You'll either find this episode juicy or uncomfortable, probably both. At one point, a mother and her adult son come into my store while Kat and I are recording and, while browsing for vintage homeware, are forced to endure our deepest admissions about sexuality, gender, and whether we'll ever be happy. I know this is totally unprofessional. I know it's a mistake to record while the store is open and submit potential customers to this insanity, but the conversation I was having was so important and so life affirming, I just couldn't help it. Fucking Kat Giordano is a rockstar! Who can take their deepest, most muddled thoughts and transmute them into poetry like Kat? Who among us is nervy enough to ride that line between controlled prose and naked chaos? To make themselves look creepy and attention starved and disgustingly human? It's a great risk and a great honor to listen to Kat read from Thumbsucker (Malarkey Books (2024) and to trace their journey with non-binary identity. Kat and I are two gerbils in  a world full of hamsters and it's absolutely wild to meet another gerbil because for a few minutes, you feel whole.