Angela Nissel discusses her new memoir, Good Grief, Pass the Bread, Mom Is Dead, which recounts caring for her terminally ill mother through a mixture of sadness and gallows humour. The book matters because it presents grief and family caregiving without stripping away the absurdity and comedy that can accompany painful experiences.

Nissel is known for The Broke Diaries, which began as a college blog about financial hardship, and later worked as a writer and producer on programmes including Scrubs and The Boondocks. She also co-founded the hip-hop website Okayplayer with Questlove, while the interview shows her continuing preference for practical tools, Craigslist, limited browser tabs and using Instagram to promote the book.