LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE:
As we put the finishing touches to the Spring season of The Shift podcast (coming 6 May), I thought I'd raid the archives for a few of my favourite episodes. First up, "the other"
(as she says she will always be), who I first spoke to when her memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful was just creeping into the world. Little did we know then that it would be the leading wave in a tsunami of divorce memoirs. Also, look out for Maggie's new book, Dear Writer, a collection of "pep talks and practical advice for the creative life".Here are the original show notes:
Like most of the rest of the world, I first discovered today’s guest Maggie Smith (no, not the legendary British actress, the American poet) when her poem, Good Bones went viral on social media thrusting her into the news on both sides of the Atlantic, featured on primetime TV and was read at an event by Meryl Streep.
It’s the kind of exposure people dream of, but in Maggie’s own words “my marriage was never the same after that”. And I know that sentiment is something that will resonate with so many of you.
Maggie’s debut memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful, is about the collapse of that marriage, but it’s also about the start of something new, how in losing their shared history and knowledge of the future, she began to build a new story - her own.
Maggie joined me from Ohio to talk about putting herself back together after sudden success destroyed her marriage, being a service provider in your own home, how she got herself back after years of bargaining herself away and why we keep having the same conversation about women and ambition. We also compared our Strong First Daughter Energy and she introduced me to the concept of an emotional alchemist.
Listen to the full episode here:
Interested in finding out more about the books recommended by the guests on The Shift podcast? Visit The Shift bookshop to see a full list.
• If you enjoyed this conversation with Maggie, here are some more you might enjoy:
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