#136 Writing Towards Recovery: Jackie Goldschneider and The Weight of Beautiful

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Jackie Goldschneider

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Jackie Goldschneider gets real about writing her powerful memoir The Weight of Beautiful, opening up about her lifelong battle with an eating disorder, her journey to recovery, and what it was really like turning her story into a book—on her own terms.

In This Episode 

  • Why Jackie chose not to use a ghostwriter for her memoir [5:25]

  • How her eating disorder shaped her life and why recovery was non-negotiable [6:17]

  • The writing process behind The Weight of Beautiful [7:00]

  • What helped Jackie write a book while filming, parenting, and working [7:48]

  • Tips for structuring memoir scenes that connect with readers [8:39]

  • How she decided what to include (and leave out) about family and TV life [10:56]

  • The importance of voice and honesty in memoir writing [15:17]

  • Jackie’s next project—and how a screenplay idea turned into a novel [34:34]

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About Jackie 

Jackie Goldschneider is an author, activist, speaker and a longtime cast member of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Before joining the show, Jackie was an attorney and freelance journalist, and has contributed extensively to publications including Good Housekeeping, HuffPost and Scary Mommy, and wrote a weekly parenting column for New Jersey’s The Record newspaper for several years. Her debut memoir, The Weight of Beautiful, was published by ‎Simon and Schuster in September 2023. Since then, Jackie has been a nationally recognized advocate for eating disorder recovery. Jackie graduated Magna Cum Laude from Boston University and received her Juris Doctorate from Fordham University School of Law. Jackie lives in Tenafly, NJ with her husband, Evan, and their two sets of twins, ages 17 and 14.

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Get The Weight of Beautiful on Estelle’s Bookshop here

Also, I mention in the podcast how Jackie and I first connected back in July 2019 and believe it or not, I was able to find the pics of that lunch.

Connect with Estelle 

Get Writing That Gets Noticed, named a Best Book for Writers by Poets & Writers Magazine. 

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Read Estelle’s latest post on Substack (and an offer to paid subscribers) How to Get Published in Cosmpolitan or Seventeen

Classes

Email her at [email protected] to get on the list for her next personal essay writing class (in October) and  find out how to secure your spot.

Her newest NYU class now  taking registrations is Writing About Your Life Through Memoir, Essays and Articles. 

Webinars 

This one is coming up. Sign up now for my Webinar on April 24th from 1:00-2:30 pm ET for Writer’s Digest:  Layering Throughlines and Timelines into Your Essays and Books to Pack a Punch. It will be generative, informational, and interactive.

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