The Bibliotherapists

• The Bibliotherapists S2 Ep #3: Daisy Buchanan on reading as self-care and books as medicine

  It's a new series of The Bibliotherapists, and for our third episode we're joined by Daisy Buchanan, award-winning author, journalist, podcaster and writing coach.In this uplifting conversation, Daisy talks about the healing power of fiction, the joy of reading as ritual, and how she uses books to support her mental health.🎧 5 takeaways from our conversation with Daisy1. Books Can (should!) Be a Daily Act of Self-CareDaisy shares how fiction helps soothe her anxiety and why she reads first thing each morning to calm her ‘flashing and beeping brain.’2. Fiction is Powerful—and also PracticalStories help us process emotion, build empathy, and activate creativity. Daisy champions binge-able novels as a way to feel better fast.“Your attention span will grow with reading—but only if you let it.”3. Bibliotherapy Can Come in All FormsDuring lockdown, Daisy rediscovered the joy of reading fiction via the bestselling family saga, The Cazalet Chronicles, proving the right book at the right time can be transformative.4. Addiction, Anxiety, and AttentionDaisy draws parallels between sobriety, phone addiction, and our fractured attention spans, suggesting that books are the ‘fibre’ our brains need.“The iPhone is the great unquittable. Books are my antidote.”5. You Don't Need to Be Perfect, Just StartWhether it’s running, writing, or reading, Daisy reminds us to drop perfectionism and shares the ‘rule of three’ (one good session in three is enough to build a life-changing habit).-The Bibliotherapists is a podcast celebrating the healing power of words, hosted on - and featuring writers and creatives from - the Substack platform.Find Daisy on Substack > https://substack.com/@creativeconfidenceclinicToni (The Shelf Help Cluhouse) on Substack > https://shelfhelpclub.substack.com/Tanya (withEase) on Substack > https://tanyalynch.substack.com/WATCH THE VIDEOVideo recordings of The Bibliotherapists interviews are available exclusively to our Substack subscribers. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shelfhelpclub.substack.com/subscribe

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• The Bibliotherapists S2 Ep #1: Clover Stroud on the beauty and brutality of life

  It's a new series of The Bibliotherapists, and for our first episode we are joined by Clover Stroud, a bestselling author who writes on the way life feels.Clover writes about the big stuff - creativity, grief, joy, motherhood, sex, death - as well as life’s small but meaningful moments.🎧 5 takeaways from our conversation with Clover1. Grief as Catalyst for CreativityClover’s writing often emerges from personal loss (people, places, identity). She believes grief isn’t something to avoid, but something that can transform and expand us.2. The Power of Saying YesHer work is also very much a celebration of life in all its mess and majesty. Even in pain, the writer finds ways to say yes to love, art, motherhood and being fully human.“I want to say yes to life. That’s the message in everything I write.”3. Writing as Spiritual PracticeFor Clover, writing is not just craft—it’s communion. 4. Motherhood and Sisterhood in Full ColourClover speaks candidly about the beauty, exhaustion, wildness and transformation that comes with losing her mother, raising five children and grieving her sister.“I write about the things I don’t understand in order to try and understand them.”5. There’s No Map, Only The WorkClover urges aspiring writers to stop waiting for permission. The only way forward, she says, is to show up for The Work and let the words take shape.-The Bibliotherapists is a podcast celebrating the healing power of words, hosted on - and featuring writers and creatives from - the Substack platform.Find Clover on Substack > https://substack.com/@cloverstroudToni (The Shelf Help Cluhouse) on Substack > https://shelfhelpclub.substack.com/Tanya (withEase) on Substack > https://tanyalynch.substack.com/WATCH THE VIDEOVideo recordings of The Bibliotherapists interviews are available exclusively to our Substack subscribers. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shelfhelpclub.substack.com/subscribe

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• The Bibliotherapists Ep #10: Emma Gannon on the pressures of success, the power of self-help and that tricky 2nd novel

  Welcome to our 10th and final episode of season one of The Bibliotherapists, a podcast hosted on and celebrating the people of Substack.And we are closing out in style 🥳🥳🥳 with a conversation with one of the platform’s big success stories and biggest evangelists, Emma Gannon.Emma, 35, is a bestselling and award-winning author of seven books: including The Multi-Hyphen Method, The Success Myth, and A Year of Nothing.On Substack she publishes the super successful The Hyphen by Emma Gannon and her new novel, TABLE FOR ONE, will be published this April.Joining us hot from hosting a creative retreat with our very own Tanya Lynch, in this conversation Emma provides a candid glimpse into the vulnerabilities, challenges and wins of a life as a professional writer.Her reflections on creativity, storytelling, and the power of books will inspire aspiring writers, Substackers and readers out there.Emma also shares insights into her creative process, particularly the challenges of her second novel, Table for One, a heartfelt exploration of independence and self-discovery that she’s super proud of, but took her to some dark places in the writing.IN THIS EPISODE:* Why Emma loves the fresh page vibe of a new year.* Navigating the pressures of success, and the internal struggle of fulfilling a two-book deal ("The first book was for me. The second one came with the pressure of owing someone something, which I hated.").* The power (and complexity) of solitude.* The power of intergenerational friendship and learning from our elders.* Books as sanctuary and emotional anchors (and reading to reduce our stress levels).* How self-help got her through burnout.* The importance of aunties.* he story of her new novel, Table for One (Emma describes it as an exploration of intergenerational friendship and the beauty of learning to be solo as a woman).* Why she’ll never loan you a book.SHOW NOTES:In this episode Emma references a brilliant mix of fiction and non, including several books she used to support her recovery from burnout (and several featuring dogs)…The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina KeeganPause, Rest, Be: Stillness Practices for Courage in Times of Change by Octavia F. Raheem > Lost Dog by Kate SpicerReasons to be Hopeful by the School of Life The Art of Rest: How to Find Respite in the Modern Age by Claudia Hammond Left on Tenth by Delia Ephron The Salt Path by Raynor Winn Table for One by Emma GannonPlease share with the people you love, let us know what you think, and - of course - what you are reading right now…Toni (& Tanya)💛PS We'll be back with a SECOND series of this podcast in summer 2025shelfhelpclub.substack.com/tanyalynch.substack.com/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shelfhelpclub.substack.com/subscribe

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• The Bibliotherapists Ep #9: Women Are Mad - Jen & Salima on reading for feeling & healing

  This week’s podcast episode is a brilliant double date, with Tanya and Toni joined by Salima Saxton and Jennifer Cox aka the founders of the feminist mental health platform, Women Are Mad.Salima and Jen have been best friends since they met at Cambridge University, bonding over both being state school kids who didn’t quite fit. Today, Salima is a relationship dynamics coach and Jen is a Kleinian psychotherapist, and through Women Are Mad (WAM) they are on a mission to make feelings fashionable.They say: “WAM is on a mission to help women recognise, articulate and communicate the best toolkit they have: their emotions.” (womenaremad.org)This is a feisty and fabulous conversation featuring two friends with very different book shelves and reading histories, but a mutual love of stories and words as healing tools.Psychotherapist Jen is also the author of ‘the best self-help book of 2024’ (The Times/The Sunday Times), Women are Angry 👏👏👏 (are we sensing a theme here?!), and it was great to talk bibliotherapy with a real life therapist.Interestingly, for a bookish podcast, there is quite a lot of chat about not reading, and swapping around our reading habits for other things as our mental and emotional health requires it.Both women are dealing with pretty raw nervous systems right now, Jen after birthing her book baby, and Salima currently grieving the death of a father with whom she had a sad and complicated relationship.And the big takeaway from this conversation for us is that life IS complicated.And sometimes hard. And heartbreaking. But also gorgeous. And hilarious.And that the right books at the right time can absolutely help with all of it, but that we also need to know how to read ourselves.IN THIS EPISODE:* The profound role stories play in healing - how we can learn so much about ourselves AND find comfort in other people’s journeys.* The connection between words and emotions, and the unfurling of self-discovery through literature.* The importance of finding humour in the imperfections of family life.* Why we're angrier than we think and how to let it out (death to the ‘good girl’ archetype!).* How all genres of books can have healing properties from Jilly Cooper to Margaret Atwood.* Why we should all stop using the word ‘but’.* The importance of sitting with feelings and learning to process them, whether through retreats, journaling, or personal reflection.SHOW NOTES:In this episode Salima and Jen reference a super eclectix mix of books and writers, from Sigmund Freud to William Shakespeare. Ready your Wish List… !* A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett* The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood* Happy Go Lucky by David Sedaris* I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy* The White Hotel by D M Thomas* Love Me! by Marianne Power* Dream Story by Arthur Schnitzler* Women are Angry by Jennifer Cox* Anne of Greengables by Lucy Maud Montgomery* The Merchant of Venice by William ShakespearePlease share with the people you love, let us know what you think, and - of course - what you are reading right now…Toni (& Tanya)💛PS: Next up - our 10th and final episode of this season featuring best-selling author and Substack queen, Emma Gannon .shelfhelpclub.substack.com/ tanyalynch.substack.com/ womenaremad.org This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shelfhelpclub.substack.com/subscribe

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• The Bibliotherapists Ep #8: Tamu Thomas - OUT with toxic productivity and IN with gentle unfolding for 2025

  Tamu Thomas, is a transformational and embodiment coach, workshop facilitator, podcaster and somatic movement practitioner. Tamu helps over-functioning, over-working, high-achieving women to establish boundaries, find their purpose AND make good money.Toni interviewed Tamu about her first book, Women Who Work Too Much: Break Free from Toxic Productivity and Find Your Joy, in April last year, and we think Tamu’s book - and this conversation - is the perfect antidote for ‘new year new you’ overwhelm.Tamu’s specialist subject is toxic productivity. She’s also an advocate for eschewing toxic positivity and in this conversation we discuss how to create a brilliant and joyous life without either.“I want people to know it’s okay to pause, to rest, to live with ease and joy,” says Tamu.Hell yeah to that as a manifesto for 2025!IN THIS EPISODE:* Prioritising joy and ease: Shifting the focus from hustle culture to living well.* Books as tools for transformation: The significance of specific books in Tamu’s personal and professional growth and self-love.* The joy of sharing words: And using Substack as a platform to authentically connect with others.* Making peace with what is: Tamu opens up about the process of accepting - and embodying - her late diagnosis ADHD, and adapting to perimenopausal energy levels.* Supporting women in midlife: Shifting the narrative around aging and productivity and wellbeing for women.* Writing as therapy and connection: The process of writing a book as an emotional and self-expressive journey.* Celebrating our 'flow' years: Emphasising the beauty of midlife as a time of reflection and self-discovery.* The importance of alignment: Living in alignment with one's true self and values.* Self-awareness and growth: The transformative power of observing emotions and patterns.SHOW NOTES:In this episode Tamu references and recommends so many great books, including several on somatic healing and embodiment:* Women Who Work Too Much by Tamu Thomas* Bodyfulness by Christine Cauldwell* My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem* The Somatic Psychotherapy Toolbox by Manuela Mischke-Reeds* The Shadow Effect: Illuminating the Hidden Power of Your True Self by Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson and Debbie Ford* A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson* The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor* The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief by Francis Weller* The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield* Life Visioning: A Transformative Process for Activating Your Unique Gifts and Highest Potential by Michael Bernard Beckwith* Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything by James R Doty* Women Living Deliciously by Florence Given* Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins* Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory by Deb DanaWe 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.And follow us on Substack for more author interviews, book recommendations and general word nerdiness:https://shelfhelpclub.substack.com/https://tanyalynch.substack.com/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shelfhelpclub.substack.com/subscribe

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