Shows
Re-Creation PodcastS2E1 // What We Read and Re-Created over the HolidaysIn this first episode of season 2, we reconnect after some restorative recreational time to talk about what we have been up to during our break and what we have in store for Season 2. Each of us share our favorite memories from this past Christmas season, and a couple good books that stuck with us. We also name some of our upcoming guests on the podcast, and together we look ahead to some edifying and illuminating conversations coming up in this new season of Re-Creation.Listen on Substack, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or RSS wherever you get podcasts.
2026-01-2753 min
The Cancer Pod: Integrative Medicine TalkGila Pfeffer: Humor Writer and Breast Cancer Prevention AdvocateWriter, humorist, previvor, survivor, and breast cancer prevention advocate Gila Pfeffer joins Leah for a thoughtful, funny, and deeply honest conversation about loss, resilience, and finding humor in the most unlikely situations.Gila talks about her memoir, Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences, how humor can be a survival tool during cancer treatment, and her cheeky Feel It on the First campaign that raises awareness of breast cancer screenings and risk reduction. Gila shares her experiences from undergoing a risk-reducing double mastectomy as a BRCA+ previvor to becoming a cancer survivor who is a...
2026-01-0758 min
The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That Shaped ThemSam Sussman on Bob Dylan and Being his Mother’s SonSam Sussman’s autobiographical novel Boy From North Country begins with the quest to determine whether Bob Dylan is in fact his father, but gives way to the deeper story of his love for his mother in her final days. In many ways it’s a testament to her having accomplished in its truest form what I think mothers all hope for, which is that their love travels forward and in some way inoculates their children against future pain.
In this episode, Sam reflects on his unconventional Jewish upbringing in upstate New York, where Judaism lived in lite...
2025-11-1151 min
MenOpod: all things fifty +Nearly Departed, Totally Hilarious: Gila Pfeffer Talks Boobs, Books, & BRCA | Ep. 31It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we’re talking boobs, books, and BRCA genes with the unstoppable Gila Pfeffer- author, survivor, pre-vivor, and full-time badass. From prophylactic surgery to publishing her memoir Nearly Departed, Gila’s story is equal parts heartbreaking and hysterical. We talk “free tummy tucks,” family secrets, writing through trauma, and how to find your funny when life hands you dynamite boobs. This episode is pink-ribbon realness with MenOpod-level chaos. Informative, inappropriate, and a little bit insane. No bras, no filters, and definitely no shame. A feel-it-on-the-first reminder to laugh louder, live larger, and check your bo...
2025-10-161h 11
The Seam PodcastSeason 3 Episode 19: Laughter Through Loss: Gila Pfeffer's Cancer Journey & "Nearly Departed"Join us for an incredibly candid and inspiring conversation with author Gila Pfeffer as she navigates her cancer journey with remarkable humor and resilience. In this podcast episode, Gila shares the raw realities and unexpected laughs from her acclaimed memoir, "Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer and Other Inconveniences". Discover how she defied odds, found strength, and used wit to face life's toughest challenges. A must-listen for anyone seeking hope, healing, and the power of a good laugh.For more, follow The Seam on Instagram, watch full episodes on Youtube, or visit the Lynne Cohen Foundation...
2025-07-1546 min
Women's Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership(24) Fighting breast cancer through humour, with Gila PfefferThis podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. Gila Pfeffer is an award winning author, breast cancer prevention advocate and mum of four. Her recent book, Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences, was the 2024 winner of the Gilda Women's Book award and had me laughing hysterically and sobbing in equal measure. She describes it as "about losing both my parents to cancer, trying not to get cancer myself, then getting it anyway". ...
2025-06-2446 min
Healthful Woman Podcast"Nearly Departed: Reducing Your Risk of Cancer" - with author Gila Pfeffer & Genetic Counselor Estie RoseIn this Healthful Woman Podcast episode, Dr. Nathan Fox speaks with Author Gila Pfeffer and Genetic Counselor Estie Rose. They discuss important topics around genetic testing, breast cancer prevention, and the role of genetic counseling in women’s health. The conversation delves into Gila’s personal experience as a breast cancer previvor and advocate, and how her story intertwines with Estie’s work as a genetic counselor.
2025-05-0539 min
Every Soul Has A StoryGuest Gila PfefferWhat happens when the preventative surgery you chose to avoid cancer reveals you already have it? In this episode of "Every Soul Has a Story," Dara Levan welcomes author Gila Pfeffer, whose memoir "Nearly Departed" chronicles her journey through losing both parents to cancer at a young age and her own battle with breast cancer. With refreshing candor and signature wit, Gila shares how her Orthodox Jewish identity shaped her experiences and how becoming a mother to four children galvanized her commitment to preventative healthcare - ultimately saving her life when a preventative mastectomy revealed aggressive cancer.
2025-04-0839 minThe Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That Shaped ThemDara Horn on Being the Lorax at Her Seder TableDara Horn is the award-winning author of six books, including the novels The World to Come, All Other Nights, and the essay collection People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present. Her latest book is the graphic novel One Little Goat. At the Passover seder, an out-of-control family cannot find their afikoman and as a result, they are trapped at a seder that cannot end. Six months in, a wisecracking talking goat shows up at their door with bad news: Thousands of years of previous seders have accumulated underneath their seder, and their afi...
2025-04-0855 min
aceCHATSS5 E8: Loss, Laughter & Strength: Gila Pfeffer’s StoryIn this episode, we sit down with Gila Pfeffer, author of Nearly Departed: A Memoir About Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences. Gila is a writer, humorist, and breast cancer survivor who has turned life’s hardest moments into powerful, witty storytelling.We discuss her incredible journey, the inspiration behind her book, and how she uses humor as a tool for resilience. Gila shares the importance of regular breast self-checks, how early detection can save lives, and why we need to have more open conversations about cancer, grief, and survival.We also chat about the impact of...
2025-03-1151 min
I Don't Know How You Do ItNearly Departed: Cancer, Kids, and Courage, with Gila PfefferWhat do you do when by age 30 you're the oldest living member of your family? Do you live in fear or take action?In this powerful and humorous episode, author Gila Pfeffer shares her journey as both a "previvor" and survivor of breast cancer. After losing her mother and grandmother to breast cancer, Gila took proactive steps to prevent the same fate, only to find cancer anyway – and then write about it with unexpected wit and wisdom in her memoir Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences.Gila opens up about choosing a ra...
2025-01-1448 minThe Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That Shaped ThemGila Pfeffer on Finding Meaning and Humor in the Darkest TimesBy the time she was thirty, Gila Pfeffer was the oldest living member of her family, having lost her mother to breast cancer and her father to colon cancer. A simple blood test confirmed she carried the BRCA1 gene—which put her at high risk of developing cancer herself. Determined to break the cycle of early death in her family, Gila decides to undergo an elective double mastectomy.This memoir follows her journey as she becomes a reluctant expert on how to sit shiva, grows up, falls in love, and enters motherhood, before her life is derailed ye...
2025-01-1443 min
Rebel ZenEp.44 - Conversations with Gila Pfeffer; Breast Cancer Survivor and Author of Nearly Departed: Adventures In Loss, Cancer, and Other InconveniencesIn this episodes Tova sits down with Gila Pfeffer. Gila Pfeffer is a sixteen year breast cancer previvor, survivor and prevention advocate. She is the author of the reluctantly inspirational memoir Nearly Departed: Adventures In Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences. Her work includes the widely shared McSweeney’s piece “An Open Letter to Tiffany & Co. About Their Advertising Campaign for the Ring That Helps Women Remember They Survived Cancer.” Gila has also written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, Today.com, Oprah Daily and more. Her “Feel It on the First” campaign uses tongue-in-cheek photo and video reminders...
2024-11-1951 min
In Her WordsAuthor Spotlight: A Conversation with Gila PfefferThis week, join Jess in conversation with Gila Pfeffer. Pfeffer is a fifteen year breast cancer previvor, survivor and prevention advocate. She is the author of the reluctantly inspirational memoir Nearly Departed: Adventures In Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences. Her work includes the widely shared McSweeney’s piece “An Open Letter to Tiffany & Co. About Their Advertising Campaign for the Ring That Helps Women Remember They Survived Cancer.” She has also written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, Today.com, Oprah Daily and more. Her “Feel It on the First” campaign uses tongue-in-cheek photo and video reminders to prioriti...
2024-10-3132 min
The Balance DilemmaEpisode 81 Episode 81 How Humor, Faith, and Medicine Were Key to Surviving Breast Cancer with Gila PfefferAt age 30 our guest found herself the oldest living member of her family. She had a choice - make final plans or fight. Gila Pfeffer joins us with her debut memoir, Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences.
Using her Instagram platform, Gila uses humor and video in her “Feel it on the First” campaign urging women to do self-exams at the beginning of every month.
Episode recorded September 4, 2024, at the LMC Media Podcast Studio
2024-10-1439 min
Surviving Roots: A Crash Course in Turning Pain into PotentialAdventures in Loss, Cancer, & Other InconveniencesGila Pfeffer is an essayist and humorist. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, McSweeney's, Today.com, and Oprah Daily. Gila's monthly "Feel It on the First" campaign uses humor to remind women to prioritize their breast health. She splits her time between New York City and London. NEARLY DEPARTED is her first book.
2024-10-0243 min
We Should Talk About ThatWeSTAT Bonus: The Power of Gen X with Gila PfefferSend me a Text Message about the show!Sometimes there's just too much good content for one episode, or we veer off on a different topic. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't get to hear it! That's where WeSTAT Bonus comes in.This time it's with Gila Pfeffer, author of Nearly Departed.Our conversation touches on how Gen Xers, influenced by a mix of analog and digital experiences, have become bold and unapologetic in expressing their thoughts. We explore the cultural shifts, including the impact of MTV, that have empowered us to find community and su...
2024-09-2008 min
Let’s Talk Memoir119. Leaning into Honesty, the Darkly Funny, and the Jewish featuring Gila PfefferGila Pfeffer joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about outsmarting genetic destinies and her preventative double mastectomy, remembering what’s at stake in our work, tempering the serious with a satirical lens, honing humor in our work, smart book titles and SEO, advocating for our book cover, considering both the art value and marketing value in our memoirs, fostering a humor-writing community, writing about being Jewish, depicting ourselves honestly, and her new memoir Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer and Other Inconveniences.
Also in this episode:
-choosing how much to explain
2024-09-1749 minWe Should Talk About ThatNavigating Cancer, Humor, and Courage with Gila PfefferSend me a Text Message about the show!This week I welcome back humor writer and memoirist Gila Pfeffer, the author of "Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences."Gila shares her journey from losing her parents to cancer, discovering she carried the BRCA1 gene, and undergoing a preventative double mastectomy that turned out to be life-saving. Through humor and resilience, Gila tells me how she uses her experiences to advocate for breast cancer awareness and prevention. She also opens up about the role of her Orthodox Jewish faith in her life and writing...
2024-09-1643 min
the Best Audio Stories in Biography & Memoir, History & CultureNearly Departed: A Memoir: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences by Gila PfefferPlease visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/795887 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Nearly Departed: A Memoir: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences Author: Gila Pfeffer Narrator: Gila Pfeffer Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 7 hours 52 minutes Release date: August 13, 2024 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: By the time she was thirty, Gila Pfeffer was the oldest living member of her family, having lost her mother to breast cancer and her father to colon cancer. A simple blood test confirmed she carried the BRCA1 gene—which put her at high risk of developing cancer herself. Determined to break the cycle of early death in...
2024-08-1330 min
Modern Mom ProbsLoss, Cancer and Humor with Gila PfefferIn this conversation amongst friends, author Gila Pfeffer discusses her new book Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences and the use of humor in dealing with heavy topics like loss and grief. Gila explains why she chose a comedy club as the venue for her book launch and how humor can provide relief from the heaviness of life.
The conversation also touches on the importance of finding humor in parenting and the challenges of balancing writing with motherhood. Gila shares her experience of carving out time for writing and the impact it has on h...
2024-08-1346 min
The EFF IT Madres PodcastSeason 4 Episode 10: “You Got To EFFing Trust You!”In this episode, we speak with Gila Pfeffer, a madre of 4, who said EFF IT and had a preventive double mastectomy because of the history of cancer in her family. But, it turned out that preventative surgery became life saving because they found early aggressive breast cancer in one of her breasts. Following her gut in all her preventive measures saved her life, despite how aggressive her approach seemed to others. But it ended up saving her life. You just have to EFFing trust your gut, and do whatever you need to do for you and your family, d...
2024-08-0535 min
KPL PodcastKPL Podcast July 2024 week 4 with special guest Gila PfefferThis week's KPL podcast episode features Gila Pfeffer talking about her memoir, Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences. You'll laugh and you'll cry and you will keep turning the pages.
2024-07-2641 min
Literary ProspectsInterview with Author Gila PfefferAuthor Gila Pfeffer talks with Kelley Vick about her debut memoir Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences, becoming the oldest living member of her family at 30, taking control of her health, how she finally acknowledged herself as a writer, building a community of writers, growing a following, and much more. *For literary shirts, totes and gifts, and other tools for writers, check out our new Literary Prospects Shop.*For books featured on the podcast and other curated booklists, check out our online store at Bookshop.org, Literary Prospects Books.
2024-07-2351 min
INTERLUDE: Cancer Stories with Dr. Teplinsky166. Gila Pfeffer (Breast Cancer Previvor and Survivor and Author of Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer and Other Inconveniences)On today’s episode, I am speaking with Gila Pfeffer. Gila is a 15-year breast cancer previvor turned survivor, a writer and author of the newly published memoir “Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer and Other Inconveniences.” Gila shares her experience of losing family members to cancer including her mother who passed away from breast cancer, finding out she carried the BRCA1 mutation, deciding to undergo a prophylactic mastectomy, discovering breast cancer at the time of the surgical pathology, and her subsequent cancer treatment journey. She talks about the writing process and what it was really like! Her memoir is a r...
2024-07-1300 min
The Boobie Docs: The Girlfriend’s Guide to Breast Cancer, Breast Health, & BeyondPREVIVOR 2 THRIVER 💕We sit down with author, international funny woman, and internet bestie Gila Pfeffer @gilapfeffer to discuss her strong family history of breast cancer and the importance of prevention and early detection. 🎀 We talk about her BRCA mutation, and how her “prophylactic” double mastectomy at age 34 led to her diagnosis of early but aggressive breast cancer (and how Angelina Jolie stole her thunder). ⚡️🧬Gila shares how she navigated her breast cancer diagnosis and genetic mutation with her four children, and why people from all over the world send her pictures of them holding...
2022-04-0445 min
Jealous PodcastGila Pfeffer: Combining Humor and Writing to Bring Awareness to Breast CancerHave you or a loved one gone through the battle of breast cancer? Or maybe you’ve been wearing pink all month to show your support for breast cancer awareness?>>Either way, you are going to *LOVE* today’s podcast episode. It’s very special because our guest is Gila Pfeffer who joined us from London!
2021-10-2541 minWe Should Talk About ThatPRE-Viving Breast Cancer and Early Detection Advocacy with Author and Humorist, Gila PfefferSend me a Text Message about the show!Gila Pfeffer is more than just the mom who knew too much, she takes the bull by the horns in every part of life, including her health- and she was going to make damned sure she was going to laugh the whole time too! While in the throes of motherhood, Gila, who lost her mother and grandmother in their 40's from breast cancer, found out she did indeed carry the Brca gene, and decided she was going to face impending cancer head on, and do it in the funniest...
2021-10-0435 minINTERLUDE: Cancer Stories with Dr. Teplinsky60. Gila Pfeffer (Breast Cancer Previvor & Survivor)Join host, Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky, as she speaks with Gila Pfeffer. Gila is a writer, freelance journalist, mother of four teens, a wife, a New Yorker living in London and a breast cancer previvor and survivor. Gila has a strong family history of cancer and had been found to have a BRCA gene mutation. She had made the decision to undergo a preventive double mastectomy but at the time of her surgery, was actually diagnosed with breast cancer. We talk about how her family history has shaped her future, the decisions and choices she made surrounding her treatment, discussions...
2021-04-2300 min
Two Idiots and an ExpertFeel It On The FirstSend us a textEpisode 16 - Feel it on the First - with expert Gila Pfeffer (@gilapfeffer, the-mom-who-knew-too-much.com).Kops is on the road in Miami, so it's the first Zoom recording of Two Idiots and an Expert! Some notes form the first segment: - Lee gets serious and breaks down his struggles during the snow and cold (04:20) over the last week; missing both people he knows and meeting new people. - Some TV talk… Jericho’s final episode and Tehran on Apple TV+ (07:06). - An update on the Reddit Gamestop and...
2021-02-111h 56
The Changing Perspectives PodcastHanging Out with Gila PfefferJenni and Josh had an absolute blast hanging out for the second time on the show with the amazingly funny and talented Gila Pfeffer! Tune in and listen to Gila discuss her new book, living through the pandemic in the UK, Breast Cancer awareness, and much, much more! Show Notes: Gila’s Book Gila’s Website
2020-09-141h 39
Neurotic NourishmentTits UpIn this episode the amazingly bad-ass Gila Pfeffer of @the.mom.who.knew.too.much discusses her decision to actively take breast cancer by storm, the battle she has won, and why when it comes to your health, you *must* be your own greatest advocate.
Join me for an honest discussion behind the woman who makes us laugh every day, and yet reminds us every month to take care of our ta-ta's.
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2020-01-261h 06
The Changing Perspectives PodcastEpisode 35: Perspectives on ParentingAre you in a constant battle with the teenage aliens you live with to put on deodorant or turn off the lights or put away the milk? Then this episode is for you! Join Jenni and Josh as they talk teens with the Mom Who Knew Too Much, Gila Pfeffer! Gila is a hilarious blogger with 4 kids and an amazing sense of humor! Show Notes: https://the-mom-who-knew-too-much.com/
2019-07-2958 min