Hello everybody,
I’m so excited to introduce our third podcast episode, and our very first celebrity guest, the wonderful Beth Kempton.
Today’s episode is a joyous and juicy conversation featuring personal stories and odes to poetry, piles of book recommendations and - of course - a lot of Substack love.
It’s also a lovely full circle moment for me, because Beth is the first author I interviewed for Shelf Help, and her first book, Freedom Seeker, was the first ever BOTM, in October 2017.
Beth has since written SIX non-fiction books, including several bestsellers and several focused on her love affair with Japan.
She is also an award-winning entrepreneur and writing mentor who spends her time supporting people to do what they love and make a career out of their creativity, through her writing workshops and programmes, as well as her wonderful community here on Substack, SoulCircle.
IN THIS EPISODE:
As you can imagine, we had a LOT to talk about, and so this is an extended episode, running around 50-minutes (vs the 30-minutes that we aim for in most episodes).
(I do finally let Tanya get a word in edgeways around halfway through 😆).
And there’s SO MUCH juice for word-lovers, including why the best kind of success measure is being able to afford any kind of stationary we want (fact!), as well as:
LOTS of book recommendations, including two that have shaped Beth’s personal and professional life
The healing power of poetry (any kind)
The business of books and writing (and Substack)
How Beth’s changing relationship with herself has been reflected in her books
How writing self-help is the best way to understand our Self
The power of retreats and finding places to be able to tell our stories
Why journalling is a balm for the soul
The perfect book-shaped gifts for anyone struggling and/or grieving
SHOW NOTES:
In this episode Beth references and recommends lots of books, including:
The Complete Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem
Lost Japan by Alex Kerr
Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts
You Are Only Just Beginning by Morgan Harper Nicholls
The Poetry Pharmacy by William Sieghart
She is Fierce by Ana Sampson
Chasing Fog by Laura Pashby
The Poetry of Impermanence, Mindfulness and Joy by John Brehm
Mountains of the Mind by Robert MacFarlane
Freedom Seeker by Beth Kempton
Kokoro by Beth Kempton
Calm Christmas by Beth Kempton
We can’t wait for you to listen.
Please share with the people you love, let us know what you think, and - of course - what you are reading right now…
Toni (& Tanya)
xx
PS: You’ll be able to listen to these podcast episodes on all the usual outlets but we’ll only be sharing the video recordings here on Substack (see below)
PPS: Up next week - the sparkliest of Substack writers and educators, Claire Venus…
WATCH THE PODCAST
NB while the audio version of the podcast has been polished a bit, we’re definitely not video editors and so the video of the interview is the unedited, unfiltered real thing showcasing the reality of three wifi connections from three rural locations + two overexcited book nerds interviewing one amazing author. There may be a couple of bloopers/sneezes/cross talking situations. But there’s something kinda lovely about the real-ness, and it’s a perfect example (I think) of “done is better than perfect.”
ABOUT THE BIBLIOTHERAPISTS:
The Bibliotherapists, is a new podcast from Substackers and community builders Tanya Lynch (EASE Retreats) and Toni Jones (The Shelf Help Club) exploring the healing power of words.
(You can read all about how our story began in Episode #1 and Episode #2 - in which Tanya and I interview each other).
This podcast is a love letter to reading and writing and storytelling and this weekly digital retreat features conversations with some of our favourite Substack writers and authors, sharing about the the books that have shaped their lives and their relationships with themselves, the books they wish everyone would read, how they use reading and writing to support their mental health, and the books they are reading right now.
We’ve spent the last two months interviewing some incredible writers and creatives, including Beth Kempton, Claire Venus (she/her) ✨, Women Are Mad with Jen&Salima, Anne Boyd, Laura Pashby, Lucy Pearson, Tamu Thomas and Emma Gannon to close Series 1.
And at the time of writing this our first two episodes have had 15,300+ downloads - which is a BIG DEAL in podcast land - so thank you so much for the love so far, and please keep listening and liking and sharing where it’s needed!
💛
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