APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER

I met my guest on today’s show, Ms. Ana Tajder when I was featured on her award winning podcast, Thank You Mama. I loved being the part of the show, and being able to share the lessons I learned from my mom, Weronika. Ana was such a gracious host, I knew I needed to have her guest on my show as well! Today’s the day, I get to share her story.

Ana was born in Zagreb, Croatia, to actress/artist Jagoda Kaloper and architect Radovan Tajder. When bombs reached Zagreb in 1991, she fled to Vienna, where she graduated with an MBA and collected extensive work experience in diplomacy, marketing and advertising. Her first novel “From Barbie to Vibrator” was published in Croatia in 2008 and Austria in 2009. In 2010, she was awarded the prestigious “Austrian State Grant for Literature” for “Titoland.” The book was published in Austria in 2012 and Croatia in 2013. It received extensive media coverage and was nominated for various awards.

Ana writes for German, Austrian and Croatian newspapers and magazines and is finishing a PhD in Sociology about singles and capitalism. In 2020, Ana launched her podcast “Thank You, Mama” in which she interviews women from all over the world about the most valuable lessons they learned from their mothers. In the same year, her podcast won the Hermes Creative Award and the dotCOMM Award. She is currently at work on her next book while splitting her time between Vienna and Seattle. Ana is married to American bestselling author and screenwriter Nic Kelman. They have one son.

On today’s show, Ana discusses growing up in a communist and capitalist Yugoslavia, how she started her award-winning podcast, Thank You Mama, how you can have different attitudes towards language and culture depending on where you go to school, why writing in foreign languages can be scary and freeing, advice for aspiring writers who’s first language is not English and embracing the characteristics of different languages.

In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

• Growing up in a communist and capitalist society in Yugoslavia
• Fleeing to Vienna, Austria
• About Ana’s mom, a movie star, artist and an activist, one of the first people who started a foundation for starving children in Africa
• Thank You Mama, Ana’s podcast, how it started and what it means
• Learning English in an international school, different attitude towards language and culture
• Why writing in foreign languages can be scary and freeing
• Advice for aspiring writers who’s first language is not English
• Embracing the characteristics of different languages
• Ana on failure, scoliosis, wearing a back brace, ballet and discipline

Thank You to Our Accented World Sponsors:

Ana’s Book Recommendations:

Girls: A Paean by Nic Kelman: https://amzn.to/3cCfcQB

Listen to Lena’s Chat with Chloé Skye Weiser about Running a Successful Copywriting Business Abroad