This week we’re joined by writer, . A Sunday Times bestselling author and long-time ghostwriter, Anna has spent decades working with words in all their glorious forms: journalism, memoir, fiction, and an award-winning Substack, White Ink, where writing craft meets feminism. Her own memoir is being published next year.

(She’s also an old friend of Toni’s from the ‘Fleet Street’ days).

Anna writes about (and for) strong women. She’s also raising one, as a single parent to a teenage daughter, and this conversation explores the delights and challenges of choosing writing as a career (see Anna’s latest post - below - exploring her advice to students today).

White Ink with Anna Wharton

How Do You Want To Spend Your Days?

This week has been exam week for my daughter and her friends. She is in year nine at an all-girls grammar school, and each year, in a bid to get the kids used to the exam environment, they have a week of tests…

Read more

2 months ago · 35 likes · 5 comments · Anna Wharton

In our conversation Anna reflects on her journey from meeting crazy deadlines in tabloid newsrooms to learning to write solo, and slowly enough to uncover “the story beneath the story.”

From growing up on a council estate and working all the jobs to support her writing, to going to university in her forties.

We then move into her current work; a memoir shaped by the discovery of her grandmother’s time in an asylum, and the wider conversation around autofiction and what we owe the reader when we tell our own stories.

✨ IN THIS CONVERSATION

• Anna’s love of Deborah Levy, Annie Ernaux, and the books (plural) she loves to gift

• The case for ‘real life’ magazine stories as excellent training material for writers

• Autofiction: the blurry line between where memoir ends and story begins

• Modelling creativity and rest to your kids (even if they absolutely hate books because of it)

• The historical psychiatric of treatment of women (and what Anna learned from a 1970s textbook that left us all speechless)

🎧 Listen Now

(also available wherever you get your podcasts).

📖 Anna’s Reading List

(and you can see ALL of our guests book picks so far at our Bookshop.org shop)

Written by Anna Wharton:

• The Imposter

• Somebody I Used to Know by Wendy Mitchell (ghostwritten by Anna Wharton)

Mentioned in our conversation:

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

• Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

• Things I Don’t Want to Know (part of a trilogy by Deborah Levy)

• The Years by Annie Ernaux

• Ghost Stories by Siri Hustvedt

• The Renovation by Kanan Orhan

About The Bibliotherapists

The Bibliotherapists is hosted by Tanya Lynch therapeutic journalling coach and founder of Ease Retreats and Toni Jones founder of The Shelf Help Club.

Each week, we speak to a writer or creative about the books that shaped them, how reading supports their wellbeing, their writing practice and reading habits, how they use Substack as part of their creative ecosystem.

We believe words heal. And we love asking other word nerds questions that get beneath the surface (as well as taking a tour through their book shelves).

This is the last episode of Series 3. But there’s a whole archive to explore at The Bibliotherapists home page.

Thank you , , , , and many others for tuning into our live video.

This week we’re joined by , a writer and journalist, Editor-in-Chief of industry bible, BookBrunch, and the voice behind the brilliantly bookish Substack, Book(ish).

Natasha has spent her career shaping bookish conversations across the media landscape, with roles at Condé Nast, Time Inc., and Associated Newspapers as former books editor at You Magazine.

In this conversation we explore her journey from glossy magazines to the world of books and what it means to build a life and identity around reading. We speak about career pivots, reading rituals, writing habits for real life, and why returning to stories again and again can be one of the most powerful forms of self-support.

And, as always, there are too many plenty of recommendations along the way…

🎧 Listen Now

(also available wherever you get your podcasts).

✨ IN THIS CONVERSATION

✨ “Books are the soother of my soul”
Natasha shares how reading has been her lifelong form of therapy, a daily practice that helps her feel grounded, comforted and connected.

✨ Reading makes us feel less alone
We talk about how books offer both connection and perspective as we explore different lives.

✨ A career pivot can be a return, not a reinvention
Natasha describes her move into books as a kind of homecoming (sometimes the thing you loved first is the thing you come back to).

✨ Rereading is not a failure, it’s a tool
In times of stress or uncertainty, Natasha turns to familiar books for comfort, stability and emotional safety.

✨ You don’t find time to read, you choose it
From reading while cooking to carrying multiple books at once, Natasha shows that a rich reading life is built intentionally, not accidentally.

📖 Natasha’s Reading List

(and you can see ALL of our guests book picks so far at our Bookshop.org shop)

Childhood & formative books

• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

• Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

Comfort reads & favourites

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

• Persuasion by Jane Austen

• A is for Arsenic by Agatha Christie

Recent & upcoming reads mentioned

• Strangers by Belle Burden

• The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (published 21st May)

• The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout (published 7th May)

• The Given World by Melissa Harrison (published 14th May)

• The Golden Hours (the new Cazalet novel) by Louisa Young (published 3rd Sept)

• Sophie Standing There by Meg Mason (published 27th Aug)

• My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein by Deborah Levy

• Mrs Dickens by Emily Howes (published 11th Jun)

• Gloria Don’t Speak by Lucy Apps

• An Ocean in a Day by Hannah Richell

The Bibliotherapists is hosted by Tanya Lynch therapeutic journalling coach and founder of Ease Retreats and Toni Jones founder of The Shelf Help Club.

Each week, we speak to a writer or creative about:

• The books that shaped them

• How reading supports their wellbeing

• Their writing practice and reading habits

• How they use Substack as part of their creative ecosystem

We believe words heal. And we love asking other word nerds questions that get beneath the surface (as well as taking a tour through their book shelves).

New episodes will be recorded live here on Substack every week.

Next up we’ll be joined by feminist writer and Substack favourite, , on Wednesday 29th April at 11am BST.

Thank you , , , and many others for tuning into our live video.

This week we’re talking to , 47, a bestselling self-help author, editor, and professional truth-teller who’s made a career out of saying the things most of us are thinking but are far too polite to admit out loud (especially us Brits).

Sarah is the author of the No F*cks Given Guides series, known for helping millions of readers care less about what doesn’t matter and focus on what does.

But behind the bold titles and boundary-setting philosophy is something much calmer and nerdier, a lifelong relationship with books and words.

Sarah joined us from her home in the tropical Dominican Republic to tell us about her marital book club, her social media diet, her love of a murderous twist as therapy, and her love of full stop (anyone else want in on our fan club?!), as well as the realities of writing - and reading - for a living.

One of my very favourite things is for it to be time to go to bed so I can start reading my book.

• Sarah Knight

In this conversation, we explore how reading has shaped Sarah’s life from childhood through to her career as an editor and author, and how she had to consciously reclaim reading for pleasure after years of doing it as a job.

We also went deep into her writing process… from building books around outrageous titles, to writing at speed, to the messy, humbling reality of trying something new when also grappling with a new chapter of life (hello, fiction. hello, perimenopause. 👀).

If you’ve ever struggled to focus on reading, lost the joy in it, or wondered how writers actually write when life is life’ing… this one’s for you.

(and you can read all about Sarah’s latest life adventures, black eyes and moving dramas in her recent newsletter HERE).

🎧 Listen Now

(also available wherever you get your podcasts).

✨ IN THIS CONVERSATION

✨ Reading as therapy, not productivity
Sarah reads every single night, not to learn or self-help herself, but to quiet her mind and switch off from the noise of the world.

✨ Why she protects her reading time fiercely
From setting app limits on her phone to quitting platforms that drain her, Sarah practices her boundary-setting advice to make space for books.

✨ The downside of reading for a living
After years of editing hundreds of manuscripts, she lost the ability to read for pleasure… and had to consciously find her way back.

✨ How her bestselling book idea came to her
Inspired by The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying, Sarah realised she’d been “decluttering her mind” and turned that insight into a global bestseller.

✨ The reality of writing books (it’s not romantic)
From writing entire books in weeks to wrestling with a 385-page novel that isn’t working, Sarah shares the full spectrum of the writing experience.

📖 Sarah’s Reading List

(and you can see ALL of our guests book picks so far at our Bookshop.org shop)

Written by Sarah Knight:

• The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k

• Calm the F**k Down Journal

• Grow the F*ck Up

Books that shaped her:

• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo (the spark behind her first bestseller)

• A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Currently reading:

• The Hunter by Tana French

• Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

Recent reads & recommendations:

• Good People by Patmeena Sabit

• Adult Braces by Lindy West

• It’s Not Her by Mary Kubika

• Whidbey by T Kira Madden

• Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

• Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden

• A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage by M K Oliver

• Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino

More from Sarah

🖥️ Join Sarah’s brilliant newsletter here on Substack: The No F*cks Given® Newsletter.

📺 Sarah Knight Instagram

About The Bibliotherapists

The Bibliotherapists is hosted by Tanya Lynch therapeutic journalling coach and founder of Ease Retreats and Toni Jones founder of The Shelf Help Club.

Each week, we speak to a writer or creative about:

• The books that shaped them

• How reading supports their wellbeing

• Their writing practice and reading habits

• How they use Substack as part of their creative ecosystem

We believe words heal. And we love asking other word nerds questions that get beneath the surface (as well as taking a tour through their book shelves).

New episodes will be recorded live here on Substack every week.

Next up we’ll be joined by of Book(ish) on Friday 17th April at 11am BST.

Thank you , , , and many others for tuning into our live video.

This week we’re in conversation with , a writer, coach, and book witch joining us from her home in Berlin.

Caroline has spent years helping writers move through fear and into their creative work, and in this conversation she offers something grounding AND magical; a way of thinking about books not just as stories, but as spells cast across time.

“Writing a book is like casting a spell for what you want to see in the world.”

• Caroline Donahue

For Caroline, Bibliotherapy is the idea that books allow us to connect across time, culture, and experience. That someone, somewhere has felt what we’re feeling, and has found a way to put it into words.

And that connection, she suggests, is where the healing begins.

Of course our conversation includes the art of writing. Not as a tortured, difficult act, but as something that can be meaningful, even - dare we say it (because Caroline does) - joyful!

Caroline speaks about the work she does helping writers unlearn the idea that suffering produces better art, and instead learn to trust their instincts and create with a sense of possibility.

Fear, of course, is part of the process.

Whether that’s a fear of being seen, of not being read, or of being read too much.

And in this conversation we explore how when we can name our fears, we can begin to move through them.

There is also so much here about reading as a wellbeing practice. The idea of “slow reading” as a way to let a book take up delicious space in your life, the quiet ritual of building a monthly reading stack, the freedom of following instinct rather than obligation and the deep pleasure of matching the right book to the right moment.

“Favourite books are the ones you meet in the exact moment you most needed them.”

• Caroline Donahue

Running through this conversation is the

idea that books are not passive objects, they are active and alive forces. Writing a book is a way of sending a message forward, while reading one is a way of receiving it.

Pure magic.

🎧 Listen Now

(also available wherever you get your podcasts).

📖 Caroline’s Reading List

(and you can see ALL of our guests book picks so far at our Bookshop.org shop)

Written by Caroline Donahue:

• The Author’s Journey

• Writing Through Fear

Mentioned in conversation:

• Inciting Joy by Ross Gay

• The Book of Delights by Ross Gay

• Possession by A.S. Byatt

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

• A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

• The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

• The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard

• City of Thieves by David Benioff

• Orwell’s Roses by Rebecca Solnit

• Books v. Cigarettes by George Orwell

• Serious Concerns by Wendy Cope

• No Time to Spare by Ursula K. Le Guin

Currently reading:

• Essays by Zadie Smith

• Real Estate by Deborah Levy

• Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito

• The Art of Repair by Molly Martin

More from Caroline

Join Caroline’s latest course Your Writing Year Intensive which starts on Monday 6th April 2026

🖥️ Caroline Donahue Website

📺 Caro Donahue Instagram

About The Bibliotherapists

The Bibliotherapists is hosted by Tanya Lynch therapeutic journalling coach and founder of Ease Retreats and Toni Jones founder of The Shelf Help Club.

Each week, we speak to a writer or creative about:

• The books that shaped them

• How reading supports their wellbeing

• Their writing practice and reading habits

• How they use Substack as part of their creative ecosystem

We believe words heal. And we love asking other word nerds questions that get beneath the surface (as well as taking a tour through their book shelves).

New episodes will be recorded live here on Substack every week.

Next up writer, speaker and podcaster Sarah Knight is joining us live on Wednesday April 8th at 6pm GMT

We record live on Substack, where you can join the conversation as it happens.

🤗 Thank you , , , and many others for tuning into our live video.

This week Toni and I were joined by , bookseller, writer, and the voice behind the popular Substack, Receipt from the Bookshop.

Receipt from the Bookshop is a brilliantly wry weekly column observing life at Storytellers Inc., the small bookshop that Katie runs with her mum, Carolyn, in St. Annes on Sea, Lancashire,

And in this interview we find out how what began as a last-minute Substack post last summer turned into a book (out in June) charting this bookseller’s year, and all the comings, goings and eavesdroppings that make up the particular world of indie bookshops.

“Reading is like brushing my teeth or eating food. It’s just a non-negotiable.”

• Katie Clapham

In this conversation we spoke about:

• Why reading isn’t “therapy” for everyone

• The surprise bookshop and how it became both a dream and a distraction

• How running a bookshop shaped her identity as a writer (and also paused it for five years)

• The reality of building a Substack from zero with consistency

• How Receipt from the Bookshop began as a last-minute post and became a book deal

• A refreshing take on book clubs: choosing books you haven’t read and letting readers disagree

• Why the best books don’t reflect your life but transport you somewhere completely different

  ---

“I like to read a book about someone that I am not and will never be, but can be for the duration of that book.”

• Katie Clapham

🎧 Listen Now

(also available wherever you get your podcasts).

📖 Katie’s Reading List

• Receipts from the Bookshop by Katie Clapham (out 4 June 2026)

• Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan

• On the Calculation of Volume (Vol. 1) by Solvej Balle

• The Lion’s Run by Sara Pennypacker

• The Wreck by Lizzie Stewart (out 9 April 2026)

• Dad Had a Bad Day by Ashton Politanov (out 2nd July 2026)

More from Katie

🖥️ Receipt From The Bookshop

📺 @katieclaphamwriting

About The Bibliotherapists

The Bibliotherapists is hosted by Toni Jones, founder of The Shelf Help Club, and Tanya Lynch, therapeutic journalling coach and founder of Ease Retreats.

Each week, we speak to a writer or creative about:

• The books that shaped them

• How reading supports their wellbeing

• Their writing practice and reading habits

• How they use Substack as part of their creative ecosystem

We believe words heal. And we love asking other word nerds questions that get beneath the surface (as well as taking a tour through their book shelves).

New episodes will be recorded live here on Substack every week.

Next up is joining us live on Wednesday April 1st at 11am.

Thank you , , , and many others for tuning into our live video.

This week Tanya and I were joined by coach, author and life design expert, , whose work has had a huge impact on how we both think about energy, burnout and what it really means to thrive.

Selina is the author of Burnt Out, Time to Thrive, and the much-loved Goodbye Hello journals, a nourishing self-development New Year ritual for so many in our communities.

And everything she does is designed to help people move from exhaustion to alignment, and JOY.

In this conversation, we explored the books that have shaped her, how she rebuilt her energy from the ground up, and why so many of us feel unexpectedly depleted at the start of Spring (this was a real 💡💡💡 moment for me!).

Selina reminded us that we are not machines, and that how we live, work and even read needs to reflect that.

She shared how discovering the concept of managing our energy, not our time became a turning point, not just for her own life, but for her work and writing too.

We also spoke about the reality of burnout, including the permission to stop consuming altogether when your nervous system is overwhelmed, and how books can act as both medicine and mirror at different stages of life.

“If you’re really burnt out… close the book and come back when you feel like yourself.”

• Selina Barker

In this conversation we spoke about:

• Why burnout isn’t a failure, but often a natural response to modern life

• The difference between gentle recovery vs forced productivity (even with things like exercise)

• The five energy zones: physical, emotional, mental, motivational and spiritual

• Designing your week (and year) around energy, not output

• How reading habits change depending on your capacity, focus and emotional state

• The books that shaped Selina at different life stages, from childhood to career pivots and how certain books created a somatic shift, not just intellectual understanding

• Why we need to hear the same self-help messages again and again to integrate them

• The power of journaling as a tool for self-inquiry and life design

🎧 Listen Now

(also available wherever you get your podcasts).

📖 Selina’s Reading List

Written by Selina

• Burnt Out

• Time to Thrive

Self-help / Personal Development

• The Book of Forgiving by Desmond Tutu & Mpho Tutu

• The Power of Full Engagement – Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz

• Falling Upward by Richard Rohr

• The Success Myth by Emma Gannon

• Women Who Work Too Much by Tamu Thomas

• Purpose by Jessica Huie

• Steering by Starlight by Martha Beck

• Be a Free Range Human by Marianne Cantwell

• Zen and the Art of Falling in Love by Brenda Shoshanna

• Goddesses in Every Woman by Jean Shinoda Bolen

Memoir / Narrative Non-fiction

• All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert

Fiction / Classics

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

• Circe by Madeline Miller

• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Other

• Normal Women by Philippa Gregory

• The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton

More from Selina

🌐 https://selinabarker.com/

🖥️ Another Way on Substack

⚡ The free 5-Day Energy Reset starts on Monday 23rd March

📺 @selinabarker

About The Bibliotherapists

The Bibliotherapists is hosted by Toni Jones, founder of The Shelf Help Club, and Tanya Lynch, therapeutic journalling coach and founder of Ease Retreats.

Each week, we speak to a writer or creative about:

• The books that shaped them

• How reading supports their wellbeing

• Their writing practice and reading habits

• How they use Substack as part of their creative ecosystem

We believe words heal. And we love asking other word nerds questions that get beneath the surface (as well as taking a tour through their book shelves).

New episodes will be recorded live here on Substack every week.

Next up is joining us live from her bookshop (hopefully) on Wednesday March 25th at 2pm.

Thank you , , , and many others for tuning into our live video.

Where this week we had a full circle kind of conversation.

Tanya has been following ’s work for years, since stumbling across her podcast Not Too Busy To Write back in 2021.

That discovery was the catalyst for a change in the direction of Tan’s business, Ease Retreats, leading to collaborations with memoirists like Cathy Rentzenbrink and , and introducing her to Penny’s agent, Julia Silk.

So sitting down together (online) for this bookish chat felt like something long overdue.

Penny is an author, writing coach, and podcast host based in the UK, originally from Australia. Her debut book Tender explored the landscape of unpaid care. Her latest, Home Matters, is a hybrid of memoir, narrative nonfiction, and photography that grew from her years as an interiors photographer and her deep curiosity about what our homes say about us, and the stories they hold.

“Stories let us explore emotions safely. They take us through experiences and give us the kind of resolution that real life often doesn’t.”

• Penny Wincer

In this conversation we spoke about:

• Her advice (and an exercise) for anyone wanting to write a book

• Penny’s rich relationship with reading: from discovering books as therapy during a difficult year in Thailand aged 18, to losing the ability to read in the aftermath of 9/11 in New York

• Home Matters as a ‘hybrid’ book (and what that actually means when it comes to publishing)

• Why audiobooks have been life-changing for Penny, and how she fits reading into a life shaped around caring for her disabled son

• The ethics of audiobook platforms, and her recommendation for an alternative to the big subscription services (she uses xigxag.co.uk).

🎧 Listen Now

(also available wherever you get your podcasts).

📖 Penny’s Reading List

(referenced in this podcast. See the full Series #3 Reading List in our Bookshop.org)

https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/the-bibliotherapists-reading-list-series-3

Books written by Penny:

• Home Matters by Penny Wincer

• Tender by Penny Wincer

Books referenced in this podcast interview:

• Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

• Anywhere But Here by Mona Simpson

• The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

• Devotion by Hannah Kent

• Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent

• The Grapevine by Kate Kemp

• Gloria Don’t Speak by Lucy Apps

• Minback by Ella Lee

• Jaded by Ella Lee (first book)

About The Bibliotherapists

The Bibliotherapists is hosted by Toni Jones, founder of The Shelf Help Club, and Tanya Lynch, therapeutic journalling coach and founder of Ease Retreats.

Each week, we speak to a writer or creative about:

• The books that shaped them

• How reading supports their wellbeing

• Their writing practice and reading habits

• How they use Substack as part of their creative ecosystem

We believe words heal. And we love asking other word nerds questions that get beneath the surface (as well as taking a tour through their book shelves).

New episodes will be recorded live here on Substack every week.

(Next up on March 18th at 11am).

Thank you , , , , , and many others for tuning into our live podcast recording. 🤗

We’re back!

Series Three of The Bibliotherapists podcast opened STRONG this week with a brilliant bookish conversation with , journalist, author, and creator of Substack publication As I Was Saying.

Poorna joined us live on Substack to talk about her new book, She Wanted More, a bold exploration of what happens when women stop waiting for permission and start asking for more from life, work and themselves.

“I want you to have a stronger voice within your own life and not feel guilty about advocating for your own choices.”

• Poorna Bell

We spoke about:

• Why fiction is her true form of bibliotherapy

• The catharsis of writing about grief after losing her husband

• Why she refuses to finish books she doesn’t love

• The “reward” women are promised for good behaviour — and why it never arrives

• How she protects her time, energy and calendar in midlife

We also explored how her relationship with ambition, validation and boundaries has shifted in her 40s (and the curse of disorganised friends).

🎧 Listen Now

(also available wherever you get your podcasts).

📖 Poorna’s Reading List

(referenced in this podcast)

• She Wanted More by Poorna Bell

• Chase the Rainbow by Poorna Bell

• Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

• The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

• Haruki Murakami

• The Elements by Kat Lister

• Likeable by Fearne Cotton

• Murder at Mount Fuji by Shizuko Natsuki

• Eat Bitter by Lydia Pang

About The Bibliotherapists

The Bibliotherapists is hosted by , founder of The Shelf Help Club, and , therapeutic journalling coach and founder of Ease Retreats.

Each week, we speak to a writer or creative about:

• The books that shaped them

• How reading supports their wellbeing

• Their writing practice and reading habits

• How they use Substack as part of their creative ecosystem

We believe words heal. And we love asking other word nerds questions that get beneath the surface (as well as taking a tour through their book shelves).

New episodes will be recorded live here on Substack every week.

(Next up on March 11th at 10am).

Thank you , , , , , and many others for tuning into our live podcast recording. 🤗

A must-listen for aspiring writers and people considering a new adventure.

-

🎧 5 takeaways from our conversation with Matt

1. Writing as a Tool for Self-Discovery

Matt shares how journaling and writing helped him process grief, burnout, and career confusion, ultimately leading to personal breakthroughs.

“We all have something to say. The act of saying it is what changes us.”

2. Permission to Call Yourself a Writer

He encourages everyone to drop the imposter syndrome and claim their creative identity simply by showing up.

3. Community is Everything

The success of the London Writers’ Salon proves that while writing is often a solitary act, writing in community transforms the experience.

4. The Myth of Motivation

You don’t need to feel inspired to write; consistency, ritual and accountability matter more than fleeting passion.

“When you show up consistently to your writing, you show up more honestly in your life.”

5. Everyone Has a Story Worth Telling

Matt urges listeners to honour their unique perspectives, reminding us that “your story could be the light someone else needs.”

-

The Bibliotherapists is a podcast celebrating the healing power of words, hosted on - and featuring writers and creatives from - the Substack platform.

Find Matt on Substack > https://substack.com/@matttrinetti

Read the Writer's Hour Magazine > https://writershour.substack.com/

Toni (The Shelf Help Clubhouse) on Substack > https://shelfhelpclub.substack.com/

Tanya (withEase) on Substack > https://tanyalynch.substack.com/

WATCH THE VIDEO

Video 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

This is a lovely conversation on reinvention, recovery, and the power of words to change lives (our own and others).

🎧 5 takeaways from our conversation with Jennie

1. It’s Never Too Late to Begin

Jennie started writing her debut novel aged 49, after leaving a corporate HR role. Her midlife reinvention led to a Sunday Times number-one bestseller.

“I realised I prefer uncertainty to unhappiness.”

2. There are Commonalities Between the Writing and the Recovery Process

The Artist’s Way (which encourages a spiritual approach to overcoming creative blocks) was a transformative tool for Jennie (also in recovery), helping her unlock creativity, reconnect with herself, and build a sustainable writing practice.

3. Substack as a Creative Lifeline

After the success of her first book left her frozen with pressure, writing weekly on Substack was a way to unlock writer’s block, find her voice again, and begin novel number two.

4. Writing = Discipline + Joy

Jennie treats writing like a job, but also calls it her ‘treat’. Her routine includes early morning journalling and meditation, and bedtime reading.

“Reading is how I soothe myself. Writing is how I make sense of it all.”

5. Fiction as Comfort

From To Kill a Mockingbird to comforting Yorkshire dialect in The Secret Garden, Jennie’s favourite books have offered escape, identity, and connection.

-

The Bibliotherapists is a podcast celebrating the healing power of words, hosted on - and featuring writers and creatives from - the Substack platform.

Find Jennie on Substack > https://substack.com/@jenniegodfrey

Toni (The Shelf Help Clubhouse) on Substack > https://shelfhelpclub.substack.com/

Tanya (withEase) on Substack > https://tanyalynch.substack.com/

WATCH THE VIDEO

Video 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

This is a (surprisingly?) uplifting conversation about life, love and rebuilding.

🎧 5 takeaways from our conversation with Stacey

1. Grief is a Portal, Not a Problem to Solve

Stacey shares how the death of her husband Greg reshaped her entire identity and how grief became a teacher, not just a wound.

“If we can feel deeply, we can connect deeply.”

2. Words Save Lives

Through journalling, reading and speaking, Stacey learned to give voice to pain and help others feel less alone in theirs.

3. There’s Healing Power in Telling the Truth

Stacey’s writing is raw and real. She speaks to the unspeakable in a way that creates space for healing and community.

4. You Don’t Need to ‘Get Over’ Grief

Stacey rejects the notion of closure, instead advocating for grief literacy, compassion and continuing bonds with the people we’ve lost.

“Love never ends. It just changes shape.”

5. You Can Be Broken and Beautiful

Amidst profound loss, Stacey found strength, creativity and a deeper connection to herself and her daughters.

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The Bibliotherapists is a podcast celebrating the healing power of words, hosted on - and featuring writers and creatives from - the Substack platform.

Find Stacey on Substack > https://chaoticheartsclub.substack.com/

Toni (The Shelf Help Clubhouse) on Substack > https://shelfhelpclub.substack.com/

Tanya (withEase) on Substack > https://tanyalynch.substack.com/

WATCH THE VIDEO

Video 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

This episode is a must-listen for anyone feeling overwhelmed, depleted and/or disconnected and looking for tools to soothe.

🎧 5 takeaways from our conversation with Helen

1. Regulation is the Foundation of Everything

Helen explains how nervous system dysregulation lies at the heart of burnout, anxiety, people-pleasing and shame, and why addressing this from a place of safety needs to come first.

2. Boundaries are Acts of Self-Love

Helen reminds us that saying no, prioritising ourselves, and protecting our peace isn’t selfish, and that these things are essential for healing and wholeness.

“Boundaries are the gateway to self-worth.”

3. Rest is a Right, Not a Reward

The therapist challenges the hustle paradigm, inviting us to embrace stillness and softness as powerful antidotes to survival mode.

4. Self-Abandonment is Learned (and that means it is UNlearnable)

Many women are conditioned to disconnect from themselves. In this conversation Helen offers gentle tools to rebuild that trust and return to the body,

“Healing doesn’t mean you never get triggered—it means you know how to return to yourself.”

5. Healing is a Remembering

Through tools like therapy, embodiment and inner reparenting, Helen invites clients/readers/listeners to come back to who they are.

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The Bibliotherapists is a podcast celebrating the healing power of words, hosted on - and featuring writers and creatives from - the Substack platform.

Find Helen on Substack > https://substack.com/@helenmaries

Toni (The Shelf Help Clubhouse) on Substack > https://shelfhelpclub.substack.com/

Tanya (withEase) on Substack > https://tanyalynch.substack.com/

WATCH THE VIDEO

Video 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

This episode is a balm for anyone navigating loss, longing or big life transitions.

🎧 5 takeaways from our conversation with Donna

1. Grief is Not a Problem—It’s a Process

Donna reframes grief not as something to ‘get over’ but as a sacred and essential emotional passage that connects us to our deepest selves.

“Grief is sacred. It’s the price we pay for loving.”

2. Emotional Literacy is Radical Self-Care

Donna invites us to reconnect with our feelings through practices like breathwork, ritual, journaling and crying.

3. The Power of Community in Healing

Her work on The Bridge is rooted in the belief that healing happens when we’re witnessed, supported and held by others who’ve walked similar paths.

4. Women and Shame

She explores how generations of women have inherited shame around voice, expression, desire and softness, and shares ideas on how we can reclaim our wholeness.

“We don’t need fixing—we need feeling.”

5. You Don’t Need to Be Fixed

The most powerful message of all: healing isn’t about changing who you are, it’s about remembering who you were before the world told you to shrink

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The Bibliotherapists is a podcast celebrating the healing power of words, hosted on - and featuring writers and creatives from - the Substack platform.

Find Donna on Substack > https://donnalancaster.substack.com/

Toni (The Shelf Help Clubhouse) on Substack > https://shelfhelpclub.substack.com/

Tanya (withEase) on Substack > https://tanyalynch.substack.com/

WATCH THE VIDEO

Video 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

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 Daisy

1. Books Can (should!) Be a Daily Act of Self-Care

Daisy 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 Practical

Stories 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 Forms

During 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 Attention

Daisy 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 Start

Whether 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).

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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/@creativeconfidenceclinic

Toni (The Shelf Help Cluhouse) on Substack > https://shelfhelpclub.substack.com/

Tanya (withEase) on Substack > https://tanyalynch.substack.com/

WATCH THE VIDEO

Video 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

Having spent decades in magazine land, today Sam, 59, is known for ‘endlessly banging the drum for women in midlife and beyond’.

🎧 5 takeaways from our conversation with Sam

1. Midlife Can Be a Catalyst

Sam challenges the narrative of decline and instead urges us to embrace midlife as an opportunity to reset, redefine and reclaim personal power.

2. Menopause is a Mental Health Issue

From brain fog to burnout, Sam shares how hormonal shifts in her late 40s impacted her identity, confidence and career.

“I thought I’d be running the world by 50. Instead, I was on the floor.”

3. Rest is Revolutionary

After a 20-year career in magazines, Sam hit a wall, forcing her to reevaluate rest, and understand that stepping back to breathe wasn’t weakness, but the beginning of a new way forward.

4. There’s No One Way to Be a Woman Over 40

Through her podcast and book, The Shift, Sam amplifies the voices of all kinds of women navigating midlife with authenticity.

“Midlife is not a crisis. It’s a chance to ask: who am I now?"

5. Books as Tools for Change

From memoirs to novels and feminist essays, Sam believes the right book at the right time can change your entire mindset — especially when navigating big transitions.

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The Bibliotherapists is a podcast celebrating the healing power of words, hosted on - and featuring writers and creatives from - the Substack platform.

Find Sam on Substack > https://theshiftwithsambaker.substack.com/

Toni (The Shelf Help Cluhouse) on Substack > https://shelfhelpclub.substack.com/

Tanya (withEase) on Substack > https://tanyalynch.substack.com/

WATCH THE VIDEO

Video 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

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 Clover

1. Grief as Catalyst for Creativity

Clover’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 Yes

Her 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 Practice

For Clover, writing is not just craft—it’s communion.

4. Motherhood and Sisterhood in Full Colour

Clover 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 Work

Clover 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.

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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/@cloverstroud

Toni (The Shelf Help Cluhouse) on Substack > https://shelfhelpclub.substack.com/

Tanya (withEase) on Substack > https://tanyalynch.substack.com/

WATCH THE VIDEO

Video 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

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 Keegan

Pause, Rest, Be: Stillness Practices for Courage in Times of Change by Octavia F. Raheem >

Lost Dog by Kate Spicer

Reasons 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 Gannon

Please 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 2025

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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

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 Shakespeare

Please 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 .

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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

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 Dana

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.

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

Listen to the interview and you’ll hear her girlcrushing hard on the author, professor, and Substack’s poster girl for midlife adventures, Anne Boyd.

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, Tamu Thomas

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