The Radio 2 Book Club

Dr Sharon Blackie joins Sara to chat about the origins of Fairytales and why she believes they are still so important and relevant today.
Sharon is a former neuroscientist and psychologist, turned bestselling author and speaker who has a background in mythology and folklore.
As part of the BBC's 'Once Upon A Time' season - Sara an Sharon explore the origins of Fairytales, how she used them in her practices - and why we're still so fascinated with them.
Here's a little more info on Sharon's book, 'Ripening':
In this world in which all our old certainties seem to be crumbling, many women feel lost. In Ripening, Sharon Blackie insists that fairy tales are precisely the stories we need for such times.
Long before they became bywords for people-pleasing princesses, these old stories – passed down to us through generations by our peasant ancestors – told us everything that women need to learn about the world. They might be set in difficult and dangerous times, but they insist that their heroines face the unfaceable and dig deep for previously unimagined inner resources. They teach us to be savvy, inspire us to grow in confidence, show us how to be bold and claim the future we dream of.
More than anything, fairy tales are soul-food. They show us how to take hold of our own personal narratives and transform them into stories that might begin with trauma, but end with empowerment. They offer us images of startling resonance and beauty, while showing us how to recognise and make use of the possibilities that rise to the surface when broken systems are cracked open.

Caro Claire Burke joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club to chat about her debut novel, 'Yesteryear'.
They discuss the #tradwife movement, influencers, influences, and why satire is needed right now.
We also hear a clip from the audiobook - and - try to get Caro to spill the beans on the film adaptation, which is already in the works (with Anne Hathaway attached)
Here's the blurb for 'Yesteryear':
My name is Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive…'
Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle – and has the social media accounts to prove it. Her charming farmhouse on her working ranch is artfully cluttered, her husband is a handsome cowboy, her homemade sourdough boules are each more beautiful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers and industrial-grade ovens behind the scenes? What Natalie’s followers don’t know won’t hurt them.
Then, one morning, Natalie wakes up in a strange, horrible version of reality. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Is this a hoax? A reality show? A test from God? Natalie knows just two things for sure: this isn't her perfect life, and she must escape, by any means possible.

Sara welcomes bestselling novelist Patrick Gale back to the Radio 2 Book Club.
They chat about his new novel, 'Love Lane', a sequel (sort of) to one of his earlier books 'A Place Called Winter'. Patrick explains what made him want to return to this story and the characters and talks about the incredible treasure trove of family trinkets and secrets that he inherited, which allowed him to write a story based on his own family history.
Patrick narrates the audiobook himself, so we hear a little clip of that - and - get some cracking reading recommendations from him as well!
Here's the blurb for 'Love Lane':
A reunion. A journey. A longing for a place called home...
When veteran Canadian wheat farmer, Harry Cane is obliged to sell up and sail home to an England transformed by two world wars, his arrival triggers unwelcome self-examination for the family he abandoned, and for whom he has never been more than a distant myth.
His daughter feels duty bound to take him in but is riven with doubt and ambushed by a long buried anger she has never before expressed. Harry's effect on the next generation is less predictable, and enables his granddaughter to deal with an unspeakable trauma, while her gentle husband feels seen for who he truly is.
Can Harry stay and make a new life before it's too late, or will he find himself cast out again, punished for having witnessed and understood too much?

Debut novelist Tara Menon joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club to discuss her new novel, 'Under Water'.
They talk about what inspired the novel, her research and why it took so long (8 years) to write.
Tara also gives us a couple of great book recommendations too.
Here's a little more about 'Under Water':
When six-year-old Marissa loses her mother, she is taken by her father to live on a small Thai island in the Andaman Sea. There, she forms a deep friendship with Arielle and together they explore the fragile wonders of its forests, reefs, and beaches. Holding their breath for minutes at a time, they learn to dive into the deep, as effortlessly synchronized as the manta rays they come to know by name. Then, on Boxing Day 2004, when the Indian Ocean tsunami makes landfall, they are swept up by the first wave and separated.
Eight years later, Marissa is living in New York. She spends her days wandering through the city and her nights seeking solace in the beds of strangers. As the city prepares for a devastating storm, Marissa reflects on her past and learns how to sustain herself in a precarious world.

Sara welcomes one of our superstar librarians to the podcast.
Maggie Ross works for the Royal Borough Of Windsor & Maidenhead libraries - and has been part of our Radio 2 Book Club panel for many years. She chats with Sara about her job, the brilliance of libraries - and some of the books she's looking forward to coming out later this year
Her Top Five Reads of this year are:
A Family Matter by Claire Lynch
The Family Way by Laney Katz Becker
The Killer Question by Janice Hallett
Show Me Where it Hurts by Claire Gleeson
The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson