Welcome to the twelfth episode of Season Four of Wisdom for Wellbeing Podcast. On this episode I interview Bethany Saltman, Author, Editor, & Researcher.
This episode is particularly fitting for the week of Valentine’s Day as Bethany talks about how the science of attachment can bring us closer to ourselves and those we love.
Want to keep in touch? Head to @drkaitlin on Instagram or @wisdomforwellbeingpod on Facebook to connect.
What is covered in this episode:
>>What it means to have inner authority
>>Understanding attachment science vs the pop culture of attachment parenting
>>How we are hard-wired for attachment from an evolutionary framework, and what this means physiologically
>>Understanding how we provide a ‘mystical mirror’ over generations
>>Bethany’s struggles as a mother and insights into the shifts that can happen when we look at our grief and pain
>>The role Bethany’s spiritual practice as a Buddhist has had in allowing her to sit with discomfort
>>The different means of attachment in psychological science and Buddhist philosophy
>>The empowering view of it never being to late to cultivate secure attachment with yourself and others
>>How you can start writing your own love-story and the role this has in your wellbeing
Links Discussed
- bethanysaltman.com
- Check out Bethany’s book Strange Situation: A Mother’s Journey into the Science of Attachment
- Instagram @bethany_saltman
Bethany Saltman
Bethany Saltman is an author, editor and researcher, and her work can be seen in magazines like the New Yorker, New York Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Parents, and many others.
Strange Situation: A Mother’s Journey Into the Science of Attachment, published in April, 2020 by Random House, is her first book. It’s inspired by the birth of her daughter in 2006, who she loved dearly, but feared she was failing. Why? Because she was still her, and not the kind of mother she’d hoped to become. So she spent ten years teaching herself the science of attachment, traveling to labs, trainings, and archives, trying to discover what kind of mother she really was, and if she was good enough for her. What she learned changed everything about how she thought of herself, her childhood, and the nature of love.
She is incredibly proud that, among other incredible reviews and accolades, New Scientist called Strange Situation One of the Best Science Books of 2020.
She is also a bestselling book coach, helping writers envision and execute their books—from pitch, to platform, to proposal, to publication, to PR.
Bethany received a B.A. from Antioch College, where she was one of the architects of the nation’s first Affirmative Consent Policy. She went on to receive her M.F.A in poetry from Brooklyn College, where she studied with Allen Ginsberg and published her work in many national journals. She is honored that Antioch awarded her their 2020 Rebecca Rice Award for Achievement in Profession.
A longtime Zen student, she is devoted to the fine art and game-changing effects of paying attention.
She lives in a small town in the Catskills with her husband, daughter, and two dogs.
