How We Live Now with Katherine May

Katherine May
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How We Live Now with Katherine May

How should we live in this world when so much is changed? Katherine May, author of Wintering and the Electricity of Every Living Thing, asks those most intimate with the effects of these transformations: what now?   How do we stay soft in a world determined to harden? How can we bear witness to suffering without being dragged into despair? How do we ride the waves of our anger, sorrow and exhaustion, and still find space for wonder, hope and joy? How can we possibly help?   In a series of frank, thoughtful and deeply personal conversations, How We Live Now will explore the cultural, social and spiritual mindset for this long moment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Sarah Moss on memory and meaning-making

    16 NOV

    Sarah Moss on memory and meaning-making

    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 Wolf Katherine's book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UK Join 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.

    47 min
  2. Exploring Hilary Mantel's memoir with Jillian Hess

    1 NOV

    Exploring Hilary Mantel's memoir with Jillian Hess

    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 UK Links from the episode: Jillian's Substack, NotedHilary Mantel’s book, Giving Up The Ghost Join 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.

    1h 1m
  3. Kate Fox on the potential and power of poetry

    16 OCT

    Kate Fox on the potential and power of poetry

    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 UK Links from the episode: Kate on InstagramKate's websiteKate’s book, On Sycamore Gap: UK Join 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.

    59 min
  4. Oliver Burkeman on mortality, acceptance and imperfectionism

    27 SEPT

    Oliver Burkeman on mortality, acceptance and imperfectionism

    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 UK Links from the episode: Oliver on XOliver's websiteOliver’s book, Meditations for Mortals: UK | US Join 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.

    1 hr
  5. Lucy Jones on matrescence, maternal myths and transformation

    29 AUG

    Lucy Jones on matrescence, maternal myths and transformation

    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 UK Links from the episode: Lucy's InstagramLucy's websiteLucy’s book, Matrescence Join 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.

    54 min
  6. Daniel Tammet on real autistic lives

    25 JUL

    Daniel Tammet on real autistic lives

    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 UK Links from the episode: Daniel's WebsiteDaniel’s book, Nine Minds Join 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.

    55 min
  7. Tom Newlands on writing neurodivergence with a light touch

    4 JUL

    Tom Newlands on writing neurodivergence with a light touch

    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 UK Links from the episode: Tom's InstagramTom’s book, Only Here, Only Now Join 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.

    47 min
  8. Samantha Irby on being a person

    20 JUN

    Samantha Irby on being a person

    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 UK Links from the episode: Samantha’s websiteSamantha’s book, Quietly Hostile Join 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.

    57 min
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About

How should we live in this world when so much is changed? Katherine May, author of Wintering and the Electricity of Every Living Thing, asks those most intimate with the effects of these transformations: what now?   How do we stay soft in a world determined to harden? How can we bear witness to suffering without being dragged into despair? How do we ride the waves of our anger, sorrow and exhaustion, and still find space for wonder, hope and joy? How can we possibly help?   In a series of frank, thoughtful and deeply personal conversations, How We Live Now will explore the cultural, social and spiritual mindset for this long moment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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