The Bibliotherapists

Welcome to the second series of The Bibliotherapists, and our sixth episode, featuring Stacey Heale, a writer, speaker, curator, fashion academic, and campaigner known for her honest discussions on womanhood, grief, and rebuilding after loss.

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 is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebibliotherapists.substack.com

Welcome to the second series of The Bibliotherapists, and our fifth episode featuring Helen Marie, a professional therapist sharing thoughts from the therapy room.

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 is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebibliotherapists.substack.com

Welcome to the second series of The Bibliotherapists, and our fourth episode featuring Donna Lancaster, an author, life transitions coach, group facilitator and spiritual mentor with 36 years experience.

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

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebibliotherapists.substack.com

It's a new series of The Bibliotherapists, and for our third episode we're joined by Daisy Buchanan, award-winning author, journalist, podcaster and writing coach.

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

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebibliotherapists.substack.com

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit shelfhelpclub.substack.com

Hello Shelfies,

I’m trying something new for summer, a time when lots of us are busy doing lots of things that hopefully support our self health (social, physical, emotional, spiritual) but don’t necessarily support live self-help events.

For the next few months some of our Mondays will feature pre-recorded author events that you can watch/do in your own …

It's a new series of The Bibliotherapists, and for our second episode we are joined by Sam Baker; journalist, author, broadcaster, professional bookworm and creator of The Shift.

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

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebibliotherapists.substack.com

It's a new series of The Bibliotherapists, and for our first episode we are joined by Clover Stroud, a bestselling author who writes on the way life feels.

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

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebibliotherapists.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

Thank you Natalie Lue, Laia Bové, Jon Howski, Emma Obrelius, and many others for tuning into my live video with Claire Venus (she/her) ✨!

(Featuring Mr Shelf Help’s trainer collection - sorry, guys, I needed the daylight from that window 😆!),

This conversation was mostly about the creation and launch of the podcast I co-host with Tanya Lynch, The Bibliotherapists, which started out as a pop-up piece of fun between two new friends and ended up going viral and topping the global bookish podcast charts.

But we also talked about reading for self-care, the power of Substack community, and even Peter Andre.

Enjoy!

Toni 💛

ps: Did you know you can switch from video to audio if you’d rather listen to the Live…

ABOUT THE BIBLIOTHERAPISTS

Incase you haven’t discovered The Bibliotherapists yet, this is a podcast all about the healing power of words, hosted on Substack and featuring some of our favourite writers and creatives from the platform.

We just published our 10th episode featuring Emma Gannon and you can listen on the link below…

Our other episodes include;

* Ep #1: Meet The Bibliotherapists (Toni interviews Tanya)

* Ep #2: Meet The Bibliotherapists Part 2 (Tanya interviews Toni)

* Beth Kempton Ep #3: Beth Kempton - The older you are, the more you have to say as a writer

* Claire Venus (she/her) ✨ Ep #4: Claire Venus - Investing in my Self is key to Substack success

* Lucy Pearson Ep #5: Lucy Pearson - How to read 100 books before breakfast

* Laura Pashby Ep #6: Laura Pashby - An author's guide to the best writing guides

* Anne Boyd Ep #7: Anne Boyd - What happens when you quit your life aged 50?

* Tamu Thomas Ep #8: Tamu Thomas - OUT with toxic productivity and IN with gentle unfolding for 2025

* Women Are Mad with Jen&Salima Ep #9: Women Are Mad - Jen & Salima on reading for feeling & healing

* Emma Gannon Ep #10: Emma Gannon on the pressures of success, the power of self-help and that tricky 2nd novel

Get full access to 💛 The Shelf Help Clubhouse at shelfhelpclub.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to our 10th and final episode of season one of The Bibliotherapists, a podcast hosted on and celebrating the people of Substack.

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

shelfhelpclub.substack.com/

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

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebibliotherapists.substack.com