19 Questions With Sarah Harden
Photo courtesy of Sarah Harden
by The Candidly Team
This article is part of our series called "People We Like," in which we highlight interesting women, across all walks of life.
Leaders, great cooks, doctors, parents, writers; people who inspire us.
Today, we’re highlighting Sarah Harden, the CEO of Hello Sunshine, a media company founded by Reese Witherspoon that has created such explosively addictive content as “Little Fires Everywhere” on Hulu, “The Morning Show” on Apple TV, and “Big Little Lies” on HBO.
The Candidly Questionnaire
1. What is your most compelling quality?
Optimism.
2. What is your biggest challenge?
Listening.
3. What kitchen or house tool do you use daily that’s changed your life?
Coffee Grinder.
4. Are essential oils anything?
Yes— Lavender and Rose oil.
5. Do you struggle at all with boundaries? How?
My previous self did (I would say through my 20’s until my mid-30’s). As I got busier and had kids and got more protective of time (and realized I needed to be OK with disappointing others instead of disappointing myself), I became much better at this.
6. How do you dampen self-critical thoughts when they get too loud?
I repeat my mantra, “I am doing my best and my best is good enough.”
7. Describe the most “you” outfit of all time.
Jeans and a blazer, white t-shirt, and a statement necklace and heels or flats. Or PJs and Uggs.
8. What meal can you make the hell out of?
Any meal when I am feeding 20+. I love a big, messy brunch or a crowd. I’m the buffet queen.
9. What book has made the biggest impact on your life?
Anything by Enid Blyton, The Hardy Boys, Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird. The joy of being able to sneak away from a social situation and lose myself for hours with a book has not left me.
10. Apart from family, what woman do you deeply admire?
Reese Witherspoon and Michelle Obama.
11. Why does the word “feminist” get people so wound up?
Honestly I don’t get it. We are past this word getting people so wound up. It reeks of privilege to me if you want to worry about this word. There are plenty of bigger things to worry about like systemic racism, incarceration, and guns.
12. Which Insta account’s stories do you always tap through until the end?
13. Do you think social media’s good qualities outweigh the bad?
Yes, having lived in Hong Kong and the US (and not anywhere close to my family in Australia) for 20+ years, I truly appreciate how social media has kept me connected with the rhythms of my extended family members’ lives.
14. What quote or phrase has really stayed with you?
“Let it go, let it out
Let it all unravel
Let it free, and it can be
A path on which to travel”
—Michael Leunig
15. Do you have a phobia? How do you deal?
Just the Australian Phobias: sharks that eat you, spiders and snakes that kill you. So I moved to America.
When I am home, I swim with friends who like to go out farther than me, and send my kids out to get wood from the woodpile (where the spiders and snakes live), just like my parents used to.
16. How do you feel about cilantro?
1000% supportive. It’s a gateway to Mexican food. And Margaritas.
17. Describe, in detail, your perfect bedtime routine.
Reading my kids their bedtime stories. Then a cup of tea by myself watching an episode of something. Stretching/trigger-point therapy for my back (while watching the next episode). And then reading in bed (a hard copy book, of course, not a kindle).
18. What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever read on the internet?
I always love a kid fail— i.e. when parents or teachers post photos of the cute and funny things kids write in their homework or things they say that are often inadvertently rude or funny. It’s a reminder of the whimsy and innocence and joy and sheer awesomeness of kid logic.
19. What’s your relationship with bangs?
Casually dating.
What is your single favorite:
Wellness product that *actually* works: Goop Glow Glycolic Peel.
Lip balm: By Terry Baume de Rose.
Jeans brand: Current/Elliot.
Mascara: Chanel.
Robe: The White Company.
Last-minute gift: Books from my local independent bookseller, Diesel Books.
Bra: Gap.
Shampoo: Beautycounter.
Comfortable shoes: Rothy’s flats, Nike runners.
Splurge skincare: Barbara Sturm.
Drugstore skincare: Garnier Micellar Water.
Everyday bag: 49 Square Miles— had it for 10 years.
Podcast: iWeigh with Jameela Jamil, This American Life, Unlocking Us by Brené Brown.
Drink: Casamigos on the rocks with a dash of soda and a squeeze of lime. It’s basically a health tonic.
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We have to eat.
