Identity, Rejection, and Writing What You Love, with Janet Constantino
“I learned that I’m dogged… I didn’t abandon it, and that became very important—not giving up.” — Janet Constantino
In this soulful and insightful episode of Uncorking a Story, psychotherapist-turned-novelist Janet Constantino shares the winding journey that led to her debut novel Becoming Mariella. A former competitive Latin ballroom dancer with Sicilian roots and a love of jazz, Janet brings decades of life experience to her writing. She opens up about the long road to publication, her deep connection to family history, and how writing helps us make sense of where we come from—and where we’re going.
Balancing a career in psychotherapy with a lifelong passion for writing The story behind Becoming Mariella and its Sicilian inspiration Lessons in rejection, resilience, and rewriting Why some novels live in the drawer—and why that’s okay Writing authentic, emotionally rich characters from family roots Choosing 2000 as a setting to avoid the social media minefield How personal curiosity fuels both therapy and storytelling
Buy: Becoming Mariella
More conversations
Becoming Your Own Best Friend
Janice Erlbaum left home at 15 for New York City's shelter system. Twenty years after Girlbomb, she talks about owning her part of the story, the teachers who saw her, and why she tells everyone to keep writing it down.
Listen →
When Small Towns Censored Hollywood
Novelist Glenn R. Miller on the small-town ministers who once censored Hollywood's silent films, the family note cards that inspired his satire Rough Cuts, and why censorship is never black and white.
Listen →
Living Your Own Truth
Singer Machan Taylor, who toured with Pink Floyd and Sting, on the loneliness behind a glamorous life on the road, writing a memoir she never meant to write, and why holding the finished book finally let her let go.
Listen →