"The more personal I am, the more specific I am about my life, the more other people can see aspects of their own life reflected there.”

Clover Stroud

I was delighted to grab an hour this week with best selling memoir author Clover Stroud in the midst of her fourth book launch.

I wanted to talk with Clover about her writing craft, her recent wildly successful Substack launch and her upcoming book.

I ADORE Clover’s writing and I know lots of you will already be connected.

Her books and words are life affirming and show me the thread of fragility that runs through us all. Storytelling that unites us, feelings that ground us.

Clover’s words show us what’s real in our hearts. She gives us a zoom out button to press. We can feel impossibly small and also see the enormity of everything we adore in full technicolour all at once. When I read her work, gentle reassurance runs through my cells. It’s everything I need.

Clover’s 4th memoir, The Giant on the Skyline is about home, where we find it and how we connect to it within ourselves. The book is out on 8th May (next week)!!

“Home is a concept that has obsessed me since I was very small and homesickness is one of the emotions I can identify earliest as a child.”

Clover Stroud

Do pop over and subscribe to Clover’s incredible writing here on Substack and consider being a paid subscriber to receive her weekly essays;

There are 2 more days to save 35% on an annual subscription here at Sparkle on Substack

🎙️ Timestamped podcast overview

00:00 Enthusiasm for book writing and the editing process.

04:03 Creating a secure and beautiful home for family.

07:57 Generous and unique storytelling on Instagram.

10:59 Passionate about Substack, evolving and expanding options.

13:22 Adjusting to new country life: complex and overwhelming.

18:37 Professional commitment and disappointment in subscriber culture.

22:46 Attention spans shortening, challenge in holding readers.

25:38 Writers find freedom in Substack's simplicity.

27:05 Aspiring to write, creativity, curiosity, and book promotions.

32:04 Growing interest in newsletters among publishers.

36:30 Setting up paywall for podcast, building community.

39:40 Husband describes intense memoir retreat experience.

41:27 Writing is becoming more creative.

45:44 Facing adversities, searching for unreachable mother, motherhood adventures.

48:31 Writing the books I needed to read.

51:21 Memoir is real, emotional truth is key.

53:53 Emotional appreciation for awakening and sharing gifts.

57:14 Encouraging Clover's beautiful work in future.

“Clover Stroud is a force of nature and a woman who is fearless in the face of life and death. A fearless explorer of the human heart, and a writer of incomparable grace and passion”. Elizabeth Gilbert

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