More Like You is One!
October is a milestone month: I turned 51, More Like You turned one, and my memoir Girl in the Spotlight turned two.
In this birthday-themed episode, author Tamar Hurwitz-Fleming joins me to reframe birthdays as a personal holiday—a spiritual, reflective day that belongs to you.
Tamar Hurwitz-Fleming is the author of How to Have a Happy Birthday, an award-winning book and companion workbook, and a birthday coach. If you love your birthday, dread it, or feel complicated about it, this conversation offers a grounded way to plan a day that’s meaningful and designed just for you.
What we cover:
- Birthdays as a personal new year and a spiritual day that’s truly yours
- The difference between outsourcing birthday joy vs. taking ownership
- “Birthday Eve,” simple spiritual rituals, and creating a birthday altar
- Navigating expectations, surprises, and party pressure (including guest lists)
- Helping kids choose celebrations that fit their personalities
- What to do when your birthday falls on a holiday
- Aging, visibility, and shifting the cultural narrative around getting older
- Grief, heavy seasons, and how to honor your day when life is complicated
- Planning ahead for your birthday (like a real holiday) without over-engineering the joy
Timestamps:
- 00:00 Tamar’s opening reflection: why birthdays are spiritual
- 00:21 Angie’s milestone month + why this episode matters
- 03:11 From forgotten birthdays to taking charge of the day
- 07:27 What makes a birthday “spiritual” (signs, alignment, reflection)
- 13:17 Party pressure, social dynamics, and receiving vs. hosting
- 17:05 Self-sabotage, mixed signals, and owning what you want
- 20:22 Rituals: Birthday Eve, altars, morning grounding
- 23:50 Aging with pride; shifting the narrative
- 25:20 Asking for what you want (and still leaving room for surprise)
- 36:34 Holiday birthdays and carving out space
- 38:52 The workbook, deeper questions, and treating your day as a portal
- 40:39 Where to find Tamar + her resources
Links mentioned in this episode:
You can learn more about Tamar Hurwitz-Fleming and find her book at howtohaveahappybirthday.com
If you enjoyed this episode, share it and tag @angiemizzell on Instagram.
Subscribe to Angie's weekly newsletter Hello Friday at angiemizzell.com/subscribe
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