Life-Adjacent. Karen Salmansohn on Your 90-Year-Old Self, the Near-Life Experience, and Coming Back Into the Room

Karen Salmansohn is a bestselling author with more than amillion books sold, a former senior creative director at NYC’s top ad agencies (she once named the Burger King Croissan’wich), and the founder of NotSalmon. Jon Stewart said she has “the spirit and sass of a stand-up comic.” She’s been writing “self-help for people who wouldn’t be caught dead doing self-help” since 1999.Her new book, Your To-Die-For Life: How to Maximize Joyand Minimize Regret… Before Your Time Runs Out (BenBella, March 2026), introduces the “near-life experience” — being physically present but mentally absent. The wedding watched through a viewfinder. The walk taken with earbudsin. The conversation half-finished because the notification could not wait.Dee Dee told her she’s been “life-adjacent” for abouteight months. Karen named it in one sentence. What follows is the conversation.Topics: The 90-Year-Old Self | Near-Life Experience |Mortality Awareness | Eulogy Exercise | Marble Jar | Core Values | Grief | Raising a Teenager in a Digital Age | Humor and Hard Truths | Principled LivingShow Notes Resources·     Substack - https://substack.com/- The Stand Up Philosopher·     The Top Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware -https://bronnieware.com/the-top-regrets-of-the-dying/·     Your To Die For Life (Book) https://www.amazon.com/s?k=your+to+die+for+life·     Not Salmon Website - https://notsalmon.com·     Substack - Not Salmon - https://notsalmon.substack.com·     Taylored Worldo  https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=taylored+world+shelby+tayloro  https://music.apple.com/us/album/taylored-world-ep/1528495841o  https://open.spotify.com/album/0T9g2SaICFtcPmNsR1x3L8 Guest Links·     Website - https://karensalmansohn.com·     Twitter - https://twitter.com/KarenSalmansohn·     Website - https://notsalmon.com·     Substack - https://notsalmon.substack.com·     Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/notsalmon·     Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/notsalmon Chapters – Time Stamps are approximate00:00 Navigating Change and New Beginnings02:54 The Importance of Different Perspectives05:59 Understanding and Engaging with Others09:03 Creative Journey: From Advertising to Writing12:04 Self-Help for the Reluctant Reader15:00 The Power of Mortality Awareness17:55 Conversations with Your Future Self20:57 Lessons from the 90-Year-Old Self24:01 Journaling: A Path to Self-Discovery34:24 The Power of Handwriting36:04 Awakening to Near Life Experiences38:01 The Impact of Technology on Presence41:06 Creating Meaningful Connections43:59 Writing for Reflection and Growth46:01 Crafting Your Eulogy and Legacy49:01 Living by Core Values51:48 The Marble Jar: A Visual Reminder of Life56:00 Choosing Kindness and Authenticity01:04:53 The Importance of Community and Connection01:06:11 Living by Core Values01:07:43 The Eulogy Exercise and Mortality Awareness01:09:43 Reflections on Body Image and Acceptance01:10:44 Navigating Technology and Family Dynamics01:12:25 Raising a Teenager in a Digital Age01:14:39 Using Humor to Address Serious Topics01:20:45 Finding Humor in Life's Challenges01:28:31 Practical Tools for Resilience01:30:49 Living a Principled Life