What does it mean to take play seriously? In the joyful season finale of Family Book Club, hosts Alex Kirby and Emily Blue sit down with Mike Montague—author of Playful Humans—to explore why fun isn’t just a childhood phase but a lifelong necessity. With a career spanning entertainment, content creation, and coaching, Mike brings a fresh and energizing lens to what it means to live fully, avoid burnout, and reconnect with joy. Together, they reflect on how play evolves with age, why adults of...
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What does it mean to take play seriously? In the joyful season finale of Family Book Club, hosts Alex Kirby and Emily Blue sit down with Mike Montague—author of Playful Humans—to explore why fun isn’t just a childhood phase but a lifelong necessity. With a career spanning entertainment, content creation, and coaching, Mike brings a fresh and energizing lens to what it means to live fully, avoid burnout, and reconnect with joy. Together, they reflect on how play evolves with age, why adults of...
What does it mean to take play seriously? In the joyful season finale of Family Book Club, hosts Alex Kirby and Emily Blue sit down with Mike Montague—author of Playful Humans—to explore why fun isn’t just a childhood phase but a lifelong necessity. With a career spanning entertainment, content creation, and coaching, Mike brings a fresh and energizing lens to what it means to live fully, avoid burnout, and reconnect with joy. Together, they reflect on how play evolves with age, why adults of...
What does it mean to guide wealth in the modern world? In this episode of Family Book Club, hosts Alex Kirby and Emily Blue sit down with Dr. Jim Grubman, internationally respected psychologist, family advisor, and co-author of Wealth 3.0: The Future of Family Wealth Advising, for a deep and refreshingly human conversation about how wealth—and the way we talk about it—is changing. Many don’t realize it, but wealth advising as we know it is still in its infancy—just 40 years old. And today, it...
What does it mean to be truly wealthy? Is wealth just about what’s in your bank account—or does it have more to do with the relationships, purpose, and meaning we cultivate along the way? In this episode of Family Book Club, hosts Alex Kirby and Emily Blue sit down with behavioral finance expert and bestselling author Daniel Crosby for a heartfelt conversation about his latest work, The Soul of Wealth: 50 Reflections on Money and Meaning. Together, they explore the surprising ways our money ...
How do we support the people we love—and speak openly about the struggles so many face in silence? In this powerful episode of Family Book Club, hosts Alex Kirby and Emily Blue sit down with sisters S.C. Megale and Kelley Megale to discuss American Boy: The Opioid Crisis and the Sister Left Behind. Told through S.C.’s perspective as the youngest sibling, the book captures the life and loss of her brother Matt—who died of an overdose in 2017—and the enduring love that continues in his name. Re...
How can we embrace change—and in what ways can it enrich both our lives and our family's lives? The choices we make about where we live profoundly shape our health, relationships, and overall well-being—especially as we move through different seasons of life. In this episode of Family Book Club, hosts Alex Kirby and Emily Blue sit down with Ryan Frederick—author of Right Place, Right Time: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Home for the Second Half of Life. Together, they explore how intentiona...
Are you ready to break free from autopilot and discover what truly makes life worthwhile? In this episode of Family Book Club, hosts Alex Kirby and Emily Blue sit down with Matthew Croasmun—co-author of Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most, and the creative force behind Yale’s Life Worth Living Program. This transformative book challenges us to reexamine our everyday habits and align our actions with our deepest values, offering practical frameworks for intentional living and...
Are you ready to discover the secrets to lasting happiness and deeper connections? In this episode of the Family Book Club, we explore "The Good Life" by Robert Waldinger. This book draws on the Harvard Happiness Study to reveal the profound impact of relationships on our well-being. We unveil the power of relationships with our special guest, Paula Rowan Bueller, a family coach at Total Family Management. Paula and hosts Alex Kirby and Emily Blue discuss the concept of "social fitness"—the a...
Fortune Favors the Bold What if courage isn't about eliminating fear, but acting in the face of it? Join us as we unpack Ryan Holiday's "Courage is Calling" with our special guest Ryan Halls, co-founder of Hue Partners. Emily Blue and Alex Kirby invite Ryan to dive into the essence of bravery, battling inertia with thought-provoking questions like, "If not me, then who? If not now, then when?" Listen as we challenge the human need for certainty and explore the liberating acceptance of uncert...
What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans Ever wondered if ancient parenting methods could bring more harmony to your home? Join us as we uncover the secrets of the Mayans, Inuit, and Hadzabe in Dr. Michaelene Ducliffe's "Hunt Gather Parent" on this week's episode of Family Book Club. Emily Blue and Alex Kirby share their takeaways on viewing the family as a cohesive team and involving kids in daily tasks. Emily’s chaotic trip to the doctor...
Why You Can't Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again Can our addiction to smartphones be stealing our focus and diminishing the quality of our lives? This episode of Family Book Club tackles Johann Hari's insightful book "Stolen Focus," as Emily Blue and Alex Kirby uncover how technology, particularly our ever-present smartphones, is reshaping our attention spans and daily routines. We share some eye-opening personal experiences on setting boundaries around app usage to alleviate feelin...
Helping Families Find Fulfillment: Embracing Aging, True Happiness, and Life’s Wisdom Can you imagine finding true happiness and fulfillment as you gracefully transition into retirement? Alex Kirby and Emily Blue explore Arthur C. Brooks' profound insights in "From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life." In this enlightening episode, we explore the crucial concepts of fluid and crystallized intelligence and discuss how a positive...
When was the last time a book brought your family closer together? Alex Kirby, Founder of Total Family Management, and Emily Blue, Founder of Hue Partners, explore this fascinating question in every episode of the Family Book Club. We explore how literature can heal frayed connections across generations and cultures, the magic of shared reading experiences, and how they can foster stronger bonds and deeper understanding among loved ones. We discuss books specifically chosen not just for the...
What does it mean to take play seriously? In the joyful season finale of Family Book Club, hosts Alex Kirby and Emily Blue sit down with Mike Montague—author of Playful Humans—to explore why fun isn’t just a childhood phase but a lifelong necessity. With a career spanning entertainment, content creation, and coaching, Mike brings a fresh and energizing lens to what it means to live fully, avoid burnout, and reconnect with joy. Together, they reflect on how play evolves with age, why adults of...
