In this special episode of This is the Author we asked, “What’s your recipe for a good story?” Hear Markus Zusak, Kate Inglis, Tyler Reagin, Khalida Brohi, George Packer, Sam Anderson, Ryan North, Beth Comstock, and Glory Edim share their vital ingredients for a good story.
Authors and audiobooks featured in this compilation episode: Read more
In this episode, meet Richard Sheridan, author of Chief Joy Officer, Ralph De La Rosa, author of The Monkey Is the Messenger, and Hamish McKenzie, author of Insane Mode. From stories of joyful leadership to why we need a more joyful meditation practice, you’ll be inspired by the fascinating lessons and research these authors have to share.
Learn more about the authors’ audiobooks:
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“What inspired me to write this memoir was I had a daughter four years ago, and my mother, who had been dead for a long time, was an alcoholic. And as I began to write about motherhood I realized that one thing that was very important to me, in my life with my daughter, was to sort of break a cycle of silence and secrecy that exists within most alcoholic families.”
Learn more about NOW MY HEART IS FULL.
“I was inspired to write the book when my old editor-in-chief from SAVEUR Magazine reached out to me while I was in France because he’d read some online post that I’d written and said, ‘You should think about writing a book.’ And I remember telling him, ‘No, I don’t want to write a book.'”
Learn more about KILLING IT.
“My novel is titled IMMIGRANT, MONTANA. A young man comes to America from India, and hears Dr. Ruth on the radio. He also wants to fall in love, have sex.”
Learn more about IMMIGRANT, MONTANA.
“I was inspired to write my book HAPPIER AT HOME because I realized that for me, one of the most important elements for my happiness was feeling happy at home. And I wanted to really dig deep. I wanted to think about how I could be more “at home” at home.”
Learn more about HAPPIER AT HOME.
“I was inspired by Isabel Allende’s memoir PAULA, which she wrote when her daughter was in a coma, which she ultimately did not recover from. I remember I found that book when I was in my MFA program, already pretty close to done with my book. I read that and I saw how she was addressing her daughter directly, and giving the family history to her daughter in an effort to revive her daughter and bring her back to this world. And I realized that what I had wanted to do all along with this book, which felt a little crazy to me in my head, was something that could actually be done.”
Learn more about CRUX.
“What inspired us to write this book was that we saw so many families and parents struggling with the dilemma of conflicting sleep advice that they were getting. A lot of parents telling us that they really had a feeling that their child was capable of better sleep but that they wanted to be good, responsive, warm parents, and that they’d been reading about attachment parenting and the importance of responding to your baby, your child, so how could they make sense of these two things?”
Learn more about THE HAPPY SLEEPER.
“I was inspired to write this book because I actually wrote a book called GIRL CODE a couple of years ago, which was all about women coming together and supporting one another. But I noticed there was an issue. Women were totally excited and on board to support one another, and they knew that they’d be happier if they did that, but they couldn’t get there if they didn’t have confidence in themselves first.”
Learn more about LIKE SHE OWNS THE PLACE.
“My book is about my five years that I spent in the white house in the Obama administration and the two months I spent in the Trump administration as a stenographer. I actually got the job on Craigslist so I was a bit of a fish out of water. The story is really about a young woman, me, finding her way along the corridors of power and making a lot of bad decisions and poor life choices, and having a lot of embarrassing moments, but also figuring out what’s important and what’s not—all while having a front row seat to history.”
Learn more about From the Corner of the Oval.