The Clearing with Katherine May

California-based illustrator, author and Instagram phenomenon Carissa Potter chats to Katherine about the complexities of taking rest during challenging times.In a masterclass of self-reflection, Carissa questions whether the political left have failed to cultivate tolerance and understanding, if we should brand people as evil and how to ‘show up’ when you are the caregiver of a child with complex medical needs. It is no surprise that someone who thinks so deeply about the world has also developed a fully formed fantasy of where she would go to get away from it all; just her and her ‘platonic love at first sight’ creating art together and dipping in the waters at Indian Springs Calistoga. Bliss.Tell us about your own vision of a dream retreat:As mentioned at the end of the episode, if you have your own ideas about where you would go to rest and restore you can tell us about them here We may select your retreat for our bonus content next season!Links from the episode: Carissa’s websiteCarissa’s InstagramCarissa’s SubstackCarissa’s online shop People I’ve Loved Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Experiencing everything, everywhere, all at once is where we find our guest Elissa Altman this week, as she chats to Katherine in the midst of a snow cyclone in Connecticut. An author and speaker whose work touches on issues of family, trauma, and the permission to create, she acknowledges her deep need for rest and retreat as she whisks us away to her favourite place in the world; a tiny cottage set back from a stony beach in Owl’s Head, Maine. Overlooking the sea and with guitar to hand, Katherine and Elissa grapple with overcoming guilt, the pleasures of re-reading, the fetishisation of Mary Oliver and the horror of people placing items on their desks. A glorious and warm-hearted episode with some timely reminders about the impermanence of things, good and bad. Links from the episode: Elissa’s website where you can find her booksElissa’s Substack Elissa’s InstagramDevotions poetry collection by Mary OliverCrossing to Safety by Wallace StegnerThe Garden Against Time by Olivia LaingVisit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As someone whose life was turned upside down by an unexpected divorce and a subsequent move away from the evangelical church, US author and podcaster Jen Hatmaker has learned, and earned, a wisdom that is tangible.In this episode of The Clearing Jen transports Katherine to her grandparents’ 1970s cabin in the snowy Colorado mountains to share the many ways she has come to terms with life’s challenges. Against a blissful setting of floor to ceiling windows, low lighting and a crackling fire, Jen describes letting others ‘drive their car in the Jen Hatmaker hate lane’, the comfort of feeling small, saying yes to everything and how ‘Me Camp’ changed her life.Links from the episode:Jen’s website where you can buy her books including her memoir Awake Jen’s InstagramThe Middle Place by Kelly CorriganVarious books by David SedarisLearn more about Anne Lamott The Correspondent by Virginia EvansVisit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A deliciously glamorous escape to the snowy setting of a luxury Swiss chalet hotel where 1920s faded English aristocracy meets 1950s Hollywood starlet decadence. Marabou-trimmed silk pajamas and well-stocked libraries with crackling fires abound in this absolute joy of an episode with author Daisy Buchanan. Listen in as Daisy imagines herself preparing for a Grand Ball, with all the pleasure of a day spent wrapped in enormous fluffy white towels and none of the anxiety. She also romps through an array of subjects with Katherine, from her newfound love of reiki to the quest for calm in the neurodivergent brain and why she is so drawn to reading about the strangeness of large families. The most wonderfully realised escape to indulge in at any time. Links from the episode:Daisy’s InstagramDaisy’s books Mortification edited by Robin RobertsonThe Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. DelafieldThe Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane HowardInvitation to the Waltz by Rosamond LehmannThe Weather in the Streets by Rosamond LehmannThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott FitzgeraldThe Pursuit of Love by Nancy MitfordBallet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild Little Women by Louisa May AlcottRachel's Holiday by Marian KeyesThe Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson Laurie Colwin’s books - Home Cooking, More Home Cooking, Happy All the Time, Family HappinessVisit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Floor to ceiling windows overlooking a temperate blue ocean off the coast of New Zealand is where this week’s guest, journalist and author Poorna Bell, dreams of rest and retreat.Since the death of her husband in 2015, Poorna has become well-versed in making the most of the everyday. As a result this is a conversation filled with the joy of small things. From relishing the prospect of unstructured days, to finding unquantified pleasure in movement. From an appreciation of the smell of toast to being able to say no to picnics. And why she never wants to receive another present again. Ever.Links from the episode: Poorna’s Substack As I Was SayingPoorna’s websitePoorna’s InstagramBanana Yoshimoto’s novel KitchenLucy M. Boston’s The Children of Green Knowe Lottie Hazell’s novel Piglet Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prolific author of nine books and writer behind the Substack phenomenon The Hyphen, Emma Gannon takes us away for a whole year to her imaginary retreat in Palm Springs, where she plans to indulge almost solely in her number one favourite pastime  - reading.Revealing the extent to which she craves alone time, she tells Katherine about her very real experience of burnout, how she went from someone who lived to work to appreciating downtime and why she relates to The Hermit in Tarot. An inspiring listen that challenges our ideas of ‘the right way’ to live and embraces the concept of letting go. Links in the show: Emma’s Substack The HyphenEmma’s websiteEmma’s Instagram A link to buy her books including A Year of NothingFind Emma’s conversation with Elizabeth Gilbert about memoir here Max Richter’s track On the Nature of Daylight Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Settling in amongst the sparkling sea views and scented coniferous trees of Corfu, writer Mike Sowden tells Katherine why he is ditching the concept of escape to run towards places and people with enthusiasm and curiosity.  Conjuring up a beautiful stay on the island so beloved by author Gerald Durrell, where people are still viscerally connected to the changing seasons, Mike and Katherine find creativity in discomfort, stories from failed adventures and a shared desire to get out into the world more and embrace the randomness of life.Links from the episode:Mike’s Everything is Amazing newsletter on Substack Where Good Ideas Come From by Stephen JohnsonJourney into Cyprus by Colin ThubronBig Magic by Elizabeth GilbertSurfacing by Kathleen JamieA Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (and link to website all about her)Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katherine explains why we are heeding our own advice and taking a tiny break this week. She also previews some exciting, listener-led bonus content that will be coming your way next season. We’ll be back next week with another wonderful guest for you. Meanwhile take care everyone.Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A modern sage who forewarned the world of the rise of fascism, writer Ece Temelkuran explains why she ‘put her heart in the freezer’ ten years ago when she fled her country of birth and how finding traces of home all around are helping her to heal. From a beloved old cardigan to episodes of Downton Abbey, from being surrounded by Turkish food in Berlin to talking to her three favourite trees in the park; in this moving conversation Ece reveals the power of finding joy in the little things, as we collectively go through what she calls our ‘winter of humanity’. A powerful call to arms and a must-listen for those of us searching for hope in difficult times.Links from the episode:Ece’s InstagramBuy her latest book Nation of Strangers hereBuy How to Lose a Country hereVisit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author, storyteller and enrolled citizen of the Potawatomi nation, Kaitlin Curtice, shares her beautiful image of the perfect retreat, created by her own consciousness during the Covid pandemic. Exploring this space together, Katherine and Kaitlin discuss the little-appreciated power of ageing, looking for stories beneath the stories, the art of listening, feeling the presence of the ancestors and asking permission from the stones and shells before you bring them home. A wonderful episode of Indigenous wisdom, stillness and calm - the perfect moment of retreat. Kaitlin’s LinksKaitlin's website where you can find her booksKaitlin's Substack  Authors mentioned by KaitlinAlastair McIntoshClarissa Pinkola Estés John O'Donohue Billy Collins Musicians’ mentioned by Kaitlin Gregory Alan Isakov Glen HansardVisit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of The Clearing with renowned, Oprah-endorsed American life coach Martha Beck and her wonderful wife and podcast co-host Rowan Mangan skips the small talk and delves right into the mysteries and wonder of life and death. From the consciousness of stones to the nonsensical hierarchy of different sentient beings on earth. From the spiritual repression of our age to the societal need for a shaman. From the realities of living in a liminal space as an autistic person, to parenting neurodivergent children to each of their own unique ‘awakenings’.With uncannily similar experiences of the world, Martha, Ro and Katherine roll through a dizzying array of mind-expanding subjects and shared interests, resulting in a truly captivating and enriching episode.Martha and Rowan’s LinksMartha’s website where you can find her booksRowan’s websiteMartha’s InstagramRowan’s InstagramMartha and Rowan’s Bewildered podcast Things mentioned in the showPoet Andrea Gibson’s website and movie Come See Me in the Good LightNisargadatta Maharaj wiki The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis hereVisit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chef and cookery writer Melissa Hemsley shares her bucolic, Darling Buds of May-esque fantasy of ‘safe’ escape with Katherine. Filled with wild and domesticated animals roaming freely, Chi Gong, nudity, a hammock, friendly neighbours who are close but not too close, the sea, also close but not too close; it’s a warm hug of a landscape where everything is chaotic but controlled. Wild but safe. With people but alone. Calm chaos.A chance to escape the anxiety that accompanies her daily life, Melissa fully embraces the opportunity to imagine a place where her brain could take a rest from the worry and conjures something very beautiful in the process. Melissa’s linksMelissa’s website where you can buy her booksMelissa’s SubstackMelissa’s InstagramThings mentioned in the showThe Darling Buds of May TV Show wikiVisit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer and former magazine editor Sam Baker is dragged kicking and screaming into this getaway as she admits she can never let go of her internal chatter and is not someone who ‘does rest’. Giving us a fascinating insight into the brain of someone who has dedicated their life to hard work and busy-ness, we come to understand how different our visions of escape can be. Needing to be ‘at the edge’ of somewhere, looking out to sea with mountains nearby, and her faithful, tail-less cat Sausage, Sam only truly rests when entering the world of her favourite anime box set. Sam’s discomfort with the concept of retreat and the realisation she doesn’t like having to choose will be utterly relatable and ring the truest for many.Sam’s LinksSam’s Substack The ShiftSam’s podcast The Shift podcast Sam’s InstagramBuy her book in the UK hereThings mentioned in the showYou can watch The Apothecary Diaries here on Crunchyroll Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The ADHD and autistic tendency to rest in motion is fully realised in American author and illustrator Andy J. Pizza’s vision of the ideal retreat. Choosing an extraordinary fictional setting which incorporates an ingenious method of travelling the world, this episode showcases the wonder of a brilliantly creative, neurodivergent brain. Along the way, and with many fascinating tangents, Andy and Katherine discuss the power of Miyazake films, their shared love of Fraggle Rock and longing for direction from the universe. A meticulously thought out and fully realised world that accommodates his own personal experience of ADHD, Andy unveils the most beautifully zany and imaginative dreamscape. An absolute treat.LinksAndy’s website where you can find his booksAndy’s InstagramAndy’s Creative Peptalk podcast Mentioned in the showFraggle RockLast of the Summer Wine WikiThe Master and his Emissary book about left and right brainThe Little PrinceVisit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kicking off the episode with an existential crisis, the inimitable Oliver Burkeman joins Katherine to explore his own, unique take on rest and retreat. A familiar name to many in both the US and the UK, Oliver’s book Four Thousand Weeks has put him at the heart of the global conversation around building a meaningful life. As you might expect, Oliver turns the concept of the podcast on its head whilst taking Katherine on a wild ride through topics from whether we should use AI as a creative tool to favourite notebooks to whether TS Eliot was on the path to spiritual enlightenment. A wonderful, brain-stretching conversation that reaches way beyond the confines of an imagined cabin in the woods to explore wider ideas around what it really means to get away from it all and if we should even try.Oliver’s LinksOliver's website to buy his books and sign up to his newsletterThings mentioned in the programmeKendra Allenby’s New Yorker beach cartoon NYC stationery store Goods for the StudyShinzen Young on T.S. Eliot Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Katherine chats to Laura Pashby, author of the incredible book Chasing Fog and master of ethereal photography, about her vision for the perfect retreat when things get tough. A magical dreamscape unfurls of a fog-bound lighthouse on an island in the Arctic circle; a liminal space filled with books and a favourite painting which acts as a portal through which Laura can step whenever she needs to escape. The perfect, escapist listen for anyone needing to give their mind and body a fleeting moment of rest and retreat.Laura’s LinksLaura's website where you can buy her book Chasing FogLaura's Instagram Things mentioned in the episodeThe Light Alone Instagram  Hammershoi's Interior, Sunlight on the Floor paintingVisit The Clearing website https://katherine-may.co.uk/the-clearing-podcast to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katherine launches her new podcast The Clearing with British actor, comedian, author and 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction judge Cariad Lloyd. Together they explore Cariad’s vision of a dream retreat; a place she would conjure given the opportunity, and of course the privilege, to rest and retreat. The result is pure joy. A Tolkien-esque riot of ancient oak trees, moss and mythical creatures merging into a Brambly Hedge world replete with tiny mice making jams and apple crumble.At a time when the world feels more uncertain than ever, allowing ourselves to dream of hope and rest feels indulgent but also vital and restorative. Cariad does not hold back in letting her imagination run wild, dancing her way through the chaos and sharing with us, briefly, the blissful, joyous and often hilarious inside of her brilliant mind.Cariad’s LinksCariad's InstagramCariad's Substack Cariad's website where you can order her booksSara & Cariad's Weirdos Book Club - PodcastThings mentioned in the episodeEmpire - PodcastBrambly Hedge (@bramblyhedgeofficial) • Instagram photos and videos Blue - Album by Joni Mitchell | SpotifyMothers Who Write Winterfold candlesVisit The Clearing website https://katherine-may.co.uk/the-clearing-podcast to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katherine is delighted to let you know she’s back with a new podcast series called The Clearing. In each episode she asks writers and creatives, where would you go to rest and retreat, in good times and bad?Drawing on memory, inspiration and imagination, she explores the things we seek out when we need to restore our joy, hope and energy. It begins with a forest clearing. What will we find there? A log cabin or a grand hotel? What cherished object or talisman would you bring? And what single work of art, be it a book, record, film or something else, would provide you with enough sustenance to see you through the darkness and remind you of the good times? In a series of frank, thoughtful and deeply personal conversations, The Clearing will explore the cultural, social and spiritual mindset needed to survive difficult times. Visit The Clearing website https://katherine-may.co.uk/the-clearing-podcast to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad freeBuy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / USFollow Katherine on InstagramVisit Katherine’s WebsiteProduction CreditsGuest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan HutchinsSubstack Manager - Rebecca ArmstrongProducer - Alice LloydMusic - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recently, Katherine interviewed Sarah Moss about her incredible new memoir, My Good Bright Wolf, an account of growing up as a difficult girl in a difficult family, and how this ultimately led to her eating disorder. Throughout the book, she repeatedly argues against herself. A voice rises up in the text and says, What are you trying to claim here? That’s not how it happened! Why can’t you tell the truth? The point she makes is that we are unsteady in our remembering. We’re often incredibly uncertain, not just about the content of our memories, but also what they represent. We're unsure when the meaning-making took place. Was it something that arose at the point that those events happened? Or was it something we constructed far later in adulthood? And if so, what purpose did they serve? Links from the episode:Sarah Moss' book, My Good Bright WolfKatherine's book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKJoin Katherine's SubstackFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What’s to be done with the lost, the dead, but write them into being?’So writes Hilary Mantel in her extraordinary memoir, Giving Up the Ghost. First published in 2003, it offers a snapshot of the great writer before the Wolf Hall era: a literary, if not commercial, success, and a fragile soul with a dark, scuttling imagination. Katherine was joined by Jillian Hess of the brilliant Noted Substack to explore this wonderful book. They discussed the way that Mantel captures her childhood and family, her relationship to her body and the endometriosis that assailed it, the way she talks about writing, and - of course, given that it’s Halloween week - those ambiguous ghosts.Katherine's book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Jillian's Substack, NotedHilary Mantel’s book, Giving Up The GhostJoin Katherine's Substack for a free reading guide, video recordings and transcriptsFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was National Poetry Day in the UK earlier this month and Katherine talked to Kate Fox about her new book, On Sycamore Gap, in an extra Book Club event. Kate’s book is about a very special tree in the north of England that was chopped down by vandals, but that has brought people together in the aftermath of its felling.Katherine's book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Kate on InstagramKate's websiteKate’s book, On Sycamore Gap: UKJoin Katherine's Substack for a free reading guide, video recordings and transcriptsFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

September - when we’re almost as likely to be trying to reform ourselves as in January - is the perfect moment for Oliver Burkeman’s new book, Meditations for Mortals. Katherine sat down to talk to Oliver for her Book Club, and there was one question she was burning to ask: do you confuse lots of readers too?Oliver, you see, has mastered the art of subverting the self-help genre. It’s not that he doesn’t want to offer succour to people who are struggling, nor that he denies we can change. It’s just that he wants us to understand how unrealistic we’ve learned to be about our capacity to do things. He urges us to accept our imperfections, our limitations, our fundamental humanness.Katherine's book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Oliver on XOliver's websiteOliver’s book, Meditations for Mortals: UK | USJoin Katherine's Substack for a free reading guide, video recordings and transcriptsFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, Katherine spoke to Lucy Jones about Matrescence, her book about the profound changes wrought by pregnancy and birth. Combining the biological, the social and the political with exquisite writing, this is a radical revision of a subject veiled in forced cosiness and obfuscation. Lucy's frankness and curiosity - her utter realness - are an absolute balm for anyone who’s navigated the very particular environment of contemporary western maternity, whether that contact has been personal or at one remove. It helps us to understand why pregnancy feels like such a hinterland, and also why it doesn’t need to be this way. Katherine's book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Lucy's InstagramLucy's websiteLucy’s book, MatrescenceJoin Katherine's Substack for a free reading guide, video recordings and transcriptsFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katherine was excited to speak to Daniel Tammet about his latest book, Nine Minds: Inner Lives on the Spectrum. Katherine has been reading Daniel’s writing for a long time - his first book, Born on a Blue Day, came out in 2006. At the time, he was writing about his experience as a savant (his synaesthesia means that he conceptualises numbers and dates in a completely different way to most of us), and in this conversation Katherine and Daniel talk about the way that he was treated during those years. Daniel is a beautiful writer, but his talent was often invisible to people who only wanted to see him as a kind of specimen, not fully human. Hear as they talk about the way Daniel’s persisted, asserting his rightful place as a thinker and a master of prose.Katherine's book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Daniel's WebsiteDaniel’s book, Nine MindsJoin Katherine's SubstackFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Katherine as she talks with Tom Newlands about his debut novel, Only Here, Only Now. Katherine talks with Tom about his female main protagonist, the unforgettable Cora, setting the book in 1990s Scotland and how it offers a new way of writing about neurodivergence. She also explains the thinking behind choosing Only Here, Only Now for a non-fiction book club, and why it captivated her enough to break her own rules. Katherine's book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Tom's InstagramTom’s book, Only Here, Only NowJoin Katherine's SubstackFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join me for a recent conversation with comedian, essayist, blogger, and television writer Samantha Irby. Recorded as part of my True Stories Book Club hosted on Substack, we talked about realising you have a body again after lockdown, dogs that don’t love us enough/love us too much, writing about the darkest parts of our life, and terrorising Sex and the City fans by writing on And Just Like That… If you haven’t read it already, do check out her latest essay collection, Quietly Hostile.Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Samantha’s websiteSamantha’s book, Quietly HostileJoin Katherine's SubstackFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At a superficial level, Soil is a gardening memoir, full of gorgeous descriptions of plants and getting your hands in the soil. But the garden in question is a political gesture, an act of resistance and an assertion of belonging. Camille T. Dungy uproots the staid monoculture of the suburban garden, and takes a fierce, critical look at its assumptions.In this conversation, we talk about the way that gardens can become a means of social control and conformity, but also an expression of freedom and solidarity that crosses generations. We also touch on the idea of outsidership, and the difference between choosing to stay at the edges, and being forced out of the centre. Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Camille’s websiteCamille’s book, SoilCamille's InstagramJoin Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free, extended intros and immersive, bonus mini-episdesFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the past few years, resistance has been a live issue for many of us, whether we’re wondering for the first time how to bring about social change, or realising that we need to find new ways to be activists. For Kaitlin Curtice, this resistance is an ongoing practice, informed by her perspective as an Indigenous American, and imbued with gentleness, integrity and personal sustainability. In this episode, we talk about her book, Living Resistance, how her own perspective developed over time, and - appropriately for this podcast - how we can live in this unsettling moment. Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Kaitlin’s websiteKaitlin’s book, Living ResistanceKaitlin's InstagramJoin Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free, extended intros and immersive, bonus mini-episdesFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The wolf carries an almost unbearable amount of symbolism in western culture, encapsulating the predatory, the carnal, the supernatural and the ravenous. But in her book Wolfish, Erica Berry suggests that it’s time to understand wolves differently: as tender, as hunted, as guardians of the landscape. What’s more, those evil qualities may be better attributed to ourselves than to wolves. Berry weaves memoir with natural history, cultural critique, folklore and conservation to show that wolves have too often been a cypher for all our fears, and that this has left them under threat of extinction. In this fascinating and wide-ranging conversation, recorded as part of Katherine’s True Stories Book Club, Erica discusses her experiences with wolves real and imagined. Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Erica’s websiteErica’s book, WolfishJoin Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free, extended intros and immersive, bonus mini-episdesFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I stumbled across Dacher Keltner’s work when I was first researching Enchantment, and now - for the final episode in this season - I’m honoured to speak to him about Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life.  Dacher’s research attempts to understand this very fleeting, ineffable emotion. He and his colleagues have shown that  awe induces a feeling of being small within a vast universe - a radical shift into context. What’s more, by absorbing ourselves in awe, we become better people, more motivated to go out and do good. In this episode, we explore how it feels to experience awe, how we can seek it out in the everyday, and we share the personal experiences of awe that have inspired both of our books. Dacher Keltner is a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and the director of the Greater Good Science Center. He has over 200 scientific publications and six books, including Born to Be Good, The Compassionate Instinct, and The Power Paradox. He has written for many popular outlets, from The New York Times to Slate. He was also the scientific advisor behind Pixar’s Inside Out. Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Dacher’s websiteDacher’s book, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your LifeJoin Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free, extended intros and immersive, bonus mini-episdesFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marjolijn van Heemstra believes that we can change the world by gazing into the night sky. Her book, In Light Years There’s No Hurry, explores the ‘overview effect’, a personal transformation reported by astronauts who have seen the earth from space. People who’ve experienced this rare view often report an ethical shift taking place, a new sense of mission in their lives. They come to see themselves as guardians of their planet, rather than its passive citizens. Clearly not all of us can - or want to - leave the atmosphere to gaze over the earth from space. But in this thought-provoking conversation, Marjolijn makes a case for us learning to draw on the overview effect from where we stand, suggesting that this could lead us to become better stewards of our environment, and form closer bonds with the communities around us. Marjolijn is a Dutch theatre-maker, journalist and poet who has recently been named Amsterdam’s Poet Laureate. Her most recent work has focused on reacquainting ourselves with darkness, and this includes her creative project The Night Watch, and the Amsterdam Dark Festival, of which she is the founder. Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Marjolijn’s InstagramMarjolijn’s book, In Light Years There’s No HurryAmsterdam Dark FestivalJoin Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free, extended intros and immersive, bonus mini-episdesFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How can we return to a richer, more complex understanding of national identity and personal ethics - one that can only come from folklore?Amy Jeffs is the perfect person to ask. An art historian and printmaker, she creates immersive retellings of ancient stories, beautifully illustrated with her own woodcuts and etchings. In this week’s episode of How We Live Now, we discuss the function and appeal of folklore, and roam around the wind-blasted landscapes of Medieval Britain. We get a glimpse of the British Isles through ancient eyes - a haunted place stranded on the far edge of Europe, isolated and vulnerable, but full of courageous, hardy folk. What can these tales tell us about who we are now? And how can we restore this agile way of understanding the world?Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Amy’s InstagramAmy’s TwitterAmy's book, Wild: Tales from Early Medieval BritainAmy’s book, Storyland: A New Mythology of BritainJoin Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free, extended intros and immersive, bonus mini-episdesFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode of How We Live Now, Katherine speaks to author and public intellectual Báyò Akómoláfé. We consider how we can step out of the belief that humanity is in control of a passive planet, and instead wonder how we can learn to read the intelligence of the systems and landscapes that we inhabit. We meander our way to autism, and begin to think about how we can create a new language of neurodivergent experience that resists the labels applied from disinterested - or disgusted - outside viewers. And we take a look at ‘hushes’, the shadowy, scuttling figures that disrupt Báyò’s narratives.Born in Nigeria, Báyò is a writer, speaker, teacher and founder of The Emergence Network who finds his most sacred work in fatherhood. His book, These Wilds Beyond Our Fences, is an extraordinary meandering through the cutting edge of contemporary philosophy framed in letters to his daughter, Alethea. He is also the editor of We Will Tell Our Own Story, an anthology exploring Black African scholarship and knowledge. He now divides his time between Germany, India and the USA.Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Bayo’s websiteBayo's book, These Wilds Beyond Our FencesJoin Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free, extended intros and immersive, bonus mini-episdesFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kerri ní Dochartaigh’s writing rings with a sense of connection between this world and the otherworld, and nowhere is it expressed more clearly than in her latest book, Cacophony of Bone. Here are pages full of subtle signs that are legible only to those who are in the practice of seeking them. It’s a work of plain mysticism, a very personal representation of direct contact with the sacred. At its roots, it’s about perception: how we allow it, honour it, foster it. How we can allow ourselves to encounter beauty and transcendence in the everyday.But there’s also a hidden political dimension to Kerri’s work. She’s showing us a way of life that’s largely been lost, a mode of perception that has been deliberately crushed and denied. It’s a spiritual mode that’s democratic, resistant, dangerous. These times are ripe for it.In this interview, we talk about the practice of everyday mysticism, its connection to Kerri’s Irish heritage, and the ways that reading has been warped by contemporary life. Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Kerri’s instagramKerri's book, Cacophony of BoneJoin Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free and immersive, bonus mini-episdesFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When I spoke to Morgan Harper Nichols, she was taking a break from assignment-writing for the MFA in Interdisciplinary Media Arts she’s studying. That’s a telling detail for this exuberant soul: she has ideas and energy to spare, and she’s always learning, always reaching towards new forms. A visual artist, writer, musician, speaker and podcaster, I always see her as a communicator first and foremost. She draws on all these different modes of expression to facilitate the sheer urgency of what she has to say. In this episode, I talk with Morgan about the ways that her work ushers us towards a kind of reenchantment with life itself - but, in all honesty, I quickly lost control of the whole interview. Like me, Morgan is autistic, and I got lost in the joy of spending an hour in her thoughtful, inquisitive company. This is a conversation about how we see our work and the world around us, and how creativity helps us to connect. Morgan Harper Nichols is an autistic mixed media artist from the Atlanta, Georgia area who has worked with brands such as Google, Starbucks, Hallmark, COACH, KIND bar, and her work has been featured in places such as Target, Anthropologie, Kohls, Barnes & Noble, among others. She is the author of books that combine words and vibrant images, including You Are Only Just Beginning, How Far You Have Come, All Along You Were Blooming, and Peace is a Practice. She is also the creator of the Storyteller app, and her podcast, The Morgan Harper Nichols Show. Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKMorgan's websiteMorgan’s instagramMorgan’s podcast, The Morgan Harper Nichols ShowMorgan's book, You Are Only Just Beginning: Lessons for the Journey AheadJoin Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free and immersive, bonus mini-episdesFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pico Iyer’s latest book, The Half Known Life, looks at the ways in which we seek paradise on earth, sometimes in places that are fraught with risk. In this episode, he and Katherine talk about the similarities in their work, particularly the ways in which they explore secular understandings of big spiritual questions, and they touch on the differences, too. Where Katherine is drawn to the local and the known, Pico quests after the insights that come to travellers and strangers. They are two different ways of looking at the same question: that of how to live a good and peaceful life, via the practice of enchantment.Pico can truly be called a veteran travel writer, having published his first book in 1984, and gone on to publish fourteen more, on subjects ranging from the Dalai Lama to globalism, from the Cuban Revolution to Islamic mysticism. They include such long-running sellers as Video Night in Kathmandu, The Lady and the Monk, The Global Soul, The Open Road and The Art of Stillness. His writing regularly features in Time, The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, and the Financial Times among many others, and his four talks for TED have received more than 10 million views so far.Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Pico and Katherine in conversation about The Half Known LifeKatherine and Pico in conversation about EnchantmentPico's book, The Half Known LifePico's websiteJoin Katherine's Substack to receive episodes ad-free and immersive, bonus mini-episdesFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're in between seasons of How We Live Now and Katherine is in the midst of talking about her new book Enchantment in radio and podcast interviews. We wanted to share one of these conversations with you in the How We Live Now podcast feed.In this episode of The Shift with Sam Baker, Sam and Katherine talk about Katherine’s midlife autism diagnosis, why she believes we’re living through the burnout decade and how to wrest back control of our lives from our work. Buy Katherine's new book Enchantment: US & Canada, UKSign up to receive Katherine's newsletterFollow Katherine on InstagramFind all the episodes of the The Shift with Sam Baker here: https://podfollow.com/the-shift-on-life-after-40-with-sam-baker Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Turkish journalist Ece Temelkuran understands the problems of rightwing populism better than most: she lives as an exile, after her criticism of the Erdogan regime threatened her liberty. But despite the very personal toll that our current politics has taken, Ece remains optimistic. The seeds of a new society, she says, lie in communities, and the ways they find to come together.In this episode, Katherine and Ece discuss courage, truth and learning to befriend our fear. We also touch on the power of Twitter in the days before Elon Musk took over - so maybe a little of our optimism was misplaced! But Ece has a unique ability to put our current political conflicts into a global context, and her faith in grassroots action is redemptive. Join the conversation! We’re also inviting your thoughts on each episode from now on - follow this link to join the conversation. Answers, challenges, ideas and further questions are all welcome - there will be a further episode in a couple of months focusing on your voices.Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is released in March 2023. Pre-order now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Ece's websiteEce's booksFollow Ece on Instagram and TwitterJoin Katherine's Patreon to receive episodes early and ad-freeSign up to receive Katherine's newsletterFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma Gannon is a true digital native, a storyteller who finds creative inspiration in online communities, and who has sought a more thoughtful way to be in the digital spaces that so dominate our lives. In this episode, Katherine and Emma discuss what it means to be a digital citizen - the pleasures and the agonies of coming together in the ether, and the ways it can both warp and welcome connection. Emma’s is a nuanced take, emphasising our own agency within social media spaces, and inviting us to be thoughtful and disciplined, rather than reactive and addicted.Join the conversation! We’re also inviting your thoughts on each episode from now on - follow this link to join the conversation. Answers, challenges, ideas and further questions are all welcome - there will be a further episode in a couple of months focusing on your voices.Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is released in March 2023. Pre-order now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Emma's websiteEmma's booksFollow Emma on Instagram and TwitterJoin Katherine's Patreon to receive episodes early and ad-freeSign up to receive Katherine's newsletterFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jay Griffiths’ writing has long explored the link between land, culture and our potential for connection, but her father’s death during lockdown made this more vital than ever. Denied the comfort or closure of a funeral, Jay had to find other ways to connect, mourn and memorialise, and in this gentle, wide-ranging conversation she and Katherine talk about imaginary journeys, ritual and delving into a sense of place. Behind all of Jay’s work is an ecological urgency, and a sense of grief for the life that we seem to be losing. Here, it’s expressed through the idea of homelessness, both literal and metaphorical. But she also introduces us to the character of Nemesis, offering us a model for justice that might just see us through the next decades. Join the conversation! We’re also inviting your thoughts on each episode from now on - follow this link to join the conversation. Answers, challenges, ideas and further questions are all welcome - there will be a further episode in a couple of months focusing on your voices.Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is released in March 2023. Pre-order now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Jay's websiteJay's booksJoin Katherine's Patreon to receive episodes early and ad-freeSign up to receive Katherine's newsletterFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many of us are enduring a painful new awareness of the conflicts that underpin our social relationships. For Buddhist teacher Lama Rod Owens, this is the beginning of a revolutionary path to our liberation - a necessary upheaval that will rebalance us forever.In this profound, perspective-shifting conversation, we are urged to stop looking for short-cuts and panaceas for our suffering, and instead to engage with the deep, transformative work of change. Join the conversation! We’re also inviting your thoughts on each episode from now on - follow this link to join the conversation. Answers, challenges, ideas and further questions are all welcome - there will be a further episode in a couple of months focusing on your voices.Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is released in March 2023. Pre-order now: US/CAN and UKPre-order Katherine's new book, Enchantment, released March 2023: UK and US & CanadaLinks from the episode:Lama Rod's websiteLama Rod's booksFollow Lama Rod on Instagram and TwitterJoin Katherine's Patreon to receive episodes early and ad-freeSign up to receive Katherine's newsletterFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Being a Sikh in America gives Simran Jeet Singh a very particular insight into the divisions that run between us: on one hand, his visible differences have made him a target for racism; on the other, his religion emphasises the connectedness of all humans, and urges him towards compassion, forgiveness and love.In this thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation, Katherine and Simran explore building empathy, seeing the divine in everyone, and how being forced to confront white supremacy has helped Simran to develop a language to challenge those who would attack him. The Sikh value of Chardi Kala is hard to miss here: the sense of everlasting optimism that propels him forward.Join the conversation! We’re also inviting your thoughts on each episode from now on - follow this link to join the conversation. Answers, challenges, ideas and further questions are all welcome - there will be a further episode in a couple of months focusing on your voices.Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is released in March 2023. Pre-order now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Simran's websiteSimran's book, The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your LifeFollow Simran on Instagram, Twitter and YouTubeJoin Katherine's Patreon to receive episodes early and ad-freeSign up to receive Katherine's newsletterFind shownotes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it comes to getting together, Priya Parker turns our assumptions on their heads: gatherings, she says, benefit from firm rules and careful management, which allow us to relax more, communicate better, and come away feeling positive. It’s all about clarity of purpose. A lack of structure leads to chaotic and draining events, and may even put us in conflict. In this episode, Katherine asks Priya how we can learn to be in the same room again - whether it’s with colleagues, family or even complete strangers. For those of us who have found it tough to return to social spaces after the pandemic, this is a reassuring conversation, reminding us of the pleasures of meeting, and offering a blueprint for more enriching, less fraught, future gatherings.Join the conversation! We’re also inviting your thoughts on each episode from now on - follow this link to join the conversation. Answers, challenges, ideas and further questions are all welcome - there will be a further episode in a couple of months focusing on your voices.Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is released in March 2023. Pre-order now: US/CAN and UKLinks from the episode:Priya's websitePriya's book, The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It MattersFollow Priya on Instagram and TwitterJoin Katherine's Patreon to receive episodes early and ad-freeSign up to receive Katherine's newsletterFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on InstagramImage credit: Photographer, Adam Ferguson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Susan Cain’s groundbreaking book, Quiet, taught a generation of readers to perceive and value their introvert qualities. Her latest book, Bittersweet is a song to the complex space between happiness and sadness. In this episode, Katherine talks to Susan about how she came to move so comfortably in the understated parts of life, and why the minor key is so beautiful. While we’ve been away, The Wintering Sessions have been undergoing a metamorphosis. Katherine talks us through the process of becoming How We Live Now, and offers us a peek at the season to come. Links from the episode:Susan's Links:Susan’s latest book, BittersweetOnlineTwitterInstagramKatherine's Links:PatreonNewsletterHomepageInstagramPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Wintering Sessions with Katherine May.Author Raynor Winn talks to Katherine May about the losing her home when her husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness, and finding new life from having nothing.Raynor Winn has captured a multitude of hearts with her book, The Salt Path, which recounts the time she lost her home just as her husband received a terminal diagnosis. With nothing to lose, they set off to walk the South West Coast Path carrying nothing but a tent.Here Raynor reflects on that transformative time that redefined the meaning of home - and gives a welcome update on Moth’s health. We also hear about her book, The Wild Silence.I adored talking to Raynor about our shared love of the South West Coast Path, as I always do :)RAYNOR LINKSRaynor’s new book, LandlinesOnlineTwitterInstagramKATHERINE LINKSShop all books from The Wintering SessionsPatreonNewsletterHomepageTwitterInstagramThe Wintering SessionsKatherine's writing classNote: this contains affiliate links which means Katherine will receive a small commission for any purchases made. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While we take a rest over the summer, we’re sharing some remastered episodes from Season One, chosen by listeners. This week, I talk to Leah Hazard, NHS midwife extraordinaire and author of Hard Pushed, part memoir of Leah’s life on the labour ward, and part exploration of the current state of the profession.Leah is as funny, wise and warm in person as she is in print, and she talks about the life-changing decision to leave her TV career and train to be a midwife, and the moment when the stress became too much during one very busy night on the ward.References from this episode:Leah’s TwitterLeah’s InstagramLeah’s book Hard Pushed Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.