In a world where highly produced social media videos tend to be king, Josie Balka’s could be described as visually straightforward by comparison.
Typically wearing leisurewear, the Canadian radio show host looks into a camera in the soundproof studio she created in her basement. With a microphone propped in front of her, she records poems β ones she’s written that cover complicated topics like friendships, broken hearts, body insecurities, aging and grief.
And these poems have now been watched over 100 million times on TikTok alone (yes, we counted).
βI canβt remember anyone Iβve ever seen at a public pool with such a memorable body, good or bad, that I think about it ever again,β begins what is her most popular poem thus far.
In it, she reflects on all the aspects of a person that only briefly grab her attention β their body, their looks β before pivoting to what she does remember.
βWhen I talk about my friends, sometimes I will bother to note that they are beautiful, yes. But I will list the things that make them that way,β she says.
What began as a regulation exercise from her therapist has turned Balka into a viral sensation in late 20223, with the likes of John Mayer, Jennifer Aniston and Mel Robbins sharing her work. And now, with the release of her first book, “I Hope You Remember,” Balka can add New York Times bestselling author to her list of accolades. (Her second book, “Loves of Our Lives,” will be out January 2026.)
“It’s hard to wrap my head around,” she tells TODAY.com on the phone as she sat on her porch earlier this month. “It just doesn’t feel real.”
Balka spoke with TODAY.com about her sudden viral rise, how quickly she can whip up a poem, the themes to which she keeps returning and whether her fiancΓ© is terrified about writing his own wedding vows (spoiler alert: he is).
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
As a writer, it can sometimes be painful for me to allow others to read more personal work. Were you nervous to start sharing your poems on social media, where people can be particularly cruel?
The one thing that I worry about the most is the people that I know thinking that itβs not cool. I love that quote thatβs like, “Itβs only cringy until it works.” I feel like at first, I was a little bit more sensitive to any negativity, which there honestly hasnβt been a ton of, which is really nice because I know on the internet when I post other kinds of content, there can be. But usually with poems, itβs pretty positive. Anybody whoβs being mean on the internet, I would never admire those people, so I find that I canβt be scared of them either.
When did you start realizing that you were creating something that was resonating?
I had one go super viral at the end of 2023, the public pool one. And that was kind of the first one that I was like, βWoah, what just happened?β I think as kind of unfortunate as it is, one of the main ways that I want to push forward is when people are encouraging me to do so, and sometimes it does take a little bit of enforcement. And being encouraged by celebrities that Iβve looked up to for a long time, I was like, βI canβt believe it. This could be something.β
Let’s talk about the public pool poem that really took off. It’s been viewed over 12 million times since you posted it in December 2023. How did this poem come about?
I believe that I had just gone shopping or was looking at bathing
Some of the most resonating things are the things that Iβm sitting here thinking Iβm the only one who feels that way.
Josie balka
suits online and I was just thinking about how crappy of an experience that always is for me. And I just have never, ever put any significance into why I love somebody based on their body. I kind of was like, βWhy are you so worried that everyone’s looking at you when youβve never looked at anybody else and remembered them?β
It kind of spiraled into all these other reasons that describe why people care about who you are and not how you look, and different scenarios in your life. I feel like itβs a really important thing to remember.
Self-image and body confidence are such common themes in your work. Why do you think that is?
I lost over 100 pounds, and I have lots of trauma from it. Iβve had a few surgeries for loose skin and that kind of stuff. After my first plastic surgery for my lower body, I got sepsis and almost died. It’s crazy that I did this for how I looked, and then I almost died. And it didnβt make me any happier. It just made me feel smaller, and I kind of thought that was the only thing I needed or wanted.
And then there was kind of a big realization when I got to my goal. I still had all these things to work through and my happiness was never really dependent on the way that I looked in the way that I thought. I think thereβs a lot of people who sit around saying, βWell, if I just lost 10 pounds β¦ if I didnβt have this loose skin, my life would be so much better.β But thereβs no end goal, you just find something else. The way you look will never be the only thing. And I feel like Iβve learned that firsthand a lot over the last few years.
Some of the most resonating things I find are the things that Iβm sitting here thinking Iβm the only one who feels that way, because I truly donβt think there are many unique experiences. Often if you just say the one thing that you carry the most shame over out loud, youβll find 100 other people that feel that way too. Thatβs kind of why I leaned into it.
Your audience really bares their own hearts when responding to your work. In a May poem, “I Hope You Don’t Miss Me in Heaven,” one person commented about her dad and how listening to your words brought instant tears. On another, someone wrote, “I will quote you in my wedding vows.” What is your reaction to seeing people open up like that?
It goes both ways. Every time somebody goes, “Oh, I really related to this thing, it made me feel less alone,” I get to be like, “Oh, because you related to this, now I know that Iβm not alone in that thought.” I hope that other people scrolling through the comment section of a video they resonate with are seeing 100 other people that are like, “Me too, me too, me too.” And we can make everyone feel less alone together.
Some writers have to have a very specific setup in order to create. What is your process like?
I would have to have more of a routine with it. I usually just write down ideas as they come to me. I’ll think of a line while Iβm driving or at work and Iβll just type it into my phone. Eventually Iβll scroll through all the one-liners on my notes app and expand on one of them. And if I feel like itβs good enough, Iβll go downstairs in my studio and record and post it. Iβd say 99% of the time, I write, record and post all in the same night.
I know youβre engaged. Are you and your fiancΓ© planning to do vows? If so, how is he feeling about coming up against such a wordsmith?
He was not wanting to do vows in front of people. He is very loving and very sweet and heβs not shy to tell me how he feels but he is definitely shy to speak in front of a crowd. Originally he was like, βCan we please just do private vows?β And I was like, βNope, I want to do them in front of everybody.β So we are going to do them.
I honestly donβt think they will be that crazy or that amazing. Theyβll be pretty personalized, itβll probably be the way I would talk to him on a normal day.
So much has happened in the last 18 months for you. What do you hope is next?
I think thatβs kind of the scary thing about success: It never feels like enough. Like everything after, if itβs not quite up to par, you always feel like you didnβt do as good a job, you know? Obviously in my head, I hope for success moving forward. But I also just hope to keep enjoying it. I love doing it, itβs my total passion. Itβs my journal entries come to life. Itβs what my therapist told me to do to get regulated. I couldnβt be more grateful that itβs turned into something like this, and I just hope that I continue to love that and I continue to be able to connect with people.
I remember saying to my therapist once at the beginning, “What if I canβt continue it? What if I canβt maintain it?” And she was like, “Nobody can ever take away whatβs already happened.” So I think that I get to move forward knowing that whatβs already happened is mine. Obviously I hope for more of it, but even if all I got was what I have, I would be so happy to have it.
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