OVERCOMING FEAR | Nan McNamara

Baby, Oh Baby: Life as a Dog Lady

Growing up in a family of five kids, Catholic no less, having children of my own was something that was sort of assumed. Heck, my Mom and her seven sisters had 45 children between them. (Doing the math, yep, that means 45 first cousins on my Mom’s side – and 45 of the kindest and friendliest people you will ever meet.)

So while I assumed I would have kids, I never spent days imagining kids. For that matter, I never really imagined getting married, no dreams of walking down the aisle in an over-priced wedding gown. Those thoughts didn’t surface

July 26, 2024

ACTOR'S LIFE, ACTRESS, CONFIDENCE, INSPIRATION, OVERCOMING FEAR, PERSONAL GROWTH, Uncategorized

Fear: How To Turn On The Light

Nan McNamara

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It was the worst thing to be asked. We dreaded it. We argued over it. But more than anything, my siblings and I feared it. The basement. Specifically, being asked to go into the furnace room to get anything out of the freezer after dinner. In the dark.

If you didn’t grow up in the midwest, you might need some perspective here. First, basements are the norm in my native state of Minnesota. Ours was almost completely finished off with knotty pine paneling and a linoleum floor. At one point, we even had a ping pong table (bought by

April 30, 2024

CONFIDENCE, INSPIRATION, MINNESOTA, OVERCOMING FEAR, PERSONAL GROWTH, SELF-HELP

Stay Standing

Nan McNamara

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The setting is the Greek Theatre on a warm summer night in Hollywood. Every seat in the amphitheater is full and the last bit of sun slips behind the surrounding hills. There is a palpable excitement in the air. Women in cotton dresses and men in cargo shorts hold glasses of Chardonnay and plastic cups of beer waiting in anticipation for the concert to begin.

Ok, so it’s Garrison Keillor. Not Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga singing Shallow. But still. The Greek in the summer is a special place. On this particular evening, everyone in the audience is

January 31, 2024

ACTOR'S LIFE, ACTRESS, AWARDS, CONFIDENCE, INSPIRATION, OVERCOMING FEAR, PERSONAL GROWTH

Did You Know There’s a Documentary About YOU?

Nan McNamara

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Did You Know There’s a Documentary About YOU?

Did you grow up in a household with home movies? I didn’t. I’ve always been a little envious of friends whose Dad or Mom was the family videographer, capturing birthdays and Christmas and family vacations. Photo albums and slides are wonderful, but to have video? That would be something.

I think of home movies as being the layman’s version of a documentary. And with this being called the golden age of documentaries, there are some amazingly well-told life stories out there. From Ruth Bader Ginsberg to Jane Fonda to Mister Rogers, the inspiration these

October 1, 2018

ACTOR'S LIFE, ACTRESS, CONFIDENCE, CREATIVITY, INSPIRATION, OVERCOMING FEAR, PERSONAL GROWTH, SELF-HELP

My Invitation to the Royal Wedding

Nan McNamara

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It’s been almost three months since the royal wedding. And I can’t quite delete the DVR recording of it, even though I’ve watched the whole thing, seen the BBC highlights and read the People magazine story from cover to cover.

A lot has been said about the reasons people have been and continue to be so fascinated by the event and this magical couple. The idea of a young woman from the United States becoming a real-life princess is a fairy tale come true.

But I think most analysts boil it down to our desire to watch something positive

August 10, 2018

ACTOR'S LIFE, ACTRESS, CONFIDENCE, CREATIVITY, INSPIRATION, OVERCOMING FEAR, PERSONAL GROWTH, SELF-HELP

Here’s to an Uncomfortable 2018!

Nan McNamara

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The year will be remembered (among other things) as the year I was on the Kiwanis speaking circuit. If you didn’t grow up in the midwest or you aren’t of a ‘certain age,’ you might be saying, “What’s a Kiwanis?”

Well, in very simple terms, Kiwanis is a club where professional folks come together for a meal, listen to a speaker, and encourage social and charitable contributions to the community.

But if you have ever attended a Kiwanis meeting, you know it is so much more than that dry description. These people are fierce – fierce in their

January 1, 2018

ACTOR'S LIFE, ACTRESS, CONFIDENCE, CREATIVITY, INSPIRATION, MINNESOTA, OVERCOMING FEAR, PERSONAL GROWTH, SELF-HELP