Amber Wardell, PhD
Author Interview - Amber Wardell, PhD
Author of Beyond Self-Care Potato Chips: Choosing Nourishing Self-Care in a Quick-Fix Culture
Mainstream self-care culture has convinced women that manicures, rom-coms, and Botox are what they need to feel better. While these practices can provide some fleeting satisfaction, they lack the critical and long-lasting nourishment that women actually need to thrive. These are the potato chips of self-care, empty calories that cannot provide true fulfillment. In a world of quick-fixes it can feel impossible to find genuine self-care—until now.
Beyond Self-Care Potato Chips: Choosing Nourishing Self-Care in a Quick-Fix Culture by Amber Wardell, PhD, is a call to action for women to embrace true and sustaining self-care habits. As a psychologist, public figure, and millennial mother, Amber knows firsthand the challenges women face to take care of themselves amidst the chaos of life, all while unlearning the harmful self-care tactics women are taught from girlhood. While it might seem impossible to balance everything, this book provides realistic and fulfilling self-care practices for any reader.
Through intimate and often humorous personal anecdotes—and employing the same combination of raw honesty and relatability that has made her a trusted online voice and social media sensation—Amber demonstrates how readers can let go of unfulfilling solutions and begin embracing healing self-care.
Encouraging readers to cultivate their own truth trench, Amber provides actionable advice at the end of every chapter so women can begin to set aside their bag of self-care potato chips and reach instead for something more nourishing, healthy, and sustainable.
“This is my love letter to exhausted millennial women (and our sisters from all generations) who were brought up hearing that self-care is selfish and self-love is egoic,” says Wardell. “It is the story of how I learned to love myself again, and the practical steps I took to get there. I hope it will be a roadmap for other women to do the same.”
Author Interview - Amber Wardell, PhD
Author I draw inspiration from:
Glennon Doyle. Untamed, for sure. It’s such a beautiful story of how Glennon found authenticity, began living her most genuine life, and shook off the world’s domestication.
Author Interview - Amber Wardell, PhD | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
Probably on the front porch on a crisp fall evening. Otherwise, in bed with a glass of wine.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Addie LaRue from The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. I would ask her what’s the best thing she ever got away with because of her “gift” of being forgotten by everyone who meets her. Then, I would ask what was the biggest heartbreak.
Author Interview - Amber Wardell, PhD | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I’ve wanted to write books since I was a little girl, but I didn’t trust myself. I got a doctorate degree in Cognitive Psychology instead and focused on writing scholarly journal articles based on my research. It was when an editor from one of the journals gave me feedback that said, “the author’s writing style is too conversational and artistic for a scientific journal” that I knew I could probably do alright as a book author.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
I generally prefer hardback. I love how hardback books hold up over time and look beautiful on a bookshelf. The downside is that you can’t get them nice and “squishy” like you can get a paperback. Paperbacks, of course, get that floppy, buttery feeling over time, which I always love. I don’t typically read ebooks as they bother my eyes. But audiobooks? I’ve got one going just about any time I’m in the car.
The last book I read:
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio. What a joy it was to read! I was in need of a gentle story that could hold my interest, but that didn’t require too much mental effort (the way a thriller or a who done it might) and this book totally fit the bill! I was captivated the whole way through.
Author Interview - Amber Wardell, PhD | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Pen and paper for planning, computer for drafting. I’m a visual person, so I like the process of planning and organizing with pen and paper. I go into a state of free-association where I just begin writing down all the thoughts that come to mind and grouping them into concepts. Once I have a roadmap of where things are going, I then begin drafting on the computer.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Probably Jo from The Change by Kirsten Miller. Jo is a justice seeker who is consumed by protecting vulnerable women and children and is fiercely devoted to her friends. Although she has a strong sense of right and wrong, she is more than willing to make compromises when it comes to defending the innocent. I like her blend of dark and light, strength and gentleness, and compassion and feminine rage.
Author Interview - Amber Wardell, PhD | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
I’d like to go back to my roots of horseback riding. One day, I hope to have a large farm with lots of horses and make a living teaching riding lessons. I’d probably spend more of my time reading books in the pasture while the horses graze, though.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
Oh, dear. I don’t consider myself a terribly fashionable person, but I did enjoy the 90s grunge era. I think I might still have a pair of JNCO pants around here somewhere.
Place I’d most like to travel:
I’d love to go back to Crete, Greece eventually. I spent a week there giving talks at a conference when I was in graduate school, and I fell in love with the place. I think my soul is destined to be there.
My signature drink:
If we’re talking alcohol, it’ll be a Cabernet Sauvignon. But my favorite everyday drink is seltzer water with zero-calorie Sonic Cherry Limeade powder mixed in. Trust me — you’ll thank me later.
Favorite artist:
Probably Dave Matthews from Dave Matthews Band. His music has stuck with me since college, and it’s still what I turn to when I need to feel something.
Number one on my bucket list:
The number one thing I hope to accomplish is to own a plot of land big enough for all of my
family members to live together. I want to provide a “soft place to land” (as my dad always called it) for my children and their families, giving them the freedom to pursue their dreams fearlessly because they know they have a home base.
Find more from the author:
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sensible_amber
IG: https://www.instagram.com/sensible_amber/
YT: https://youtube.com/@amberwardell
FB: https://www.facebook.com/people/Amber-Wardell/100090666542486/
X: https://x.com/sensible_amber
About Amber Wardell, PhD:
Author Interview - Amber Wardell, PhD
Amber Wardell, PhD, is a cognitive psychologist, writer, Psychology Today contributor, and social media influencer with over 690K followers on TikTok and Instagram where her authentic advice on motherhood, marriage, and mental health has made her a trusted voice of honesty and reliability among women who are looking to embrace nourishing self-care and self-empowerment. Beyond Self-Care Potato Chips: Choosing Nourishing Self-Care in a Quick-Fix Culture is her first book.
