The Cost of Pretending You're Okay: with Jamie-Lynn Sigler

What happens when the life you planned is no longer possible? Jamie-Lynn Sigler joins Danielle to discuss living with multiple sclerosis, the shame of hiding a chronic illness while starring on The Sopranos, and the moment she realized she couldn't keep pretending everything was okay. Together they explore identity, vulnerability, healing, reinvention, and why telling the truth about our lives often becomes the very thing that connects us to other people. Jamie also reflects on her new memoir And So It Is...: A Memoir of Acceptance and Hope, her podcast MeSsy with Christina Applegate, motherhood, purpose, and how she found a new way to answer the calling she thought she'd lost. In this episode you’ll learn: Jamie’s experience growing up on The Sopranos, and finding fame at the age of 16 How Hollywood shaped her confidence Why she says healing isn't one breakthrough, it's hundreds of small ones The journey of writing her memoir And So It Is...: A Memoir of Acceptance and Hope Jamie’s mantra about the story that you tell yourself becoming the root of your suffering How to stop letting shame define your life What happens when you stop performing for everyone else Why self-acceptance changed Jamie's life The lengths Jamie went to during Hollywood auditions to hide her diagnosis  The freedom that comes from telling the truth about your life Why Jamie hid her MS diagnosis for 15 years How Jamie rediscovered the joy of performing Why authenticity became Jamie's greatest strength What James Gandolfini taught Jamie about being seen Jamie’s unfiltered thoughts about the controversial end of The Sopranos The surprising lesson Jamie has learned from co-hosting MeSsy with Christina Applegate Make sure to check out Jamie’s book And So It Is...A Memoir of Acceptance and Hope here.   Listen to Jamie and Christina Applegate’s podcast MeSsy here, and follow her on Instagram for more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.