The Truth About Being Honest with Nanci “Candy Girard” Katz - Episode 4

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The Truth About Being Honest with Nanci “Candy Girard” Katz – Episode 4

The Recap

Nanci Katz is a writer who graduated from the American Film Institute and has written for ABC and Lionsgate Entertainment, along with other smaller projects. After taking a hiatus to raise three kids, Nanci was invited to be part of the Writers Lab in 2016, which is supported by Meryl Streep and Oprah Winfrey. Working with a writing partner, Cylin Busby, their comedy/horror script, Rebecca and Quinn Get Scared was a semifinalist in Bluecat and Script Pipeline as well as a finalist in the 2017 Austin Film Festival. Currently, Nanci is back on writing and is working on three projects.

In this episode, Nanci talks about her experience with postpartum depression, anxiety, and the self-doubt and insecurity she felt while raising her son. She also talks about creating a platform to talk about postpartum depression so that more people are educated about it and the unspoken difficulties of being a new mother. Nanci opens up about dealing with her eating disorder throughout her teens and young adulthood, which was linked to the stress she personally dealt with of “fitting into the role you’re supposed to fit in.” In expressing her fear of disappointment, Nanci sought help and was eventually able to come to terms with herself, express her true emotions, and recognize her self-worth.

Episode Highlights

03:06 – Nanci on not realizing she had postpartum depression
06:43 – Why being a parent is the most vulnerable you can be
08:24 – Why it’s hard to relate with other moms at the beginning of motherhood
09:09 – Being a new mom is isolating…and even boring
13:18 – Nanci’s anxiety on finally getting some alone time for the first time in nine years
14:22 – What was Nanci’s mom like when Nanci’s father was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s
16:27 – How not truly expressing her emotions affected Nanci’s mindset
18:45 – The benefits of going to therapy and when did Nanci truly start to feel relief
19:58 – Nanci opens up about her eating disorder and how going to a program helped her
23:46 – Forcing yourself to be a certain way is exhausting
25:53 – Accepting yourself helps you realize your self-worth
26:50 – Why there is no such thing as a “perfect parent”
29:16 – Nanci on finally feeling release after the death of her father
34:57 – What happened when Nanci was honest about her feelings in a phone call with her sister
40:06 – The insecurities about becoming a stepparent
45:14 – What it’s like balancing a career, being a mom, a stepmom, and a wife
48:27 – How Nanci came back into writing again and her latest project
53:15 – Blink is a semi-biographical script that got Nanci into the 2016 Writers’ Lab
57:02 – What is something Nanci has changed her mind about recently
59:33 – How does Nanci define success
1:01:55 – What Nanci thinks of when she hears the word MILF
1:05:28 – Lightning round of questions