Terrible, Thanks for Asking
“Terrible, Thanks For Asking” is a show by author Nora McInerny that lets real people get real honest about how they’re really doing. It’s sometimes sad, sometimes funny, and almost always both. A production of Feelings & Co.
Latest Episode
The Kindness of Strangers
THINGS ARE DEFINITELY NOT OK RIGHT NOW! We know it. You know it. Your dog knows it (who told her??). But even when things are terrible, there’s something out there — however small — that is at least okay. Today’s episode is an exercise in finding (and sharing) the ok, with stories of the ways…
Featured Episodes
Your Favorite Obituaries
March 25, 2024 • Ep. 236 • 47 min 7 sec
Join us for a special bonus episode of TTFA where Nora reads obituaries submitted by listeners. Laugh, cry, and enjoy the stories in this exclusive episode.
Terrible, Thanks For Everything!!
March 4, 2024 • Ep. 234 • 10 min 20 sec
TTFA is taking a break, but new Patreon episodes will be available until Aug 2024. Join us for exclusive content and our full archive!
Still A Family
August 15, 2023 • Ep. 219 • 1 min 5 sec
When Anaya and Dave Lee fell in love, they saw a whole future with each other. Part of that future included being parents. But when they started trying, they learned creating a family was going to be much more challenging than they expected. They eventually had to ask the question, if a baby doesn’t happen,…
All Terrible, Thanks for Asking Episodes
Topics
Subtopics
Search
I See Big Things For You
Pam and Steve have just gotten married and are getting ready to celebrate with friends and family at their upcoming wedding reception in just a few days … but first, they gotta head to the north woods of Minnesota to...
February 25, 2020
What Happened to You? (Part 3)
In our third and final episode in our series on childhood trauma, we take a look at the bigger picture — as in, what the heck are we supposed to do with the knowledge that what happened to us as...
What Happened to You? (Part 2)
If the terrible things that happened to you during childhood can affect your physical health later in life, how do you NOT live out the worst possibilities for yourself? Is that even possible? In this second episode of our series...
What Happened to You? (Part 1)
We all kind of understand that what happens to us as a child affects us as an adult, but there is recent evidence that the way our childhoods affect us is so much deeper and more surprising than we thought....
A Face In The Crowd
In August 2017, members of the Ku Klux Klan and other white nationalist groups descended on Charlottesville, VA to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee as part of the Unite the Right rally. Constance was also...
The Bride Price
This episode is about two equally strong women and how growing up in two very different cultures can affect a relationship.
The Treatment
Rachel Haines is really good at gymnastics. And when you’re really good at a really demanding sport, you eventually deal with injuries. At age 12, Rachel hurts her hamstring. At age 15, she fractures her spine. Both times, Rachel is...
Happyish Holidays 2018
We’re back with our third annual Happyish Holidays episode!
Heather
Heather grew up in Kansas, but she hasn’t been back there for years … not since the moment she was old enough to leave. When her mother dies, Heather heads home for the services, and an already difficult situation becomes...
Soooo OCD
OCD is one of those acronyms we use when what we really mean to say is, “I organize my spice drawer alphabetically,” or “I always forget if I’ve locked the door or not, so I have to double check.” Those...
Two Letters
This is an episode about two letters. One of those is the letter Jim left for his wife, Annie, before he died by suicide. The second is the letter Annie wrote to Jim after his death — and as she...
Route 91
On the eve of Kelli’s 25th birthday in 2017, she and her boyfriend find themselves running for their lives in a dystopian nightmare.
March 13, 2018
Happyish Holidays 2017
Lauren’s brother died at Thanksgiving. Her mother died at Christmas. So … this time of year is not exactly joyous for her. And it’s not all that fun for a lot of other people, too. The holidays can really suck!...
What Does All This Loss Mean?
Jaamil’s sister died when he was just 12 years old. His grandmother and great grandmother died when he was 13. His mother died when he was 15. His brother was murdered when Jaamil was 22 … and a week after...
Chapter 2
Nora’s husband, Aaron, and Casey’s wife, Hope, died on the exactly same day in 2014. Aaron and Hope both left behind spouses, children, and all of the love their small families had created. Nearly three years later, they’ve started moving...
Forever Alone? (Part 2)
In part one of “Forever Alone?” we met chronically single Chelsea, who was looking for love in all the same places we all look for love … and coming up empty-handed.
Forever Alone? (Part 1)
As the saying goes, “There’s a lid for every pot.” There’s someone for everyone. Chelsea has been looking for her lid — her someone — since high school.
Best Friends Forever
America has a garbage attitude toward grief — we know this. Bereavement leave generally means you get 2-3 business days to mourn a partner, a child, a parent, a sibling.
September 25, 2017
Semper Fi
When Nora McInerny’s dad died, she lost his stories — the ones that she’s not sure she can quite remember right, and the ones she never knew … like the stories from his time as a Recon Marine in Vietnam.
Unbroken
Sarah Super is not broken. Sarah Super is a woman who is absolutely, 100% living up to her name. She’s is a rape survivor — a very outspoken rape survivor.
Help Me Remember
Dawn is a nurse. In June of 2015, she was injured on the job by one of her patients and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Happyish Holidays
Two days after Nora’s husband Aaron died, she celebrated Thanksgiving with her family. Well… maybe not “celebrated.”
In Love and Memory
Toddlers Ralphie and Bronson have lived most of their young lives with dead fathers. Their mothers — Nora and Moe — struggle to understand how to help their boys remember the dads they won’t know directly.
Sad Nora and the Secret Baby
Nora McInerny is in love with two men. With one man (who died two years ago this week), she has a child. And just last week, she had a child with the other.