BTS: TBTS (Behind the Scenes of TOO BLESSED TO STRESS)

6. TOO BLESSED TO STRESS: What's really at stake

In the final episode of BTS: TBTS, we zoom out from personal origin story to cultural stakes, asking why stories like Too Blessed to Stress matter right now. With publication just days away, Alli reflects on what six weeks of deep excavation—of faith, influence, media, and power—revealed about the world her novel is entering. This episode explores influencer culture as an economic system, the normalization of Christian ideology online, and how seemingly “harmless” platforms can shape belief, politics, and real-world consequences. It’s a closing argument for nuance, media literacy, and taking our feeds a little more seriously. In this episode: * Why media about influencers matters in the first place * Why books about influencers deserve to be more than “beach reads” * The risks of commodifying belief through platforms and branding * What fictional groups like the Moral Mavens reveal about real-world power * How online influence connects to political polarization and cultural movements LINKS: * Too Blessed to Stress — available for pre-order now [https://allihoffkosik.com/too-blessed-to-stress] * Events for Too Blessed to Stress [https://allihoffkosik.com/too-blessed-to-stress-events] * Follow Alli on Instagram: @allihoffkosik [https://www.instagram.com/allihoffkosik] * Follow Alli on Substack: Getting It Alli Together [https://allihoffkosik.substack.com/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

5. The hardest goodbyes

In Episode 5, we shift from origin story to craft, breaking down the writing and editing decisions that shaped Too Blessed to Stress. Alli walks through why the novel moved from five narrators to four, how one character became a composite of two original points of view, and what it meant to cut beloved subplots around infertility, minimalism, mission culture, race, and cancelation—even when those threads felt important. This episode is about killing your darlings, telling the truest version of a story, and accepting that absence can be part of the point. In this episode: * Why Too Blessed to Stress lost a narrator * How one narrative POV was reshaped * Writing about infertility and faith under public scrutiny * The subplot about race and mission culture that didn’t survive edits * Letting go of a documentary-style structure * What revision teaches you about power, performance, and belief Next week, the mini-series wraps with a forward-looking conversation about influencer culture, media, and why Christian influencers matter more than we might want to admit. LINKS: * Too Blessed to Stress — available for pre-order now [https://allihoffkosik.com/too-blessed-to-stress] * Events for Too Blessed to Stress [https://allihoffkosik.com/too-blessed-to-stress-events] * Follow Alli on Instagram: @allihoffkosik [https://www.instagram.com/allihoffkosik] * Follow Alli on Substack: Getting It Alli Together [https://allihoffkosik.substack.com/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

4. The algorithm made me do it

In Episode 4 of BTS: TBTS, Alli makes a big time jump—goodbye, early aughts religious curiosities; hello, 2020, pandemic scrolling, and a social media algorithm that changed everything. What started as idle Instagram voyeurism during lockdown quickly turned into a deep dive into the world of Christian influencers: their language, their aesthetics, their confidence, and the very particular way they speak to (and shape) young women online. As Alli traces how this unexpected obsession became the creative spark for Too Blessed to Stress, she reflects on the strange intimacy of influencer culture, the power of branding, and what it means to study a belief system you don’t share—but can’t stop watching. In this episode, we cover: * The pandemic scroll that rewired Alli’s algorithm forever * The language, aesthetics, and “seasons” of Christian influencer culture * Influencers, couples, and ministries that became unexpected creative research * Lurking Reddit, fundie snark, and ethical discomfort * Turning cringe-worthy internet obsession into fiction that feels real Next up: Alli goes deeper into the writing process itself—how she transformed this research into characters, scenes, and a story that early readers say feels uncomfortably authentic. LINKS: * Too Blessed to Stress — available for pre-order now [https://allihoffkosik.com/too-blessed-to-stress] * Events for Too Blessed to Stress [https://allihoffkosik.com/too-blessed-to-stress-events] * Follow Alli on Instagram: @allihoffkosik [https://www.instagram.com/allihoffkosik] * Follow Alli on Substack: Getting It Alli Together [https://allihoffkosik.substack.com/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

3. God on TLC

In Episode 3 of BTS: TBTS, Alli turns her attention to pop culture—specifically the early-2000s reality TV landscape that quietly shaped her understanding of religion, belonging, and belief. The episode opens with a reflection on balance, tradition, and the unexpected healing that can come from tending to multiple inherited narratives at once. From there, Alli revisits the golden age of TLC docuseries, including Little People, Big World and the rise of the Roloff family. What begins as comfort viewing slowly becomes something more complicated: an early encounter with faith-forward messaging hiding in plain sight, parasocial relationships, and the realization that mainstream entertainment was often platforming deeply conservative Christian ideology. The episode then widens its lens to include the Duggar family and TLC’s pattern of presenting “unconventional” families whose belief systems were way more problematic than they seemed. Along the way, Alli reflects on voyeurism, influence, and how consuming these stories as a teenager laid important groundwork for Too Blessed to Stress. In this episode: * Early-2000s reality TV and the rise of TLC docuseries * Little People, Big World and the Roloff family * Parasocial crushes, MySpace, and faith hiding in plain sight * The Duggars, fundamentalism, and belief as entertainment * Pop culture as a foundation for Too Blessed to Stress Next up: a major time jump—to 2020 and COVID lockdown LINKS: * Too Blessed to Stress — available for pre-order now [https://allihoffkosik.com/too-blessed-to-stress] * Events for Too Blessed to Stress [https://allihoffkosik.com/too-blessed-to-stress-events] * Follow Alli on Instagram: @allihoffkosik [https://www.instagram.com/allihoffkosik] * Follow Alli on Substack: Getting It Alli Together [https://allihoffkosik.substack.com/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

2. Growing pains

In Episode 2 of BTS: TBTS, Alli moves from elementary school into the emotional chaos of middle school—and deeper into her role as an observer of religion, tradition, and belonging. As a new kid in a new town, she reflects on extravagant bar and bat mitzvahs, standing on the edge of dance floors, and what it felt like to be close to faith communities without ever fully feeling inside them. The episode then fast-forwards to high school, where a confident, faith-rooted best friend and a sweet first boyfriend offer new glimpses of belief, love, and community—still appealing, still not quite hers. These experiences continue laying the groundwork for Alli’s debut novel, Too Blessed to Stress [https://allihoffkosik.com/too-blessed-to-stress]. In this episode: * Middle school moves, culture shock, and tween awkwardness * Bar and bat mitzvahs as a window into belonging * Faith, friendship, and first love in high school * Longing, observation, and the universal desire to fit in Next up: pop culture, televangelism, and a shift in perspective. LINKS: * Too Blessed to Stress — available for pre-order now [https://allihoffkosik.com/too-blessed-to-stress] * Events for Too Blessed to Stress [https://allihoffkosik.com/too-blessed-to-stress-events] * Follow Alli on Instagram: @allihoffkosik [https://www.instagram.com/allihoffkosik] * Follow Alli on Substack: Getting It Alli Together [https://allihoffkosik.substack.com/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.