Kristin and Jenny’s marriage started with an ultimatum: to further their relationship, Kristin must watch Jenny’s favorite show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. With the terms set, they began a journey that has led them through seven seasons of the beloved genre show, a podcast rewatching the series with their newly minted listenership of “Scoobies,” unexpected success, and a divorce. Through it all, their love for Buffy and their commitment to their community held them together against the odds.
Slayers, Every One of Us is the story of how two queer women navigated divorce on a very public level and managed to stay in each other’s lives through it all. While chock full of Buffy-related content (and Buffering!) for true fans, this is ultimately a memoir of queer love and chosen family. It’s a heartwarming story for anyone who’s experienced lost love, and a roadmap for staying close with your ex.
Without scouring every review on this blog (I’m not going to), or doing some kind of search (still no), I wonder how often I’ve mentioned that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is my favorite TV show.
Like, ever.
There are plenty of other shows that I think are “better,” but none that mean as much to me. I did review Kiersten White’s tie-in YA novel SLAYER here another lifetime ago (2019), but otherwise this blog has probably been shockingly Buffy-free, to my shame.
I have a complicated relationship with podcasts & I’ll do my best to explain it briefly. I guess I could just say…I go through phases. There’s a weird correlation for me between listening to a lot of podcasts & being super depressed. Long & short of it is, if I’m listening to podcasts, I’m probably not doing so great. I guess that’s a little weird, but it just is what it is.
So, in a period where I was listening to a TON of podcasts in the last few years, I started to slowly chip away at Buffering the Vampire Slayer. I’ve been a big fan of many different podcasts that Joanna Robinson has hosted over the years, and I think it was her mentioning Buffering that first brought it to my attention (she is great friends with the Buffering hosts).
It’s a Buffy the Vampire Slayer rewatch/recap podcast hosted by Kristin Russo & Jenny Owen Youngs, and I really wish I had “discovered” this show a long time ago, for reasons I’ll explain in this review.
I think I made it through the first couple seasons of the podcast before stopping listening to podcasts altogether (this is what I do), so I’ve really only heard a fraction of what they’ve done. And they are apparently doing a second round of Buffy podcasts, this time with full spoilers (called Once More, With Spoilers!)
And then they wrote a whole book about their experience, and wow, this book fucking broke me into a million little pieces & had me sobbing in my car as I listened to it (this is the rare book that I read 100% on audio, and I can’t recommend it enough!)
SLAYERS, EVERY ONE OF US is not a book about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I think it’s important to mention that up front. Buffy is, of course, a MASSIVE part of this story, but this is very much the story of Kristin Russo & Jenny Owen Youngs, their lives, their love, and the absolutely incredible & vibrant community that popped up to support their Buffy podcast.
Going into this book, I had known that Russo & Youngs had gotten married (to each other) and later divorced, all while still hosting this podcast together. The book outlines the trials & tribulations of this in incredibly raw & honest detail, and just kind of left me in awe of these two women. This is a profoundly personal story they are sharing.
I found so much inspiration & hope in this book, even though it is also extraordinarily painful at times. Kristin Russo is a fierce & tireless advocate for LGBTQIA+ folks, and Jenny Owen Youngs is a wildly talented singer/songwriter (she wrote an original Buffy-centric song for each episode of the podcast, many of which are included on the audiobook!!) Separately, they are both just so inspiring. Together they are a force.
It’s a wild ride, tracking their relationship from friends, to podcast partners, to being married, then divorced, and then…just the hardships that came with trying to forge ahead with the podcast, even with all their personal difficulties behind the scene. I was just floored by their story. I’m not sure this review really makes any sense at all, all I know is this book moved me as much as anything I’ve read all year.
And to get specific about the audiobook? It’s fucking incredible. Russo & Youngs both narrate, trading off frequently (mid-chapter, mid-sentence, it’s a whole vibe!) which just makes it feel even more personal. And then you get the songs & also some clips from some of the Buffering events they did, and you just really feel the scope of this community that they built. As I listened, I couldn’t help but feel a kind of wistful sadness that I hadn’t “found” this show when it first began. I think I could have really needed it at times, & it would have been fun to feel like a part of the community, even just a little bit.
I don’t think I know any (or many) casual Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans. It’s a show that kind of gets its hooks into you, and you just develop this intense connection to it. And it just means something. It imprints on you. It impacts your life. That vibe could not be any stronger in SLAYERS, EVERY ONE OF US, as these two women draw on themes from the show to guide them through some of life’s biggest challenges.
Oof, this was so incredible & the audiobook is a goddamn masterpiece! Huge thanks to Macmillan Audio for sending this my way!
Grimdark Dad 