Closer to Fine Podcast

Closer to Fine is a phone call between two wildly different but perfectly matched best friends. Each episode, Mary Katherine Backstrom and Sara Farrell Baker discuss the good, the bad, the really bad, and the things most people have the good sense to keep quiet. Mary Katherine is an award-winning author and influencer whose first book, Holy Hot Mess, is a National Bestseller. A Southern Christian with a penchant for oversharing, her heartfelt writing and infectious laugh have earned her a loyal fanbase. Known for her viral videos and candid writing on family, faith, and mental illness, MK has been featured on Today, CNN, the New York Times, and Ellen. Sara is an award-winning writer from the Mid-Atlantic, a podcaster, and an Atheist. Her work has been published in O Magazine and the Huffington Post and she has appeared on Good Morning America. Sara’s audience enjoys her irreverent and absurd, often explicit, self-deprecating sense of humor. She enjoys writing about politics, living with chronic pain and an invisible illness, mental health, and her love of television and movies. Both on their own mental health journeys, Sara and MK use candor, humor, and their real-life experiences living with mental illness to normalize conversations about the mental health struggles many of us go through. Together, they aim to erase the stigma with anything but silence. Reach out to us at closertofindpodcast@gmail.com

Episodes

S1:E6 - Stretch Marks

October 2, 2021 • 41 mins

Stretch marks are what’s left behind after serious growth. They don’t call therapy “doing the work” for nothing. It’s hard, messy, painful, but so necessary. Mary Katherine and Sara close out their first season by sharing how emotional stretch marks can be just as jarring as the physical ones.

Closer to Fine closertofinepodcast@gmail.com
www.instagram.com/closertofinepod

Mary Katherine Backstrom www.facebook.com/mkbackstrom
www.instagr...

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S1:E5 - Boundaries

October 2, 2021 • 36 mins

What are boundaries and why do we need them? Why is it hard when someone sets a boundary with us? MK and Sara discuss boundaries they’ve set with friends, family, their spouses, and ways they struggle with respecting someone else’s boundaries. They also go down a Twilight rabbit hole because why wouldn’t they?

Codependent Book Club Recommendation
Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud a...

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S1:E4 - Church Hurt

October 2, 2021 • 41 mins

Mary Katherine and Sara have had very different lives when it comes to their religious beliefs. In what ways has religion been a toxic or hurtful force in their lives? How does that get reconciled with the idea of a kind and loving God? What does it mean to challenge and criticize your faith, even when it’s strong?

Closer to Fine closertofinepodcast@gmail.com
www.instagram.com/closertofinepod

Mary Katherine Backstrom www.facebook.com/...

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S1:E3 - Diet Culture

October 2, 2021 • 35 mins

Sara and MK lay it all on the table when it comes to their eating disorders or disordered eating and how dieting steals their joy. How young were MK and Sara when they were first affected by diet culture? How are they trying to break this cycle with their children, especially their daughters? What does a healthy relationship with food even look like? MK explores body positivity vs. body neutrality and Sara talks about how difficult...

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S1:E2 - Peaks and Valleys

October 2, 2021 • 41 mins

Mental Health is a journey and rarely a linear one, so seeking out treatment when we are feeling “fine” can help set us up for success before we hit a low. Why do we treat mental illness like there is a moral-failing attached to it when we would never do that for a physical or visible illness? MK and Sara both have ADHD and they talk about the difficulty in living with and treating this disorder and the shame born out of the sympto...

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S1:E1 - Who We Are

October 2, 2021 • 29 mins

Mary Katherine Backstrom and Sara Farrell Baker introduce themselves and dive into their mental health journeys. From how their diagnoses impact their lives, to “dating” a therapist, to taking their psych meds, Sara and MK explore what “fine” means to them and how they’re trying to move the needle closer to it. They discuss their own friendship and the value of having supportive friends who expect an honest answer when asking “How ...

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