In this episode of She’s Not Done Yet: Conversations with Wise Women hosted by Becky Berry, I chatted with Monica Smith, author of “Steel Victories: A Father-Daughter Success Story.”

Here’s a fun LinkedIn story. I found Monica when she replied to a post from a woman we both follow. When I connected with Monica, I saw she’d written a memoir. So, I reached out to her and asked her to be on the podcast. This is the result.

“Steel Victories” is Monica’s memoir of life with her father. Neither of us are big fans of useless introductions in books, so Monica reimagined her introduction as a compass for the book. Make sure you read it.

This book is a powerful study of power, determination, faith, and grit told in Monica’s voice. It’s authentic, gripping, and uplifting. I LOVED it.

Monica takes us through the trajectory of her dad’s life, including a stint as a champion boxer in the Army during Vietnam and his transition back to civilian life.

We talk about the amazing gift of great parents, what it’s like to have a girl dad who “didn’t raise genders, he raised conquerors.” Monica shares with us how the confidence instilled in her by her father led her to success in unexpected places.

We also dig into the powerful and skillful way Monica talks about the racism her dad and her family faced.

Monica talks about her musical talents, including beatboxing, and we explore how it feels to improvise every time you perform. It’s stunning.

I’ll let the podcast speak for itself.

Monica also talks about the musical piece she and her sister, Dara Smith, created for the book – “Symphony from Heaven.” You can find it on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc.

“Steel Victories” is available in hard back, paperback, e-book, and audio book wherever you buy your books. It’s also available, along with “Symphony from Heaven” on the book’s website: https://steelvictories.com.

Make sure you grab a copy and read it!

Thanks in Advance for your help:

I hope you enjoy this episode. If you did, don't keep it a secret! Please tell a friend. Your recommendation is the most powerful way to help us acquire new listeners.

Also, if you're listening to us on Apple podcasts, please rate and review us.

Suggestions for future episodes:

Have someone you want me to interview (including you)? Email me at shesnotdoneyetyall@gmail.com.

Have a topic you'd like me to discuss? Email me at shesnotdoneyetyall@gmail.com.

Resources and Show Links:

Everything you need to know about “Steel Victories”: https://steelvictories.com.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-smith-505a0117/

Instagram: @monicac_smith

Facebook: Monica C. Smith

Reach me here:

Email me: shesnotdoneyetyall@gmail.com

My coaching website: https://beckyberrycoach.com

My LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckyberrycoach/

This podcast was recorded, produced, edited, and marketed by yours truly, Becky Berry.

Thanks again for listening and sharing!

Becky

It’s always a treat when I (Becky Berry) get to chat with a novelist. In this episode of She’s Not Done Yet I chat with author Denise Frost who writes under the name DC Frost.

We cover a wide range of topics including her background, aging well, writing and publishing as a Latina author, publishing her first book (“A Punishing Breed”) at 60+, and, since we spoke 2 days after the election, the future.

In 2024 the New York Times recognized DJ Arias, the protagonist in the book, as one of Four Great Fictional Detectives.

I love to ask authors to share their writing process and their journey to publication. Denise talks about leveraging her own life experience to write the book. She set “A Punishing Breed” on a college campus because she spent 19 years working at a small private liberal arts college. She describes the “hermetically sealed world” of college campuses where every voice is amplified and found it a powerful background for her book.

One of my favorite nuggets is her description of how she finally completed the book. She was stuck, and due to a tragic event, found herself working with a therapist. The therapist got her to commit to writing for 2 or 3 hours a day, at the same time each day. To paraphrase what Denise says, when you show up the words show up – and they did!

She serendipitously met her publisher at a weeklong writing retreat. They stayed in touch.

We also talk about the importance of writing groups to writers. Denise has been a member of several groups, finally finding a group of fiction writers.

Finally, we talk about a couple of subjects near and dear to my heart – aging well and activism. Denise and I recorded this episode the day after the inauguration, so we had a lot to talk about.

Thanks in Advance for your help:

I hope you enjoy this episode. If you did, don't keep it a secret! Please tell a friend. Your recommendation is the most powerful way to help us acquire new listeners.

Also, if you're listening to us on Apple podcasts, please rate and review us.

Suggestions for future episodes:

Have someone you want me to interview (including you)? Email me at shesnotdoneyetyall@gmail.com.

Have a topic you'd like me to discuss? Email me at shesnotdoneyetyall@gmail.com.

Resources and Show Links:

· https://www.denisefrost.net/

· https://redhen.org/book_author/dc-frost/

· https://www.instagram.com/dcfrost_writer/

· https://www.facebook.com/denisecfrost

Email me (Becky): shesnotdoneyetyall@gmail.com

My coaching website: https://beckyberrycoach.com

My LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckyberrycoach/

This podcast was recorded, produced, edited, and marketed by me, Becky Berry.

Thanks again for listening and sharing!

Becky

Wow, just Wow! You won’t believe this conversation. I (Becky Berry) interview Linda Broenniman about her book “The Politzer Saga.”

Imagine writing a history of your family that spans 300 years. Now imagine writing it after you found out that everything you thought you knew about your family was a lie. That’s what Linda Broenniman did and that’s what we talked about.

After finding out unexpectedly that the father she thought was Catholic was instead Jewish, Linda decided to search for the truth about her family. She wanted to know more about her grandmother.

The history that Linda shares in her book really does span 300 years – that’s 8 generations. Not only that, she’s included family trees, photographs, and other materials documenting the life of her family in Hungary.

We talk about what it was like to find out that what you thought you knew about your family wasn’t true and that the truth included the journey of Jews in Hungary for 300 years (I know I keep writing 300 years, but it’s mind boggling – and powerful). Discovering family you didn’t even know you had. Finding out your mother was a hero of Israel for hiding Jews fleeing the holocaust during World War II.

One of the most striking themes in the book is the picture it paints of what it was like to be Jewish in Europe over 300 years. Linda’s work highlights the recurring cycles of prosperity, prosecution, and banishment that defined the life of Jews during this time.

I love that, at the beginning of each chapter, Linda tells us the familial relationship to her of the she’s writing about. So, when she shares that one of her ancestors is the father of modern otology, she lists how many generations there are between her and him (the number of greats indicates the number of generations).

We talk about how writing this book allowed Linda to connect with her Hungarian roots in a deep and meaningful way.

It was a great conversation. The book is totally worth your time.

And, by the way, her book is on sale at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. It’s that important (emphasis mine).

Thanks in Advance for your help:

I hope you enjoy this episode. If you did, don't keep it a secret! Please tell a friend. Your recommendation is the most powerful way to help us acquire new listeners.

Also, if you're listening to us on Apple podcasts, please rate and review us.

Suggestions for future episodes:

Is there someone you want me to interview (including you)? Email me at shesnotdoneyetyall@gmail.com.

Do you have a topic you'd like me to discuss? Email me at shesnotdoneyetyall@gmail.com.

Resources and Show Links:

You can learn more about “The Politzer Saga” on the website:

https://politzersaga.com/

You can also find Linda on Facebook and Instagram: @lindabroennimanauthor

Email me: shesnotdoneyetyall@gmail.com

My coaching website: https://beckyberrycoach.com

My LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckyberrycoach/

This podcast was recorded, produced, edited, and marketed by yours truly, Becky Berry.

Thanks again for listening and sharing!

Becky

©2025 Becky Berry LLC dba The Cronecast Podcast Network