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My Unlived Life — Arts
My Unlived Life

All lives contain the shadows of the lives we nearly lived: moments where we turned left instead of right, where we closed one door and opened another. The paths we choose create the story of who we are, but the unlived life – the wish unfulfilled, the need unmet, the question unanswered – has much to teach us, if we let it.

Whether we regret our decisions or rejoice in them, we rarely allow ourselves to explore the possibility of what might have been. We don’t want to get lost in the past, stranded without a map back to the here and now.

This podcast is the map.

Each episode, host Miriam Robinson interviews an author about a path their life might have taken. They return to the moment their paths diverged and together, step by step, write the story of their unlived lives.

Most interview podcasts explore the story of our lives.

This podcast explores the story of our unlived lives

#MyUnlivedLife

Please send pitches to myunlivedlifepod@gmail.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Copyright: © Miriam Robinson

Latest Episodes:

Maggie Smith Apr 11, 2023

Show notes

The poet Maggie Smith and Miriam discuss what might have happened if she’d left her native Ohio to go to graduate school in Tucson, and thus also left the man who ultimately became her husband. Along the way they discuss the impossible questions one gets asked in the aftermath of divorce; how writing your trauma can help you through, though not necessarily in the way you might think, and ways to find yourself when you’re far from home. Maggie also teaches Miriam a very important lesson about band t-shirts.

Maggie Smith is the award-winning author of Good Bones, The Well Speaks of Its Own Poison, Lamp of the Body, and the national bestsellers Goldenrod and Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change. A 2011 recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, Smith has also received several Individual Excellence Awards from the Ohio Arts Council, two Academy of American Poets Prizes, a Pushcart Prize, and fellowships from the Sustainable Arts Foundation and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She has been widely published, appearing in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The Nation, The Best American Poetry, and more. Her memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful, is out now and available in your local bookshop.

Make sure to subscribe to hear the rest of Season 4 – in each episode, Miriam Robinson interviews a guest about another path their life might have taken. Together, step by step, they write the stories of their unlived lives.

Produced by Neil Mason

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maxine Mei-Fung Chung Mar 24, 2023

Show notes

Maxine and Miriam discuss what might have happened if she had followed her heart and studied English Literature at university, as opposed to following a path which she said allowed her to stay a bit more hidden. Along the way they talk about the unrealistic and damaging pressure society puts on mothers, why we tend to want people to be just one thing, and how, in her words, communities can put the fire out on shame. In her unlived life Maxine also makes some very savvy property decisions.

Maxine Mei-Fung Chung is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and writer with over fifteen years of clinical experience. She lectures on gender and sexuality, trauma and attachment theory at the Bowlby Centre and was presented with The Jafar Kareem Award for her work supporting people from ethnic minorities experiencing isolation and mental health problems. What Women Want is her first work of non-fiction and is out now and available in your local bookshop.

Make sure to subscribe to hear the rest of Season 4 – in each episode, Miriam Robinson interviews a guest about another path their life might have taken. Together, step by step, they write the stories of their unlived lives.

Produced by Neil Mason

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Rob Smith Mar 10, 2023

Show notes

Tom and Miriam discuss what might have happened if, at the age of 17, he’d come out to his parents when an opportunity unexpectedly presented itself at a school picnic, instead of waiting until the age of 23 to tell them his truth. Along the way they talk about full moon parties in Thailand, the impact of hiding your identity at a formative age and how often others can see you more clearly than you see yourself.

Tom Rob Smith's bestselling novels in the Child 44 trilogy were international publishing sensations. Among its many honours, Child 44 won the International Thriller Writer Award for Best First Novel, the Galaxy Book Award for Best New Writer, and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and the inaugural Desmond Elliot Prize, and is now a major motion picture. Tom’s new novel, Cold People, about a colony of global apocalypse survivors trying to reinvent civilisation under the most extreme conditions imaginable, is to my mind an intimate and hopeful look at how people can and do come together against all odds. Crucially, it’s out now and available in your local bookshop.

Make sure to subscribe to hear the rest of Season 4 – in each episode, Miriam Robinson interviews a guest about another path their life might have taken. Together, step by step, they write the stories of their unlived lives.

Produced by Neil Mason

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caro Giles Feb 24, 2023

Show notes

Caro and Miriam talk about what might have happened if she had attended a traditional university as opposed to going to drama school, which she describes as an 'intense and edgy place'. Along the way they discuss being two opposing things at once, the impossibility of actually having it all, and how tricky it is to find a good harp.

Caro Giles is a writer based in Northumberland, whose words are inspired by her local landscape. She writes honestly about what it means to be a woman, a mother and a carer and about the value in taking the road less travelled. Her writing has appeared in journals, press and periodicals and she was named Countryfile magazine’s New Nature Writer of the Year in 2021. Twelve Moons, her stunning, enveloping memoir about finding yourself and your voice, is out now and available in all good bookshops.

Make sure to subscribe to hear the rest of Season 4 – in each episode, Miriam Robinson interviews a guest about another path their life might have taken. Together, step by step, they write the stories of their unlived lives.

Produced by Neil Mason

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S.J. Bennett Dec 02, 2022

Show notes

Sophia and Miriam discuss what her life would have been like if she’d received an offer to work as assistant private secretary to the Queen, a job she was asked to apply for but which ultimately went to someone a bit older. Along the way they discuss what one wears to an interview at the palace, the bravery of female artists, the liberation that comes on the other side of the menopause and some very romantic trees.

S.J. Bennett was a strategy consultant and startup manager before turning to writing. She has published ten books for teenagers, winning The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition in 2009 and the Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 2017. The Windsor Knot was her first novel for adults, and Murder Most Royal -her most recent book and the third in the Her Majesty The Queen Investigates series - is out now and available in all good bookshops.

Make sure to subscribe to hear the rest of Season 3 – in each episode, Miriam Robinson interviews a guest about another path their life might have taken. Together, step by step, they write the stories of their unlived lives.

Produced by Neil Mason

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma Hughes Nov 25, 2022

Show notes

Journalist & writer Emma Hughes and Miriam what might have happened if, after going through a rigorous application process, she’d received and taken an offer to work at M!5. Along the way they discuss the things we learn as we get older, the way society privileges certain types of intelligence and whether or not we need to be a bit more serious.

Emma Hughes is a London-based freelance writer and editor who covers everything from food to travel, relationship advice to romcoms, for everyone from Time Out to Wired and the Guardian and many more. Emma's first novel, No Such Thing As Perfect, was published in 2021 and is available in all good bookshops and on Bookshop.org. Her second novel, It's Complicated, is out in July 2023.

Make sure to subscribe to hear the rest of Season 3 – in each episode, Miriam Robinson interviews a guest about another path their life might have taken. Together, step by step, they write the stories of their unlived lives.

Produced by Neil Mason

#MyUnlivedLife

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Davina Quinlivan Nov 17, 2022

Show notes

Davina and Miriam discuss the moment in her life when her father was diagnosed with lung cancer, a moment that is central to her book. She and her husband were living with her parents at the time, and while she continued to be very involved in her father’s care, she chose to move out of the house in his final months, one of several moves that would take her away from suburban London and deeper into the British countryside. Together they explore what life might have looked like had she stayed living there, along the way examining the ebb and flow of grief, the unexpected impact of wartime trauma and the resilience we can find in the most challenging times.

Davina Quinlivan is a Lecturer in the Department of English and Creative Writing at The University of Exeter. She taught at Kingston School of Art for over a decade and regularly leads the ‘F: For Flânerie' film and literature seminar series at The Freud Museum. She lives in a rural hamlet on the outskirts of Exeter with her family. Her new book Shalimar: A Story of Place and Migration is published by Little Toller and has been co-published in audio by Spiracle Audiobooks. She is currently working on a book about rivers and migration, mothers and daughters, as a loose follow-up to Shalimar.

Make sure to subscribe to hear the rest of Season 3 – in each episode, Miriam Robinson interviews a guest about another path their life might have taken. Together, step by step, they write the stories of their unlived lives.

Produced by Neil Mason

#MyUnlivedLife

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Helen Thorn Nov 11, 2022

Show notes

Helen and Miriam explore what might have happened if - at the age of 26 - she’d not moved from Australia to the UK with the man who became her husband (and who she ultimately divorced). Along the way they discuss finding joy after divorce, the wounds left by infidelity and the lifesaving magic of really good girlfriends.

Helen Thorn is an award-winning comedian, podcaster and author widely known for her honest and hilarious take on parenthood, being single in her 40s and body positivity. Together with Ellie Gibson she is the co-host of hugely popular The Scummy Mummies podcast, and has performed to packed out theatres around the UK. Helen’s book Get Divorced: Be Happy is a joyful guide to going it alone, showing you that divorce is not the end but very much the beginning, and is out now in paperback in your local bookshop.

Make sure to subscribe to hear the rest of Season 3 – in each episode, Miriam Robinson interviews a guest about another path their life might have taken. Together, step by step, they write the stories of their unlived lives.

Produced by Neil Mason

#MyUnlivedLife

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Vercher Nov 04, 2022

Show notes

John and Miriam discuss what might have happened if he’d followed in his parents’ footsteps and run his own restaurant instead of pursuing a career in physical therapy, before he began writing. Along the way they discuss how waiting tables increases empathy, the ethics of combat sports, and why restaurants are an excellent training ground for authors.

John Vercheris a writer on race, identity and social justice currently living in the Philadelphia area with his wife and two sons. He holds a BA in English from the University of Pittsburgh and an MFA in Creative Writing from the Mountainview Master of Fine Arts program. His debut novel, Three-Fifths was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Award and was a Sunday Times, Guardian and Financial Times Book of the Year. His new book, After the Lights Go Out, is out now and available in all good bookshops.

Make sure to subscribe to hear the rest of Season 3 – in each episode, Miriam Robinson interviews a guest about another path their life might have taken. Together, step by step, they write the stories of their unlived lives.

Produced by Neil Mason

#MyUnlivedLife

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A.M. Homes Oct 28, 2022

Show notes

A.M. and Miriam discuss what would have happened if, during high school, a particular mentor had encouraged her to study medicine, and she’d gone on to become a doctor. Along the way they discuss the AIDS epidemic, being penpals with Pete Townshend and the importance of being truly seen, both within medicine and in life.

A.M. Homes is the author of the novels May We Be Forgiven, which won the Women’s Prize in 2013, This Book Will Save Your Life, a Rickhard and Judy pick in 2007, Music for Torching, The End of Alice, In a Country of Mothers, and Jack; three collections of short stories and the highly acclaimed memoir The Mistress’s Daughter, as well as the travel memoir Los Angeles. A Washington DC native, she currently teaches at Princeton University and lives in New York City. A.M.’s new novel, The Unfolding, is out now from Granta Books and is available in all good bookshops.

Make sure to subscribe to hear the rest of Season 3 – in each episode, Miriam Robinson interviews a guest about another path their life might have taken. Together, step by step, they write the stories of their unlived lives.

Produced by Neil Mason

#MyUnlivedLife

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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