Cheryl Strayed is an American writer and podcast host.

From the halls of the White House Office of Management and Budget to becoming America's most beloved culinary teacher, Ina Garten has built an empire on the simple philosophy that good food brings people together.

Jennifer Grey is best known for her iconic portrayal of Baby in the classic film *Dirty Dancing*, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. She also starred in the acclaimed series *Red Oaks* and won season eleven of *Dancing with the Stars*. At 62, she authored *Out of the Corner*, a memoir described as a powerful coming-of-age story about personal evolution.

Suzanne LaVenture is a world traveler, award-winning instructor, and author of the memoir *Prone to Wander*, which details her life from a sheltered southern Baptist upbringing through adventures abroad. She holds a BA in Spanish Language and Literature from Wake Forest University and an MA from the University of Illinois, and dabbles in languages including Arabic, French, Irish, and Elvish.

Eva zu Beck is an adventure YouTuber, writer, and TV host with over four million followers across social media. Originally from Poland and educated at Oxford University, she now lives a nomadic life. Her debut memoir, *The Wilder Way* (2026), chronicles a seven-year journey following the collapse of her marriage in 2018, taking her from Mongolia's wilderness to Yemen's remote islands to the Arctic Circle.

Rachel Friedman is the author of The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost: A Memoir of Three Continents, Two Friends, and One Unexpected Adventure (Bantam, 2011), a Target Breakout Book and one of Goodreads' best travel books of 2011. She also wrote And Then We Grew Up, exploring how she and her childhood friends navigated disillusionment and fulfillment. A former serious violist, she is based in New York as a freelance writer.