show, Rachael Ray, Larry King Love Whoa, whoa, whoa.

This show is about you, not about me. I want to help you find practical, real world ways to dial in your health and mindset so you can finally lose that weight and feel strong and energized. Stop settling for less than your personal best. It's time to find out how to look and feel better than ever. And I'll be right here with you the whole way. Hey, it's jj. Welcome to the podcast. Today we have finally got someone on this podcast who I've known for years and I was like, why have you not been on the podcast? Because we are so in line and I love her work. It's Jennifer Fugo. She's a functional clinical nutritionist and founder of the Gluten Free School. She supports women to beat never ending IBS issues, eczema and chronic skin rashes, along with autoimmune concerns. She's the author of the Amazon bestseller the Savvy Gluten Free Shopper and the creator of the Gluten Free Sugar Cleanse and Kick Gluten for Good. So here's what's super cool. Besides the fact that I finally got her on the podcast, which what's super cool is that we're going to be talking about a topic that we have actually never, ever, ever addressed on the podcast before and that is eczema. And really what she's talking about extends to all skin rashes, skin conditions and acne. And she's got a really cool guide for you. It's the Soothing Smoothie Guide. The Eczema Soothing Smoothie Guide. But I would tell you this is for everybody. You can get that@www.jjvirgin.com skin rash because I know that eczema is hard to hard to spell. And I also want you to understand that's not Just for eczema. But we're going to dive deep today into what the heck is causing this. It's becoming more common why and more importantly, how you can get this into remission. Alrighty, Jennifer, welcome to the show. I'm so glad you're here with me today.

Thank you for having me. I'm actually incredibly excited because you've been on my podcast twice and this is the first time I'm on yours.

I know what the hec back. Well, I was sitting, talking with Summer, our buddy Summer Bach, and I go, why is Jennifer not been on my podcast? Like, I felt slighted, just so you know.

Well, it was not a slight. I don't know what happened, but I'm here, so all is well now.

And we are talking about a topic we have never, ever covered on this show. Eczema. And like, what. What led you to want to talk about this?

I wanted to talk about this because I had eczema for about three years. That was ridicul. Like, I used to go to Home Depot and buy these blue gloves because I couldn't even wash my hands, so I couldn't get them dirty in the first place. Then I couldn't wash them because water was a trigger. And I, you know, it was so painful between the redness and the flares and the itching and the oozing.

Ooh.

And then flip side to the extreme dryness. My. Any area of my fingers that were exposed would crack. So there was at one point, I feel like I'd have 500 paper cuts all over my hands. It was so horrible. And you know, jj, I think you can appreciate this. But I had gone to the dermatologist and her best suggestion, after I explained to her, like, hey, I've been gluten free for all these years. I'm dairy free. I've got that down. Don't worry. And she's like, oh, okay, I want you to use this steroid cream every day. And then I want you to put Vaseline on top of it in order to keep the moisture in. And I was like, what? Sorry, what? You want me to use a petroleum based product on my open wounds? Are you for real? And so what's funny is that I'm not. That's not even kind of the worst. Like, other people have been suggested to use Crisco. And Crisco, like, we wouldn't eat Crisco, but somehow that's good for your hands and your skin. And so you put that on even though it contains very toxic chemicals that are Made from butane. So it just, it got me thinking that, hey, maybe we are approaching these skin problems from incredibly, just the wrong perspective. And I had this fascinating experience of sitting down with Dr. Kara Fitzgerald. I don't know if you, you know her, she's brilliant. And she had said to me, you know, hey, there's some things that you might want to consider. And as I started to get very frustrated, I started to take that from her playbook. And as a clinical nutritionist myself, I thought, why don't I apply this to my own situation? And I was able to get my eczema to a point now where it's about 90 to 95% in remission from using, you know, a different approach than what their. What conventional medicine is offering.

It sounds so similar to my lifelong struggle with cystic acne. You know, it's like, where it's like, use this Accutane, put this topical on. I'm like, huh, you know, which works for a little while and then bam, it's back. It just reminds me of that whole journey. And I'm watching that going. But it's not like looking at the problem. So I love that this whole thing's happened with eczema too, and that you figured it out. So what, what did you figure out?

Well, so one thing that I realized, like you were saying with the acne, it's this whack a mole approach that doesn't really serve anyone. You see these clients and patients and just people who are truly suffering for years and years unnecessarily, so who are losing relationships, who cannot get a job or got fired because of their appearance, they become incredibly depressed and even suicidal. And so what I realized in doing more and more research into this is that there's a number of factors that can trigger and keep someone stuck in. There's four stages of eczema. It's flare, outbreak, healing, and remission. And so most of the time, people get stuck somewhere between the flare, outbreak and healing. Those three, they never really get to remission because they don't deal with the underlying triggers. You have to address your skin, especially with eczema, from a two pronged approach. From the outside.

It's not a vaseline deficiency.

No, no, it's not. Nor Chris, nor Crisco Deficienc.

Okay, just clarifying for everybody listening.

Exactly. And so you have to look at it from the outside in as well as the inside out, which makes a lot of sense. And so, you know, you're. I'm sure your audience is very Familiar with leaky gut and gut infections. And you need.

Yeah, they might have heard that a little bit worse.

Get enough protein, get enough micronutrients. Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals, hormone imbalances, food sensitivities. I know you're, you talk a lot about that, but there's other pieces to it that people don't even realize. Like, there are genetic components to this. So about 20 to 30% of people who have eczema, for example, have a snip in their filigreen gene that actually makes the outer layer of the skin, the epidermis, very kind of weak. It's sort of like having poorly put on shingles of your house and all the rain and snow and everything is coming in, destroying the inside of the home. And it's, it's a similar idea that we don't have a healthy skin barrier. And so looking at a variety of things like unrelenting stress, even trauma from childhood, or it could be trauma in an everyday fashion, like maybe you have a horrific commute, you know, But a lot of these things, people are most likely to look at environmental chemicals like, oh, I'm going to go to the sensitive skin lotion and I'm going to buy. You know, it's crazy. People. I didn't even know this, but people spend on average $2,000 a year trying all of these products at the.

That sounds about right. I mean, I know what I spent just on acne. And I mean, just like what you describe, like, this is mortifying stuff when you've got like, disfiguring skin conditions.

Exactly.

Oh, man. So it's hard.

Yeah, it's hard.

It's horrible. It's, it's, it is. It's just besides the painful part of it, it's also heartbreaking. And the amount of money, I mean, if I added up the amount of money that was just toxifying me, that's the worst part.

Exactly. And a lot of these skin creams, what people don't realize is that a lot of what's available at the drugstore and the grocery store is actually engineered in such a way to continue drying out your skin so that you'll apply more. And they have chemicals in them that, you know, everything's laboratory formulated. It's not like they made it in their kitchen and then threw it, put it in a bottle and threw it on the shelf. So you're getting this very chemical, very chemically based cream or ointment or what have you that has. That can also be a Trigger for your skin. And so what I like to look at, you know, I get a lot of clients now coming to me with these eczema issues and various skin problems that they can't seem to figure out themselves. And, you know, it comes down to a couple of factors. You know, the first thing always is we've got to make sure that the protein, protein content is enough. And I'm happy to talk a little bit about that. I know you're a big protein. You, you, you really push people to eat an appropriate amount of protein. Especially when you're on a healing journey, it's important to not skimp, but that the protein and whatever you're eating is being digested appropriately as well as absorbed. And then from there looking at leaky gut factors, because the gut microbiome can dictate what's going on and disrupt the skin microbiome as well. They, they have the capacity to signal one another. And so it's important that we look at what's going on in the gut. Are there any gut infections? Is there an unrelenting amount of stress? I mentioned that, but there is the gut brain axis. And so if you're experiencing a heck of a lot of stress in your daily life, that will feed into a disruption within the gut flora or the probiotic, we call them probiotics when you're taking them. But that, that gut, those gut bugs do affect are affected by stress and of course systemic inflammation, food sensitivities and food allergies as well. Plus, the other piece to this is that with eczema, it's a little different than just like addressing leaky gut. There can be more food triggers than people realize as well. So I'm just going to kind of list out the general groups. But I am not suggesting if someone is listening to this and you have terrible eczema and you've been suffering for a long time, I'm not by any means suggesting that you take all of these out. So you've got things like dairy and eggs. I know if they've already gone through your, your books, jj, they've probably already eliminated those two.

And you know what, Jennifer? I will tell you what I've seen across the board with every person that I've dealt suffering from eczema is that eggs have been a big factor.

Yes.

Have you seen that?

Yes, eggs are a huge problem. Absolutely. And we're also looking at nickel nickel rich foods and unfortunately a lot of.

What are nickel, nickel. I kept that.

What are those? So you know how when you Wear really cheap jewelry and some people get really sensitive and their skin will break out because it's, you know, made with nickel.

You should never wear cheap jewelry. Correct, but that's the takeaway. Exactly.

But there are foods that can also contain nickel and be relatively high in their nickel content. And unfortunately, a lot of naturally gluten free foods that, you know, if you're eating a gluten free diet, maybe you've even gone closer to paleo. They are healthy, but they may contain an awful lot of nickel. And I mentioned that filigreen genetic snip. If you have that, you may be more sensitive to nickel rich foods. So that's something to consider. Histamine rich foods are another problem. Citrus nightshades, which include eggplant pepper, tomatoes, white potatoes, sulfites, nitrates, and salicylates, which also are really healthy groups of food. But they can be a trigger. And if salicylates are, then it may mean that your liver needs a little more support to be able to help you process those naturally occurring chemicals. They're not bad. They just. Your liver needs help.

So how would they know this? How would someone figure out if these things were a trigger?

Well, one of the best ways to start is with a food journal or a food diary, a very honest one, not an edited one that you're embarrassed to have someone see. Because I always tell clients that I'm.

Like, who does that?

Don't edit it. Just be honest. I'm not judging you. I need to know the truth. And so you start tracking what's going on and you look at how much of something somebody's eating. Like, if somebody's eating Italian food every day and they've got a lot of peppers and eggplants and tomatoes in there, then that might be the first thing to consider pulling out and seeing if that makes a difference. I mean, that typically is the easiest way you could do a food sensitivity panel. But a lot of these are just more that there are triggers for the flares and less so food sensitivities in general that I've found. And it doesn't mean that you have to take all of them out, nor does it mean that you have to take them out for life. Thank God to those Italians out there. I would cry if I couldn't have my pasta sauce. But that would be the thing is like, you just need to give your skin a chance to remove the triggers, calm down, rebuild, and then you can slowly add things in and you might be able to find a tolerance to things you Know again, if, if tomatoes are a problem, maybe you can have your marinara sauce over, you know, your gluten free pasta or some spiralized zucchini or something like that once or twice a month. But you know, if you, if you have it more than that, it's going.

To push so beyond the food. What are some of the things like if you're finding that? Because obviously guts, gut and stress, you talked about that and I think that's super important. Do you make some recommendations to people to help them identify if stress is an issue and do some things about that?

I do. I'm a big fan of mindfulness, also meditation, but I think you have to approach that on a case by case basis because some people may have some adversions to different types of meditation. If you're say like really Christian. And so doing something that seems a bit more like Eastern is not quite jiving with you. There are plenty of Christian meditations out there that people can do. Walking meditations can be incredibly healing. Just going for a walk can be incredibly stress releasing. And believe it or not, hugging people, I know it sounds silly, but some of the most common things that we avoid doing, the more stressed we become, detaching from our relationships and whatnot. But reengaging can oftentimes be very healing. And so allowing somebody to just hug us for, you know, more than just a second, you know, like just really hanging in there, can be very engaged, really relaxing. Breathing exercises are amazing. And I tell people like just two minutes, that's it. But yes, I think stress is a big piece to this. And I oftentimes will ask people, you know, where do you find your stress coming up? And I want you to identify it. Even if it's something as small as driving your car to work in the morning or listening to a particular news channel, whenever you feel that sense of overwhelm coming up, that's where we need to look.

So what about supplements?

Ooh, supplements is a good one. So I would say that most people need to supplement protein because I already mentioned this and you know, it's crazy. So the RDA and generally people out there of these different dietary organizations say, well, you need like 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. Like, who the heck even knows what a gram actually looks like in food? You know, it's, they're so abstract. And what I found is that most of the clients that have come to me are not eating enough protein. They heard or read online. Like, you should, you shouldn't eat so much protein. We Eat too much protein in this country, cut it back. And they're even cutting back on even like their lentils. They think that's too much.

Oh my gosh.

You know, it's, it is crazy. It's. I still remember. I don't think you were living through the time when it was all, everything was very, very extreme. Low fat vegan.

Yes, yes.

You know, fat and protein were the devil. And I'm like, ah, you know, so they all play a role here.

Yes.

Protein and healthy fats are so healing, so important.

And so I try to encourage clients to be closer to 70 to 80 grams minimum. Oftentimes you'll be up closer to like 100, 125. And if you have wounds, because some people with eczema will develop wounds that will not seal. Remember I was saying how I had all these paper cuts on my hands. If you're not consuming enough protein, for anybody listening to this and going, I just don't get it. I, I don't think I need that much protein. Your body needs protein in order to heal and wound healing especially is very protein intensive. So if you don't have enough protein in your diet, somebody who has wounds is going to consume probably twice the amount of protein that someone who's in the 70 to 80 grams, maybe even 100. They're going to be above that by like twice. It is a lot of protein because your body needs it. It's the raw materials. There are no protein stores in the body for that healing to be done. And so a really good protein powder is very helpful oftentimes. I like my favorite. As long as a client isn' vegan or vegetarian. I love the hydrolyzed beef isolate protein.

That's my favorite. I mean I made it a whole shake around it.

Yep.

And added branched chain amino acids and you know, and I, because it is so key and critical. I mean, when my son was in the hospital, that was one of the most important things we did to save his life was make sure he was having protein. Good clean protein. Yeah. It was like, you know, when you're healing, it's, it's more important, you know, that's when your protein needs go up. So I'm glad you're saying this because. And that is the key one. Concentrated bone broth. Come on. It doesn't get better than that.

Yeah. And then on top of it, I like to add collagen to that and you're looking for good sources of collagen that are either grass fed beef, chickens that are pastured you can even do. If you're not comfortable with those two sources, you can do marine sourced as well. So it's coming from fish. But I like to do 1 to 2 tablespoons of collagen a day. You could add it to your shake or, or you could put it in like tea or coffee or your oatmeal or something like. It is so easy to add into pretty much anything. Even soup, creamy soups. So there's no excuse to get the collagen. And you want to look for types one and three. Those are best for the gut and the skin. My husband also has a lot of joint problems from years of running and skateboarding as a teenager. And they have. Taking a collagen supplement just for him has been dramatically positive for his joints overall. I would also say, like, vitamin C is very important for skin as well. And if you find that you're having allergic issues, quercetin can also be very helpful to get the allergic reaction piece of it. So if you're having to take like Claritin or something like that, a histamine blocker you really want, Quercetin can be very helpful.

So there's one other that I like to use and I'm wondering if you've used this at all.

And that GLA I have, that's usually included in one of the, the blends that I will provide to people.

Ah, okay.

Yeah, that's another one that I love. And you pretty well hit all of my faves, so there you go. We are so. We are so in line here. And I want to just throw you a little curveball. Sure. So what do you do every day that you feel like makes the biggest difference in your life?

I would say. I know the sound might sound silly because it's food, but hands down, my protein shake in the morning.

No, I'm so with you.

Because here's the thing. It's. It's, number one, my reward for working out. Like, I love my protein shake. So it gets me to the gym and then I'm eating something that's incredibly nutrient dense. It gets me ready. It sets my body's expectations for the day of what nutrition I'm going to take in. Number two, it keeps my skin looking the way that it is. I took 10 days off and went to Costa Rica and my skin, after 10 days of not doing the shake, this was a few months ago, started to slide back little by little. Yeah. So my protein shake has been key to maintaining the progress that I have made over what is actually, according to current research looking like an autoimmune disease. Eczema is now being considered an autoimmune disease. So to me, that is worth. That's everything to me. That is. That is how I start my day. It's what gets me going and it keeps my skin healthy.

Don't you think we're going to find out everything's an autoimmune disease here pretty quick?

Probably.

Probably. Yes. Yes. So I know that you have a special little gift for everybody listening today.

So let's.

And I know we had this whole thing before we got on. Like, I don't want to make it X mux, then no one can spell it. So it's going to be at JJ Virgin. I know. It's like I can't spell. This is the real thing. It's the jjvirgin.com forward/skin rash. Everyone can spell that. So it's jjvirgin.com forward/skin ration. I know you're giving seven eczema soothing smoothies E guide.

I love that.

Tell us about it.

Yes. These are seven smoothies that I've created. So you're going to be eating the same things that I eat. I don't eat the same exact smoothie every single day because I would get bored. And it is things like cherry soothing smoothies, Banana nut smoothie, skin detox, pear smoothies, sweet potato pie smoothies. They're really good smoothies. They're packed with protein, they're gluten free, they're dairy free. They can be vegan if you want and you can just take out the collagen. But I give you all the tips and tricks that I use to make that protein, that first protein packed shake in the morning to set your day and get going.

Yay. Well, and I know everybody listen. They always hear it from me because every day I start the day with the shake. And it is, I think, like the biggest game changer out there. So I love that you're giving them more recipes so you will never get bored. So thank you so much for that. It's been awesome having you here.

Thank you for having me, jj. I really appreciate it.

I know. I can't believe it took so long. Jeez. Anyway, reminding everybody Again, go to jjvirgin.com skinrash to get the goodie. And Jennifer, again, thank you so much. Now, after the break, I'll be answering a listener's questions. So stay with me.

Fact, the true cause of weight gain is not calories. It's food intolerance. A negative Reaction to certain foods, even foods you thought were healthy, can lead to a variety of symptoms, including weight gain, acne, bloating, and lack of energy. The solution is avoid the foods your body doesn't tolerate. But which foods? That's the secret JJ reveals in her book the Virgin Diet. Drop seven foods, lose seven pounds just seven days. Discover the sneaky seven foods by visiting jjvirgin.combooks and be on your way to losing seven pounds in seven days.

Welcome back. This is the time where I answer a listener's question. Today's question comes from Karen in Apple Valley. She says, jj, I've gone through the the virgin diet and found out that eggs, gluten, and dairy just don't work for me. Does this mean I can never eat them again? Especially eggs? I really miss my aches. All right, here's the deal with all of this. Food sensitivities are a result of something called leaky gut. And leaky gut can be healed. Now, some of the causes of leaky gut are stress. You already heard this today during the talk how stress can impact your gut. So stress is a big one for making your gut more permeable or more le leaky. And remember, when your gut's more leaky, foods get out into circulation where they shouldn't be and launch and your body launches an immune attack. So this tends to happen with the most common foods, the foods you eat all the time. And that's what the virgin diet is based on the most common food intolerances. So stress is a big player. GMO foods, a lot of different sweeteners, especially fructose and artificial sweeteners, can play a big role here. Different medications, especially pain medications and gluten. Gluten can make the gut more permeable because of the release of a protein. It triggers the release of a protein zonulin. I don't believe that gluten is ever going to be a good food. I am not in the gluten camp. I'm in the gluten free camp. So. But as far as dairy and eggs go, I was very intolerant to eggs at first. I healed my gut using I have a product called leaky gut support that I use to heal and soothe the gut. And then I added in microbiome balance, a probiotic and bacteria f restore the good microbiome balance. As I was doing that, I was able to, over time, rotate pastured eggs back into my diet. Not those crappy factory eggs, right? You are what you eat 8. But the pastured eggs, which you can find at, you know, a lot of the different stores. I get mine at Whole Foods, but that was over a couple of months. The first three months I was healing my gut. I actually did a test back at that time, still wasn't ready yet. Took me about six months to get to the point where I could add eggs back in and I rotate them into my diet. I don't eat them every day and I always make sure I'm eating high quality eggs again. You are what you eat. Eight now for dairy, I find it's such a trigger for acne. So for me, that's not a good thing. I eat it. I get mucusy if I'm somewhere where I know I might get exposed to a little bit or I'm going to, I'm going to say it if I'm going to cheat. I use my safety net product that breaks up gluten, dairy, eggs and soy. But I pretty much stay away from it. Every once in a while I might go a little bit, have a little bit of goat cheese. But there's so many great options out there for dairy now. It makes it pretty simple to avoid it, but that's the long and short of it. First step here is to heal your gut. So glad you went through and uncovered your hidden food intolerances. If you haven't done this yet, we have a challenge that's free@jjvirgin.com forward/challenge. I'll put that in those show notes too because I want to make sure that you pick up that great guide that Jennifer was talking about. So I'll put all of this in the show notes@jjvirgin.com, forward/skinrash, so you can grab it all there. All right. I wanted to do a big shout out to someone that left a five star review for us and it is Doximos Doximus from the Philippines. All right. Daximus from the Philippines says a clear example of strong women inside and out. There's a lot to admire about JJ Virgin, but the most significant of all was how she never gave up up as a mother during challenging times. We'll definitely tune into her shows and blogs. Thank you so much. You know, of everything that's gone on in my life, the most important thing for me, and I'm sure mothers and fathers will agree, like the most important thing that you ever do in your life is raise your kids. And having gone through nearly losing one, it becomes even that much more powerful. And I believe everybody is stronger than they think and that if they're faced with a situation where they need to fight for their kids, stand up and be a warrior mom or dad. And there you have it. All right. I love love love reading these reviews and if you feel called to leave one, I would super duper appreciate it. You can do that over at itunes. Big thank you for that and I will see you next week.

That's all for this episode of the JJ Virgin Lifestyle show, which marks another step towards a healthier body and mind. Don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to the show and we'll talk to you next week.

Foreigners this is Anne Bogle, author, blogger and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week I check all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately, and I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years, and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment. Whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything, you'll learn something about yourself as a reader and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read, with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and Visit our website whatshould I read next podcast.com to find out more.