How to Stop Asking 'Are You Mad at Me?'
Modern Love30 Heinä 2025

How to Stop Asking 'Are You Mad at Me?'

“Am I in trouble?” “Am I secretly bad?” These are questions Meg Josephson, a therapist and author, grew up asking herself. She was constantly trying to anticipate other people’s needs, worried that she was letting other people down. And it wasn’t until she found herself standing in the aisle of a Bed Bath & Beyond, trying to remember her favorite color, that she realized her desire to please everyone was eroding her sense of self.

On this episode of Modern Love, Josephson talks about how that realization led her to confront her tumultuous childhood, and what it took to stop “people pleasing.” She reads the Modern Love essay “My Three Years as a Beloved Daughter” by Erin Brown, about a woman who found a type of love in her best friend’s parents that she had never experienced before, and what that taught her about her own parents.

Josephson’s book, “Are You Mad At Me?,” is available Aug. 5, 2025.

Read more about Meg Josephson, and how to break the habit of people pleasing, in this article by Jancee Dunn.

Here’s how to submit a Modern Love essay to The New York Times.

Here’s how to submit a Tiny Love Story.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jaksot(431)

A 'Modern Love' Audio Valentine

A 'Modern Love' Audio Valentine

An audio valentine from Modern Love listeners -- for Modern Love listeners. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast a...

14 Helmi 20163min

'The Plunge' | With Dakota Fanning

'The Plunge' | With Dakota Fanning

Dakota Fanning narrates an essay about a falling in love and falling off a cliff -- literally. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your...

11 Helmi 201622min

'An Interlude Of Clarity' | With Judd Apatow

'An Interlude Of Clarity' | With Judd Apatow

Judd Apatow reads a story about a man whose perfect date ends up in the emergency room. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favori...

4 Helmi 201618min

Not So Simple Math | With Sarah Paulson

Not So Simple Math | With Sarah Paulson

Sarah Paulson narrates this week's episode -- a story about a woman's decision to put up her child for an open adoption. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You c...

28 Tammi 201623min

One Last Swirl | With Jason Alexander

One Last Swirl | With Jason Alexander

Jason Alexander narrates this story about a man projecting his deepest thoughts of mortality onto his pet fish. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also s...

21 Tammi 201622min

Missed Connection | With Lauren Molina

Missed Connection | With Lauren Molina

Welcome to our first episode. Lauren Molina narrates a story about a romance that begins on an unlikely website -- Craigslist. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify....

21 Tammi 201620min

Introducing 'Modern Love: The Podcast'

Introducing 'Modern Love: The Podcast'

Explore the trials and tribulations of love in these deeply personal essays. A collaboration of The New York Times and WBUR in Boston, Modern Love: The Podcast features the popular New York Times colu...

7 Joulu 20151min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
i-dont-like-mondays
kaksi-aitia
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
kolme-kaannekohtaa
sita
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
mamma-mia
aikalisa
rss-murhan-anatomia
loukussa
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
meidan-pitais-puhua
terapeuttiville-qa
rss-napy
rss-nikotellen
lahko