Behind The Spine

Living with a chronic illness can mean different things to different people. Not only does the term cover a wide spectrum of conditions and disabilities, even those affected by the same form of chronic illness may experience it differently. That’s why it can be hard to find treatments, assistance and solutions - and why the space is riddled with misinformation. That’s where our guest Natasha Lipman comes in. She’s an award-winning chronic illness blogger, and host of the Rest Room podcast, where she works with experts to bring evidence-based guides on topics like pacing, exercise and chronic pain management. In this episode, rediscover the importance of becoming an expert in the subject you’re writing about, learn to avoid leaping to a negative narrative when discussing issues of disability, and find out how easy it can be to make a positive difference in someone else’s life. Behind The Spine is the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon - you can sign up to the newsletter here.

For a full transcript of the episode, click here.

Heartwarming moments around the dinner table with three friends, and the horror and suspense driven by a ghost from the past. Wahala is a book that walks between two genres seamlessly and masterfully. The debut novel from author Nikki May was almost locked away for good. But the strength of her characters meant she couldn’t give up on them, and we’re glad she forged on. This book follows the stories of three mixed-race women, but culture isn’t at the forefront of the storytelling - serving as texture, rather than foreground.

In this episode discover the importance of a strong set of characters - and why you shouldn’t fall too deeply in love with them, learn how to give some of your own personality over to your characters, and find out why it’s important, as a writer, to set your ambitions high.

Behind The Spine is the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon - you can sign up to the newsletter here.

Read the full transcript here.

From the UK to Turkey. That’s the distance today’s guest is set to travel this year. But this isn’t your usual holiday trip. Cazz Lander is preparing to row 2000 miles along the coastline of Great Britain. Battling the tides, the currents, the unpredictable weather patterns, she and her partner Andre will be unassisted and unsupported. The pair will have to carry all of their food and provisions on the boat with them. It’s an insane task, but as a Guinness World Record holder, Cazz is no stranger to a challenge.

In this episode we discover the importance of taking baby steps towards a bigger goal, we learn why you should consider writing about adversity in a positive way, and we uncover the value of facing your fears head on. Over the course of this series we’ll be following Cazz’s journey, checking in at various points throughout her training and adventure. Stay tuned.

Behind The Spine is the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon - you can sign up to the newsletter here.

Read the full transcript here.

New year, new series! The fourth installment of the podcast brings a host of new features. Alongside our usual lineup of fascinating interviews, we’ll also be following the journey of adventurer and extreme sports enthusiast Cazz Lander, as she prepares to row along the coastline of Great Britain. We’ll also bring you a special episode featuring voice acted renditions of the winning entries from our writing competition. Mark shares a taste of what’s to come.

The Battle of Cable Street lives on. It may have been just a blip in London’s history, but the sentiment of the day continues to permeate throughout the ages. The coming together of a community against a common enemy, rising up against oppression - well, that narrative is always being retold. That’s why this event has been deemed worthy of remembrance. Marking 85 years since the battle, Father Alan Green, chair of the Tower Hamlets Interfaith Forum, joined a number of other faith and community leaders outside the mural that stands in its memory. In this episode Father Alan explains why the battle still holds relevance today, he discusses the incredible power of diversity and of a community standing together, and he explains why we must always challenge the narratives we are sold. Behind The Spine is the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon - you can sign up to the newsletter here.

A battle of morals, of defiance, of unity against oppression. The people who rose up in the Battle of Cable Street did so to oust the toxicity of fascism. For next week’s episode we hear from Father Alan Green, one of the faith leaders who joined residents and community leaders to remember the Battle 85 years on. But first we set the scene with this special, exploring the history that led up to the calamitous clash of 1936. We learn how a small and relatively unknown battle had massive implications, we visit a stunning mural that was created to remember the events, and we find out how the sentiments of the past are still relevant today. If you’d like to take part in the Behind The Spine writing competition, you can find all the details on our website.

Following our discussion with Halloween expert and award-winning author Lisa Morton, we’re delving deeper into the origins of some of the most famous Halloween stories. In particular we discover the genesis of the Jack-o’-lantern, which owes its name to one Stingy Jack, a blacksmith who sold his soul to the Devil. We go on an intriguingly ghoulish exploration through the many variations of Jack’s story, and find out how we ended up with the legend of today. If you’d like to take part in the Behind The Spine writing competition, you can find all the details on our website.

Halloween is nearly upon us, a holiday rich in folklore, cultural adaptation and religious propaganda. To delve deep into its history we’ve called in the expert of all experts. Lisa Morton has written many, many books on the subject, including Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween, and is a six-time winner of the Bram Stoker award. In this episode we learn the origins of Halloween as a Celtic festival, we find out how Hollywood turned the holiday into the gorefest we see today, and we hear the legend of Stingy Jack, a devilish man who we can thank for the creation of the Jack-o'-lantern. Behind The Spine is the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon - you can sign up to the newsletter here.

Emboldened by our discussion with Sumana Roy, author of How I Became A Tree, this special episode is inspired by her thoughts on the natural world. Here we explore the ‘us and them’ mentality that has created our fractured relationship with nature, we discuss the important role of language in fostering a deeper connection between humans and nature, and we share a beautiful recording of the dawn chorus at Kielder Forest. If you’d like to take part in the Behind The Spine writing competition, you can find all the details on our website.

If you had the chance to step outside the bounds of our manmade reality, and live life as something else, what would it be? For today’s guest, Sumana Roy, she would be a tree. Sumana’s book ‘How I Became A Tree’, originally published in India in 2017, has just been released to a global audience. Hailed as ‘a love song to plants and trees’, the book examines what it means to be human in a natural world. In this episode we explore the enchanting concept of “tree time”, we learn how writers of the past can guide the teachings of today, and we discover the power of personification. Behind The Spine is the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon - you can sign up to the newsletter here.