Leonora is so thrilled and honored to welcome author and dialect and vocal coach Samara Bay to Mothering Heights. Samara travels the world dialect coaching some of the biggest stars in the world, and in her brand new book, Permission to Speak, Samara lays out how each of us can change the world - and our place in it - by harnessing the power of our voices. Samara’s book is profound and joyful and invites us all to change who has all the power, by redefining what power sounds like.  We discuss the process Samara took to get her book published and how sisterhood played a role in that, Leonora accidentally makes Samara cry, Samara talks about her work decolonizing public speaking and lifting marginalized voices, and Leonora shares a time she felt utterly powerless and how it took her voice away (and then gets an incredible realization on the situation from Samara!). Also, these two voice nerds just nerd out on voice stuff. Samara’s book, Permission to Speak is available everywhere (start here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/permission-to-speak-how-to-change-what-power-sounds-like-starting-with-you-samara-bay/18485502?ean=9780593238684). You can listen to her podcast Permission to Speak wherever you get your podcasts, follow her Instagram at @SamaraBay, and check out all her work at http://samarabay.com!