Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Treadmills, and the Stories We Tell About Ourselves @LauraHankin

LUCY BURDETTE: You will have met today's guest before because I loved her first two books, HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT and A SPECIAL PLACE FOR WOMEN. She has a new book out this week and we're delighted to have her back--welcome Laura!


 LAURA HANKIN: Recently, during a podcast interview, the host asked me about my author bio. In addition to listing my writing work, my bio also mentions that I once fell off a treadmill twice in one day. As we laughed over the anecdote, I started thinking about the stories we tell about ourselves, and how they change over time.

First, the treadmill details. I was in high school and, as an anxious kid, worried that I wasn’t “well-rounded” enough to get into a good college because I didn’t do a sport. This was me back then, preparing to go on a long walk, the extent of my athletic ability.


But I thought maybe I could learn to run, and join the cross-country team. So after school one day, my friends and I went to the gym, and I tried out a treadmill. A few minutes in, I was feeling good, fantasizing about my sure-to-be-successful running career. And then I tripped over my shoelace.




I grabbed onto the treadmill’s handlebars while the belt dragged me backwards, the machine making a horrific squealing sound. Everyone turned to watch as I finally let go, flying off the back and collapsing in a heap on the gym floor. It was the most embarrassing moment of my life. But I’d read in a magazine that in moments of shame, you should dust yourself off and try again. So, determined, I stood up and got back on that treadmill, ready to show everyone that I wasn’t daunted! 

But I didn’t realize that you couldn’t just step back on to a fast-moving treadmill. I immediately fell off again, at which point the kind older man next to me said, “Maybe you should consider trying something else for a while?”

I went to the locker room and cried. I went back home and cried. I felt completely ashamed about it for weeks, and hoped I’d never have to talk about it again.

But maybe a month or two later, I was getting food with some classmates, and someone asked me about it. And instead of crying or covering my face, I told them. Somehow, it was fun, spinning it all out, including the most ridiculous details, making the listeners laugh. I felt an unexpected power, taking back the story. And now, it’s one of my favorite anecdotes about myself, so much so that I include it in my author bio! 

To be clear, I know that falling off a treadmill (twice!) is no big deal. But it’s an example of how we all go through tough things, and it can help to remind ourselves that someday, our current mess will make a really good story. I feel this way now about some past break-ups, career failures, and so much more. How wonderful, how healing, when you can take something that caused you pain, and tell it to other people to make them laugh, for catharsis, or to help others (and yourself) feel less alone. 

Have you found this to be true in your own life? And do you have any similar “treadmill moments," things you like to talk about now even though they once made you feel bad? If so, I’d love to hear about them in the comments. And thank you to the Jungle Red writers for having me today!

Bio: Laura Hankin is the author of The Daydreams, Happy & You Know It and A Special Place for Women. Her musical comedy has been featured in publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post, and she is developing projects for film and TV. She lives in Washington DC, where she once fell off a treadmill twice in one day.


The Daydreams synopsis: A deliciously entertaining novel about the stars of a popular teen show from the early 2000s—and the reunion special, thirteen years after their scandalous flameout, that will either be their last chance at redemption, or destroy them all for good.

Back in 2004, The Daydreams had it all: a cast of innocent-seeming teenagers acting and singing their hearts out, amazing ratings, and a will-they-or-won’t-they romance that steamed up fan fiction forums. Then, during the live season two finale, it all imploded, leaving everyone scrambling to understand why.

Afterward, the four stars went down very different paths. But now the fans are demanding a reunion special. The stars all have private reasons to come back: forgiveness, revenge, a second chance with a first love. But as they tentatively rediscover the magic of the original show, old secrets threaten to resurface—including the real reason behind their downfall.

Will this reunion be a chance to make things right? Or will it be the biggest mess the world has ever seen? No matter what, the ratings will be wild.

37 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Laura, on your new book . . . THE DAYDREAMS sounds intriguing and I’m looking forward to reading it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congrats on the new book. As a lover of pop culture, this sounds like lots of fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mark! I'm also a huge pop culture lover (as you can probably tell since I wrote a whole book about it)

      Delete
  3. How wonderful, Laura, that you snagged humor and healing out of a cringe-worthy experience, and congratulations on the new book!

    Of course I've had embarrassing Oops moments, but I don't have to enumerate them all here, LOL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And here's another one: I meant to write, I don't have TIME to enumerate them... Sheesh.

      Delete
    2. Oh yup, I can't even count the number of "oops" typo moments I've made in my life. And thank you so much!

      Delete
  4. Congratulations on your new book. It sounds both relevant to today's entertainment and original in the story that unfolds.

    Regarding the treadmill incident: I so loved this line in your narration: "I felt an unexpected power, taking back the story." What a great reminder that you don't have to be stuck with embarrassment forever after something happens. (And, yes, I've had embarrassing moments, too — too many to go into in a short space like this, lol.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Elizabeth, thank you so much for your thoughtful comment!

      Delete
  5. Laura, congratulations on your new book. It sounds intriguing and it's on my TBR list! Reunions are amazing opportunities to renew friendships, explain long-held reasons or just demonstrate that you are living well!

    I agree with Elizabeth, I also loved your line about taking back the story. Sometimes "whoops" moments can be private, too. One of mine happened when I made a beef barley soup and poured it from the pot into a bowl that overturned dousing the stove, the floor and counter with thick soup. The no longer delicious stuff dripped into the spaces below the burners and the cleanup was excruciating. Once the mess was history, it took me a week before I told the story at dinner out with friends. My husband was flabbergasted because I hadn't said word one of the calamity before, as we all sat laughing our heads off at my story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Judy! And ahaha, thank you for sharing this excellent soup story with me! (It sounds like something I'd do too)

      Delete
  6. Congratulations on The Daydreams! Definitely a book to look forward to.

    Embarrassing moments. Oh, my. So many! Love your line about taking back the story. Works everytime!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congratulations on the new book. Like Edith, if I typed out all my embarrassing moments, I'd be here all day. As you said, you have to take back the story and make the best of it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The Daydreams sounds like a fun, original story. With secrets. Congratulations, Laura.

    Oh, so many embarrassing moments. I'm a klutz since childhood, and am always doing harm to myself: cuts, bruises, even a badly twisted arm from a fall while on a walk (I was trying to see if a house in the neighborhood had a pool. Too nosy, I guess.) Nowadays, if you go to the ER for an injury they ask if you feel safe at home. Which is a really good question, and I'm sure many women have gotten the lifeline it's meant to be. However, my answer is always, "Yes, as long as there's someone there with me." It usually gets the laugh it's meant to get, right after a doubletake.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Karen, when I was asked that question at the ER I wad flabbergasted for a moment. I had recently moved into my new house in the woods and while some people had seen bears, I had not. I thought that was what the question was about but then I realized what I was really being asked.

      Delete
    2. Karen! I laughed out loud at the image of you falling while trying to see a pool (though I am sorry you got hurt). This sounds exactly like something I would do.

      Delete
  9. Laura, The Daydreams description definitely appeals to me so I'll be on the lookout for it. As for embarrassing moments, who, me? My kids love to tell funny stories about me but I am sure they are mostly their imagination and not at all the way I remember things!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Judi! And hah, I'm sure you're right, you've probably never done anything embarrassing in your life :)

      Delete
  10. Congrats, Laura! This book sounds so timely - I’m already dying to know what happened! I see a streaming series in your future!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jenn, thank you! Crossing my fingers you're right!

      Delete
  11. What a "great" story Laura! That's hard to beat but, I remember an embarrassing moment on the island of Oahu at Waimea Beach on the North Shore. Waimea is famous for large waves, strong currents and many a wipe out. However, it was a sunny day and the large waves were breaking pretty far out - PLUS I was standing in knee deep water so what could happen? All of a sudden I was picked up by a small wave, tossed around and literally thrown onto the shore and landed face down. Of course the beach was crowded with beach go-ers. At least I had my bathing suit still on!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the North Shore of Oahu and watching those giant waves. I was lucky enough to catch one of the big surfing competitions there on one of my visits. Your experience must have been unusual, right? I can't imagine this happening to people a lot. I did have a swimming suit malfunction on my first trip to Hawaii when we were trying snorkeling. For some reason, my top came off, which was quite embarrassing at 23 years old. Luckily, I was able to wriggle back into it before it drew much attention.

      Delete
  12. Laura, what a great "story." And The Daydreams sounds just as much fun--it's going on my list right now!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Congratulations Laura! The Daydreams sounds great! And what a great story. I think it's really good to be able to laugh at ourselves and not to hold our dignity too tightly. One story for me: I was 15 and we were living in England for 6 months. One of my jobs was to fill the hot water bottles every night. My sisters and I were sharing a room and we had a double bed and a single, so we took turns sleeping in the single bed. The morning we were leaving on a week long trip to Paris, I had a dream that I was filling the hot water bottles. Somehow, I retrieved the bottle from the bed, opened it and spilled the whole thing on the bed. Then I woke up. As you may guess, this did not make me popular with my family.

    One story about my brother-in-law (for which we continue to tease him). A few days before Christmas, I got up at 4 in the morning to take them to the airport (sister, bro-in-law, niece). They were going to Florida to spend the holidays with his parents. Rich told me the airline was "Air Trans" which I had never heard of. There was no Air Trans sign along the departure drop off road. I dropped them off and just as I got home, my cell phone rang, "Can you come back to the airport?" He had made their reservations to fly from Portland Maine instead of Portland Oregon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These stories are excellent, thank you for sharing them with me!

      Delete
  14. I’ve gotten to the point in life where nothing embarrasses me anymore! I often describe myself as someone who can trip over air molecules. Something happened to me recently which probably would have embarrassed someone else. Now I don’t even remember what it was! It clearly didn’t ruin my life!

    DebRo

    ReplyDelete
  15. Laura's story reminds me of when my oldest started high school. We expected each kid to do one sport and one arts activity. The latter wasn't an issue - Victoria was already into theatre and playwriting. Sports... not so much. The one she picked was, in fact, cross country, because, as she said, "I knew I could run forward in a straight line, and all I had to do was keep doing that until the end." Her team nickname was 'The Sprinting Turtle.' :-)

    I encourage everyone to go to the Random Penguin site Rhys linked to above (yes, I know it's really Penguin Random, but I like it better the other way) and read the excerpt from THE DAYDREAMS. I guarantee you'll be mashing that 'buy' button as soon as you finish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "The Sprinting Turtle," amazing! And so glad to hear you enjoyed the excerpt!

      Delete
  16. Laura, The Daydreams sounds like such a great read. Congratulations on its publication. I mentioned above my first trip to Hawaii and my bathing suit top coming off. I can laugh about it now, but it was highly embarrassing at the time, which was 45 years ago. Now, there's not much that would embarrass me.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Laura you have a wonderful sense of humor! Got to be able to make fun of yourself. Love the name you gave that "group" in your novel: Daydreams. Has nobody used it??

    ReplyDelete
  18. I done so many dumb things over the years that I think I regard it as business as usual. If it's really dumb my husband will oh so cheerfully remind me of it. But that goes both ways! Laura, your book sounds so good and I can't wait to dig into it.

    ReplyDelete