Hello everybody,
What day is it? Sunday? Monday? A bank holiday? Another ‘cheese for breakfast’ kinda day?
It’s definitely that weird time between Christmas and New Year, which is 100% the perfect time to tune into another cosy and comforting episode of our bookish podcast, The Bibliotherapists (accompanied by a nice plate of cheese).
Our seventh episode of the podcast is actually the first one we recorded. And I (TJ) secretly think that scoring an interview with this guest was my co-host Tanya’s main motivation for embarking on this whole podcast journey. 😆
Listen to the interview and you’ll hear her girlcrushing hard on author, professor, and Substack’s poster girl for midlife adventures,
.And so I think it’s only fair we let Tanya do the intros here…
Tanya says:
”While mooching around Substack, as I do, I discovered Anne Boyd and her writing from a viral post shared by Elizabeth Gilbert; Two Years Ago I Quit My Life. BOOM! I was hooked. Anne demonstrating the guts, courage and determination that a lot of midlife women wish they had. Me included.
”When Anne’s daughter left for college, Anne made a radical decision - she left too. Not just her home, but her entire life as she knew it. And her country, as she sold pretty much everything she owned and started travelling the world.
“In this interview we dive into her story, one that will no doubt resonate with anyone who’s stood at life’s crossroads. And especially those of us who’ve felt the weight of generational expectations about what a woman’s life should look like.
When my daughter left for college, I left too.
Anne Boyd
”’I didn’t feel brave, I felt desperate,’ Anne confessed during our conversation, a statement that cuts through the glossy Instagram-ready narratives of midlife transformation.
“Her journey, sparked early on by reading books that showed her different possibilities for a woman’s life, began with the simple act of writing down her desires. ‘There’s something about writing it down that makes it real,’ she shared.
”It’s no surprise, then, that I’m hooked on every word that comes out of Anne’s mouth/Substack. This woman knows how to journal, get the thoughts onto the page and 100% back her ideas and adventures.
”Now, as a midlife woman, Anne reflects on how she grew up with the messaging that we could - and should - have it all. And how that promise led to burnout and a long-held limiting belief that she couldn’t exist in the world as a woman alone. She describes this belief as ‘a phantom limb’, always present but never quite visible.
”Through our discussions, we explore the books that became her compass. From her favourite (and the subject of one of her own books), Louise May Alcott’s, Little Women, to Elizabeth Gilbert’s, Eat, Pray, Love, and, Big Magic, both of which have served as expanders for Anne - sharing windows into alternative lives and possibilities.
“Simone de Beauvoir’s, The Second Sex, challenged her inherited assumptions, while Christine Hassler’s, Expectation Hangover, helped her navigate the aftermath of quitting her life.
”Perhaps the most powerful moment in this conversation is when Anne reflects: ‘Change comes to us when we need it. Whether we like it or not’. It’s a truth that I certainly live by, and a theme that runs through many of the books we discussed.
”This episode isn’t just about one woman’s decision to start over, it’s about how books feed our souls and show us what’s possible. What I loved most from this interview, and having the opportunity to spend an hour with Anne, is that it’s never too late to rewrite your own narrative, even if at the time you feel more desperate than brave.
”Because sometimes, the bravest thing we can do is simply turn the page.”
SHOW NOTES:
In this episode Anne references and recommends lots of books by inspiring female writers, including:
The Outrun by Amy Liptrot
My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes
The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir
Expectation Hangover: Free Yourself from Your Past, Change Your Present and Get What You Really Want by Christine Hassler
After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell
Big Magic: How to Live a Creative Life, and Let Go of Your Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
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: Up next week, toxic productivity expert and author,
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