Andrew Sean Greer won the Pulitzer Prize for his comic novel, Less. For this episode he reads an excerpt from the follow up book, Less is Lost, and describes how he thinks of the book as more serious than many readers.  For the songwriter in this episode, Andrew requested Torquil Campbell of the  band Stars, and Torq secretly invited Andrew’s close friend Daniel Handler (aka the wildly popular children’s author Lemony Snicket) to collaborate on it. Unbeknownst to many of his fans, Daniel is a seriously experienced songwriter and session musician, who has collaborated with Death Cab for Cutie, The Decembrists, and Magnetic Fields, and he and Torq trade anecdotes, make fun of each other relentlessly, and talk about the truly sweet surprise they cooked up together for Andrew, a song called "Not the Best."

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Sally Rooney’s bestselling novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You? is a follow-up to her wildly successful novel Normal People, which was made into a popular series on Hulu. The newest novel is about falling in love in the digital age – her exquisitely-drawn characters struggle to connect with each other, and slowly expose their vulnerabilities to each other over time. 

Songwriter Sam Himself describes how he fell in love REMOTELY during the pandemic, and had the bizarre, terrifying, and ultimately beautiful experience of meeting the woman he already knew so intimately from their written conversations and phone calls – and was already deeply in love with – in person for the first time.

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Kevin Allison is a storyteller, the host of the wildly popular RISK! podcast, and a former member of MTV’s The State. He tells a story about meeting his future husband in the days after 9/11, and talks about how late he came to dating and self-acceptance, and wrestles with a recently broken heart. Carolyn Kendrick is herself a star in the podcast world, as she produces the popular podcasts “You’re Wrong About” and “You Are Good.” She talks about her own reactions to 9/11, and shares her brand new song, “What If.”

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Author and illustrator Dolan Morgan reads an excerpt from his story, “The Quartering Act,” which combines fantasy and emotional realism to explore self-loathing and trauma. 

Melissa Faliveno and John Walsh from the band Self Help talk about their reactions to the story, and share their new song, “3A.”

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Charlie Gilmour reads an excerpt from his bestselling memoir, Featherhood, which connects the story of raising an abandoned magpie with explorations around his father, noted actor and poet Heathcoate Williams, and his stepfather, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. British musician and podcaster Matshidiso shares the story of coming to grips with her own father, and shares a live recording of her song, “Who Can Tell a Bird” 

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Bestselling author Jean Hanff Korelitz reads an excerpt from her recent novel, The Latecomer, and talks about the connections and disconnections she feels between her job and the movies and tv shows that are made from her work (Hugh Grant, Nicole Kidman, Tina Fey). Jean reads from The Latecomers – a rambling multi-generational picture of a family dealing with secrets and trauma – and talks about how it was inspired by the work of John Irving. 

Jean’s friend Warren Zanes, who was in his brother’s band, the Del Fuegos, talks about his long collaborative friendship with Tom Petty, his jobs as an author and a professor, and plays his song, “The Aftermath of the Accident.” He also discloses some complicated history with his brother, and connects it to the book.

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New Yorker staff writer, Russian dissident journalist, and author Masha Gessen  (@MashaGessen) tells the story of being called in for a death-defying meeting with Putin, and how it confirmed the dark conclusions in their bestselling biography of him, Man Without a Face. Ukrainian American musician and scholar Maria Sonevytsky (@MarusiaSays) talks about the war, and plays her song, “Culture War”

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New York Times writer Dan Bergner reads an excerpt from The Mind and the Moon, which explores the lives of three people coping with serious mental illness and the pharmaceutical and medical systems brought to bear on their treatment. Dan’s brother Bob is one of those featured in the book, and he describes his journey and the very inspiring way that he lives as a pastor, an artist, and an activist. Bob also plays “A Song for Dad,” about his complicated feelings on saying goodbye in his father’s later years.

Content warning: though there are no graphic or upsetting details in this story, it does mention suicide.

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Bestselling author and storyteller Neil Gaiman (@NeilHimself) talks about his long collaborations with the FourPlay String Quartet (@FourPlaySQ), and their new album, Signs of Life. Neil describes how he first wrote a letter to a friend who was suffering a series of miscarriages, and how that became the song "The Wreckers," and discloses his own painful experience with miscarriage. 
Lara and Tim from FourPlay talk about the anxieties and joys of working with Neil, and how they composed the beautifully spare and delicate music to accompany Neil's performance. All music in this episode is by, and courtesy of, FourPlay.

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Cheryl Strayed (@CherylStrayed) returns to SongWriter to read another letter from "Tiny, Beautiful Things" (which is now a series on Hulu!), a lovely and very personal meditation on the subject of self-forgiveness. 
Dr. Suzanne Freedman of the International Forgiveness Institute talks about the scientific mechanics behind the often misunderstood practice. 
And finally songwriter MILCK (@MILCKMusic) - whose song "Quiet" became the unofficial anthem of the women's march - plays a song written in response, "I'm Alright, You're Alright." 

This episode was made possible by a grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation, and parts of this content first appeared at the 2022 Global Scientific Conference on Human Flourishing. For more, go to HumanFlourishing.org

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