Ann Patchett

Summary

Design Matters with Debbie Millman – Ann Patchett

Release Date: June 15, 2026
Location: Recorded at TED Conference, Vancouver, April 14, 2026
Theme: Designing a Literary Life and Sustaining Joy

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Episode Overview

In this special episode, Debbie Millman sits down with acclaimed novelist and bookstore owner Ann Patchett, recent recipient of the 2026 TED Women Trailblazer Award. Their conversation explores Patchett’s approach to writing, her resistance to technology, personal philosophies on love and happiness, and the uniquely vibrant state of contemporary fiction. Listeners get intimate access to Patchett’s humor, candor, and insights on living a life designed with intention, boundary, and joy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

On Interviewing, Preparation & Presence

• Ann reveals why she doesn’t stick to pre-written questions during interviews:
  • Credits Alan Alda’s book for her approach: “Alan was the person who taught me that you have to do all the preparation research, write the questions, throw it out, walk on stage and be fully present. And he completely changed my life...” [05:16]
  • Shares a playful anecdote about Tom Hanks exposing her “winging it” approach to a live audience.

Reading Habits, Technology, and Embracing Simplicity

• Nighttime Reading:
  • Ann doesn’t use a flashlight, but a specialized “itty bitty book light”—a beloved bookstore item—because “my eyes aren’t what they used to be and I need a really bright light” [06:25].
• Cell Phone and Email Reluctance:
  • Ann remains adamantly opposed to owning a cell phone, likening herself to “the last of the carrier pigeons” [08:56].
  • Has a “burner flip phone” in her sock drawer rarely activated—humorously details her annual battle with service provider Cricket [09:46].
  • On not participating in social media: Instead, she shares video book recs—“absolutely wonderful”—for her bookstore (with her current dog, Nemo, after the passing of Sparky).

Creative Process and Writing Insights

• Recurring Writing Nightmare:
  • Fears “plagiarizing herself” with repeated themes or material in her work:
    • “There are so many things in that book that I have written about before... I really struggle with that. They were the right decisions for the novel. But then I think, oh, are people going to think that I’m plagiarizing myself?” [11:21]
• Quoting Inspiration:
  • Shares a key quote from writer Yiyun Li:
    • "Do what works. What works for whom? What works for you?” [12:47]
  • Keeps this taped to her desk lamp as a reminder to trust instincts.
• The State of Fiction in 2026:
  • Declares: “2026 is the best year I have seen for fiction since I opened the bookstore 15 years ago.” [00:01, 13:56]
  • Highlights anticipated novels from Yiyun Li, Min Jin Lee, Tayari Jones, Colson Whitehead (“Cool Machine”), Maggie O’Farrell, Douglas Stuart, and Emily St. John Mandel (“Exit Party”) [14:10–14:52].

On Craft: Starting and Structuring Novels

• Knowing where to Begin and End:
  • Needs to know the ending before starting, but finds her beginnings "in the moment that the action begins” [15:27].
  • Details her process of letting ideas percolate and change before any writing starts—sometimes over a year, exploring “what ifs” in her head [15:49].
• The Structure of Time:
  • Ann is obsessed with narrative time—linear, parallel, or multi-universe:
    • Praises Emily St. John Mandel’s ability to structure complex timelines and “so many people doubled in this book, and yet at no moment was I lost” [17:43–19:55].
  • Enjoys being forced to enjoy stories that push her boundaries or initially repel her.

Learning from Other Writers & Literary Admiration

• Ann regularly learns from both reading and writers: “That is exactly, exactly what I’m doing. I’m learning from her and I’m also seeing what is possible.” [20:06]
• Expresses deep admiration for Hanif Abdurraqib and Jason Reynolds, wishing to meet or host them in the future [20:58–21:06].

On Love, Marriage, and Vulnerability

• Reflections on Relationships:
  • Quotes from her essays on marriage, divorce, and finding lasting partnership:
    • “We are on this earth so incredibly small... And yet we have each other to hold on to. That deserves a round of applause.” [22:16]
  • Shares how marrying her current husband, Carl, after 11 years together—with all finances merged—marked a profound new intimacy:
    • “Every single thing I have is yours. Every single thing you have is mine. No net. None. That’s love.” [25:28]
• What Makes Love Last:
  • The wisdom from a friend: “Does he make you a better person?”—and the realization:
    • “...with the full force of his life, with the example of his kindness and vigilance, his good sense and equanimity, he makes me a better person. And that is what I aspire to be...” [27:50–28:17]

Philosophies on Happiness, Work, and Optimism

• On Joy and Creative Privilege:
  • “That I get to do it. What an insane privilege that I get to write... all I ever wanted in my life was to write and to be able to take care of myself in the very smallest way off of writing. And I never updated that dream.” [29:19]
  • Candid about public perception of her optimism:
    • “If I wrote about serial killers, you would never say this. You don’t know any serial killers... I look at the world through the eyes that I have, and I see so much kindness in every direction... And so that’s what I want to write about, and that’s what I want to get down in books.” [31:50]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Interviewing:
  • “Write the questions, throw it out, walk on stage and be fully present.” – Ann Patchett, [05:16]
• On Technology:
  • “People with smartphones look at me as if I’m the last of the carrier pigeons.” – Ann Patchett, [08:56]
  • “Not having a cell phone makes me feel like I’m in a zombie film, but I’m the only one who’s not dead.” – Ann Patchett, [09:28]
• On Literary Repetition:
  • “My recurring nightmare is just plagiarizing myself and coming to terms with it.” – Ann Patchett, [11:21]
• On Literary Greatness:
  • “Music Against the Night. I think it’s the best contemporary novel I’ve ever read in my life.” – Ann Patchett, [12:47]
• On Luck and Privilege:
  • “What an insane privilege that I get to write. And it really means everything’s good, you know... And I never updated that dream.” – Ann Patchett, [29:19]
• On Love:
  • “Every single thing I have is yours. Every single thing you have is mine. No net. None. That’s love.” – Ann Patchett, [25:28]
• On Kindness Amidst Cynicism:
  • “I look at the world through the eyes that I have, and I see so much kindness in every direction, horror in the news, but open up the front door. People are so kind and generous... The more you see it, the more you see it.” – Ann Patchett, [31:50]

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Important Timestamps

• Ann on the state of fiction: [00:01], [13:56]
• On preparation and interviewing: [05:16–06:13]
• Technology and living off-grid: [07:11–10:30]
• On self-plagiarism and writing process: [11:21–13:37]
• Current fiction recommendations: [14:10–15:04]
• Ann’s creative process: [15:27–17:33]
• Handling time in novels: [17:43–19:55]
• Learning from other writers: [19:57–21:06]
• Personal stories about marriage and love: [22:29–28:17]
• On creative joy and optimism: [29:19–32:20]

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Closing Thoughts

This episode is a rich and heartfelt journey through Ann Patchett’s mind and heart—her approach to creation, boundaries, relationships, and the literary life. Dotted with humor and wisdom, it’s a celebration of possibility, vulnerability, and the courage to design life on your own terms.

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“If not me, if I'm not happy, I don't know who the hell is... I see so much kindness in every direction... and that's what I want to write about, and that's what I want to get down in books.” – Ann Patchett [31:50]

Transcript

[Ann Patchett]

2026 is the best year I have seen for fiction since I opened the bookstore 15 years ago.

[Narrator/Producer]

From the TED Audio Collective, this is Design Matters with Debbie Melman. On Design Matters, Debbie talks with some of the most creative people in the world about what they do, how they got to be who they are, and what they're thinking about and working on. On this episode, we're featuring a conversation Deb with Ann Patchett at the TED Conference in celebration of Ann Patchett receiving the 2026 TED Women Trailblazer Award presented

[Ann Patchett]

by pivotal the Secret to Happiness is Low X

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[Narrator/Producer]

Ann Patchett is a novelist and a bookstore owner. Her nine novels include Bell, Bel Canto and the Dutch House, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her 10th novel, Whistler, was just published by Harper Collins.

[Debbie Millman]

I was struck by the fact that when you interviewed Tom Hanks in front of a live audience, right before you took the stage, you whispered to him that you didn't have any questions planned and you were just going to wing it. He then immediately shared this with the audience and everyone laughed. I gasped out loud when I read that because I'm probably most known for how long it takes me to create and craft my questions in advance of every interview. So as I take out my notes, I hope you won't think less of me for doing that.

[Ann Patchett]

Can I tell you why I do that?

[Debbie Millman]

Yes.

[Ann Patchett]

Alan Alda. I interview so many people at Parnassus, and I interviewed Alan for a book he wrote that was called if I knew what you were saying, why do I have this look on my face? It's a really hard title, but Alan was the person who taught me that you have to do all the preparation research, write the questions, throw it out, walk on stage and be fully present. And he completely changed my life when I read that book and when I interviewed him. And so that's what I said to Tom. And then Tom mocked me when we went out on stage, which was fun.

[Debbie Millman]

Well, I'm going to aspire to be the kind of person that can just throw caution to the wind. And maybe when I interview you next, I can graduate to that level.

[Ann Patchett]

Or when I interview you, that's when we'll do it.

[Debbie Millman]

Okay, so my first question Is it true that you read in bed at night with a flashlight?

[Ann Patchett]

It's not a flashlight and it has everything to do with when I go to sleep or when Carl goes to sleep. But we at the bookstore, we sell something that is like a 15th generation itty bitty book light and it's got a rubberized neck and it plugs into your computer. And it's so great because I am 62 and my eyes aren't what they used to be and I need a really bright light sometimes in the middle of the day. I use it just because I like a really bright light on the page.

[Debbie Millman]

I was talking to a friend of mine who's here tonight, Tanya Salvaranthem, and she.

[Ann Patchett]

I love her. And her coat. Yes, yes.

[Debbie Millman]

She. She forwarded me and an article that you had written about two years or so ago that I reread and remembered quite vividly about how adamant you've been about not owning a cell phone.

[Ann Patchett]

Right.

[Debbie Millman]

And in an essay in the New York Times titled the decision I made 30 years ago that I Still Regret, you stated this. My stepfather had made my mother carry a pager when I was growing up and when it beeped, she had to find a payphone and see what he wanted. What he wanted was to know where she was. And a bad habit that intensified after cell phones came around. Yet the regret that you shared in the essay was that you signed up for email in 1995 and have pretty much regretted it ever since. I'm curious as to how you're feeling about it now, two years later. Do you still.

[Ann Patchett]

I regret email really passionately right now because of my experience with ted, because I have never seen an organization that puts out email quite like ted and they have a. Do you know the thing on the back of your badge is a tracker? It really is. That's not a joke. So, yeah, it's a lot of connection, maybe more connection than I was looking for. But yeah, I mean, I'm having a wonderful time. I really have enjoyed this very much.

[Debbie Millman]

One thing that you wrote in that essay was this. You said people with smartphones look at me as if I'm the last of the carrier pigeons. And as somebody that has been studying branding and marking and making for my whole career, I wanted you to know that back in the 1800s, late 1800s, carrier pigeons actually delivered messages faster than the railroad.

[Ann Patchett]

I would have existed right in that place. Right in the place of the carrier pigeons.

[Debbie Millman]

I thought you'd hear.

[Ann Patchett]

It is a really strange thing because not having a cell phone makes me feel like I'm in a zombie film, but I'm the only one who's not dead. Yeah, I'M not sure if that's a

[Debbie Millman]

good thing or a bad thing.

[Ann Patchett]

Some days I'm not sure it's a good thing or a bad thing. But the farther I go down the line, and I will say, I have a flip phone. It's a burner. I pay once a year. And actually, it's really funny because inevitably when I turn it on, I don't have service anymore because I haven't used it in the last year. And Cricket comes on and says, you have to put at least $10 on your account before we can put your call through. And I don't know what the number is. So that exists. It's in my sock drawer. But no, the farther I go down this road, the more I believe I made the right decision.

[Debbie Millman]

You also don't have any social media, but do record absolutely wonderful videos for your bookstore. And you share recommendations for books with your adorable dog, Sparky.

[Ann Patchett]

Oh, no, Sparky's dead.

[Debbie Millman]

Oh, it.

[Ann Patchett]

No, no. Sparky's been dead for a while.

[Michael's Sponsor]

We.

[Ann Patchett]

And it was horrible. But Nemo is now the very cute dog on the video.

[Debbie Millman]

I'm sorry.

[Ann Patchett]

No, that's all right.

[Debbie Millman]

Sorry to bring up a bit.

[Ann Patchett]

I'm okay.

[Experian Sponsor]

Okay.

[Ann Patchett]

Oh, I'd be.

[Debbie Millman]

I. Yeah. Okay. In one video, you shared two books that had come out in the same week about Waco, Texas.

[Ann Patchett]

Yeah.

[Debbie Millman]

In that video, you said that every writer has a recurring nightmare, Right. What is yours?

[Ann Patchett]

Oh, that's interesting. Well, it certainly isn't that. I was going to publish a book about Waco when two other books came out about Waco. I think my recurring nightmare is just plagiarizing myself and finding that place and coming to terms with it. For example, I have a book coming out on June 2nd called Whistler. And there are so many things in that book that I have written about before. There are things that I have written about in nonfiction that are in that book as fiction, and I really struggle with that. They were the right decisions for the novel. But then I think, oh, are people going to think that I'm plagiarizing myself? The thing that I would most like to talk about all night long is how much I love Eun Lee. And Eun Lee's last book was called In Nature, Things Merely Grow. And there was a quote in that book that said, do what works. What works for whom? What works for you? And I typed that out and I put it on my desk lamp. And every time I would think, oh, I've already done that before, I thought, I just don't care if it's right. If it's right for now, I'm going to go ahead and use it. And while I have your attention, because I like to make predictions, Eun Lee has a book coming out on October 15th. This is the curse of my life, owning a bookstore. Everything I read isn't coming out for six months. So I'm going to say this and hopefully it will lodge in the back of your mind. It's called Music against the Night. I think it's the best contemporary novel I've ever read in my life. And if that book doesn't win absolutely everything, I can't imagine it is beyond belief how good that book is.

[Debbie Millman]

Is it a novel?

[Ann Patchett]

It's a novel.

[Debbie Millman]

I think that it's going to be a really rough season between Min Jin Lee and Lee Yoon.

[Ann Patchett]

No, it's not.

[Debbie Millman]

No.

[Ann Patchett]

Have you read.

[Debbie Millman]

I'm in the middle of reading Min Jin's book and just you wait. Okay.

[Ann Patchett]

Okay. 2026 is the best year I have seen for fiction since I opened the bookstore 15 years ago.

[Debbie Millman]

So why do you think that?

[Ann Patchett]

Brilliant.

[Debbie Millman]

What is it? Is it about something about this moment in time?

[Ann Patchett]

No, it's just the way. It's a deck of cards and that's the way the card shuffled. Tiari Jones, Kin Colson Whitehead's Cool Machine. Mother of God. I don't know if you've read the first two novels in the Harlem Shuffle series. Cool. And those are my favorite books of his. I've read everything Colson has written. Cool Machine. I don't know. It's unbelievable. Maggie o' Farrell's Land. Douglas Stewart's John of John.

[Debbie Millman]

Is everybody getting this? Yeah. Okay, good. We'll have to send out a book list.

[Ann Patchett]

It is just a spectacular. Emily St John Mandel in September. Exit Party Spectacular Fiction coming down the pike.

[Debbie Millman]

I want to talk a little bit about your writing.

[Ann Patchett]

Why?

[Debbie Millman]

Because it's exquisite and it deserves to be talked about. Especially tonight.

[Experian Sponsor]

Thank you.

[Debbie Millman]

You've written that. Before you can start writing a novel, you have to know how it ends. How do you know where it begins?

[Ann Patchett]

It begins in the moment that the action begins.

[Debbie Millman]

Does that come to you? I know that you open the windows and you sort of wait for things to come in. But talk about when you recognize. If you recognize the moment, you know you have an idea that deserves to become a novel.

[Ann Patchett]

The. The idea comes and I don't take notes and I don't write it down. And it changes and it changes and it changes. I have a book in my head right now that began on the idea I of a young man who marries into a family because it's the father of that family who he loves. I don't mean that romantically, but I have in my life seen that several times. The young man, it's not even that he wants the business. He wants to be part of this life, this family. So that was the idea. Now it's a young woman who stands in for somebody who's missing at a wedding and winds up ultimately with the groom going into that family. But it's like a year of thinking, but wait, no. What if he's actually her? And what if she's part of the wedding party but she doesn't know? What if somebody fell? I mean, that's the. That is the dialogue. What if the bridesmaid's dress shows up years later? And, you know, I'm just saying this stuff, but you may pick up a book a few years from now and be like, God, she mentioned a bridesmaid's dress that night in Vancouver. That's so weird.

[Debbie Millman]

You've also said that one of the last things you understand when you're putting a novel together is the structure of time.

[Ann Patchett]

Okay? The structure of time is the most important and interesting thing to me in a novel. Both a novel that I'm writing and a novel that I'm reading. And so it is usually the last thing that I figure out. Is it linear time? Does time go back and forth? Are there parallel tracks of time? How do I manage time? How does another writer manage time? In the Emily St. John Mandel book, I'm assuming most of you read station 11. I mean, station 11 is the living embodiment of the kind of book I don't want to read. But I own a bookstore, so I read it, and I thought it was brilliant. Same thing with Exit Party. If you read the jacket copy and it says, this book begins in 2031, after the American Civil War. And I want to throw it through the window, but it's Emily St. John Mandel, and I know she's brilliant, but the book takes place in two universes in which everyone has a double and history is played out in a different way. There are so many people doubled in this book, and yet at no moment was I lost.

[Debbie Millman]

That's a feat.

[Ann Patchett]

So many people, and they each have different names but the same face. And they're like 30 main characters in each universe. I always knew where I was. I knew what she was doing. She's completely in control because she's brilliant. And when somebody makes me overcome the thing that I am inclined to dislike in a novel. Wow, I love that. But that is an extreme example of someone who is playing with time, going back and forth, but brilliantly.

[Debbie Millman]

Do you still learn from other writers?

[Ann Patchett]

Obviously, that was what I just said.

[Debbie Millman]

Sort of like Malala yesterday with Chris Anderson.

[Ann Patchett]

No, but yeah, that is exactly, exactly what I'm doing. I'm learning from her and I'm also seeing what is possible. I love writers. I always think of Hanif Abdurraqib, who I have the maddest crush on. But when I read his books, if it's his poetry, his essays, his memoir, I'm always reading, thinking, I didn't know you could do that. Like I didn't know that writing could be that thing. Have you ever had Hanif here to your list? Add that name. I've actually never met him.

[Debbie Millman]

I have. He's exactly what you would think he would be. Divine.

[Ann Patchett]

Divine.

[Experian Sponsor]

Yeah.

[Ann Patchett]

I mean he really.

[Debbie Millman]

Jason Reynolds, like Hall Pass.

[Ann Patchett]

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[Debbie Millman]

I want to talk about love. We don't have a lot of time

[Ann Patchett]

together, but we have enough time to talk about love.

[Debbie Millman]

Yes.

[Ann Patchett]

Okay.

[Debbie Millman]

In your book of essays, this is the story of a happy marriage. You wrote this about you and your sister. We weren't the products of our parents happy marriages. We were the flotsam of their divorces in the house of my mother and stepfather. My sister and I were the spoils of war. You go on to write about how after your first marriage ended in divorce, you were adamantly opposed to marriage. And it wasn't until your husband Carl faced a potentially life threatening issue that you changed your mind. And you wrote this about the experience. The fact that we came so close to missing out, missing out because of my own fear of failing makes me think I avoided a mortal accident by the thickness of a coat of paint. We are on this earth so incredibly small in the history of time, in the crowd of the world, we are practically invisible. Not even a dot. And yet we have each other to hold on to. That deserves a round of applause.

[Ann Patchett]

Yeah.

[Debbie Millman]

So my question is this. What surprised you most about getting remarried?

[Ann Patchett]

What surprised me most about getting remarried? I can't even say that I got remarried because I was married for a year when I was 24.

[Debbie Millman]

Practice marriage.

[Ann Patchett]

I just don't think that I feel like I just got married. So what surprised me most? Carl and I dated for 11 years and we didn't live together. We lived about a mile apart from each other. We dated for 11 years before we got married. And I absolutely Knew that I would stay with him until one of us died. I mean, I was completely committed. I just didn't want to get married again. But when we did get married again. No. Well, when we got married, it was like buying a house. And you found out there were all these other rooms. Like, we had been together for 11 years and loved each other completely and were committed to each other. But when we got married, there was an expansion. And what I realized is that because I wouldn't get married for those 11 years, and Carl really wanted to get married. I'm talking about you like you're not here.

[Debbie Millman]

Oh. Over and over again. He knew after, like, your second date.

[Ann Patchett]

But. But I think that Carl always thought that I wouldn't marry him, and he was holding something back.

[Debbie Millman]

I know.

[Ann Patchett]

So that when we got married, I got everything, and it was an amazing wedding present. But I also will say that had we gotten married before we did get married, we might not have made it because we had so much space to, like. If we had a bad fight, it was just like, okay, good night, I'm going home. Good night. I'm going home. We didn't ever have to think, oh, should we get divorced? This is a terrible fight. We got married at the point at which I knew, no matter what, we will not get divorced. And somebody said to me once, I was having dinner with a group of women, and she was like, but what if you find out he's a serial killer? And I was like, you know, that's just not gonna happen. Like, there isn't anything that will end this except death. And that was the only condition under which I would ever get married again. You may hear a great story.

[Debbie Millman]

I'd love to.

[Ann Patchett]

Okay. So I was with Kate DiCamillo a couple of weeks ago in Minneapolis. No, we were in D.C. and then we went to Minneapolis. We were in D.C. she was giving the Welty lecture. I was doing the introduction. And we had a film crew from PBS because they were doing a Southern storyteller series on the two of us. And we each had our own cameraman. And my cameraman was Anthony. And at the end, Kate has this giant signing line, and Anthony and I are talking, and he says that. He tells me he's getting married in a couple of weeks, and he's a lovely, lovely guy. And I'm saying, oh, congratulations. That's so wonderful. And he said, do you have any advice for me? And there are a whole bunch of people standing around. I was like, oh, that's sweet. And then I was like, oh, My God. I have advice for you. Joint finances, down to the last dime you have, because you don't know what could happen, and she may lose her job and you may get sick, and Carl and I got joint finances, maybe. We'd been married two years before we went all in, and I always think that's when we got married. Every single thing I have is yours. Every single thing you have is mine. No net. None. That's love. For me, other people, everybody gets their own definition. But for me, for him, that's what it is.

[Debbie Millman]

There is actually something else.

[Ann Patchett]

What?

[Debbie Millman]

Which you've said, which when I read, I realized you might have been talking about love, but for me, you were talking about what your work does to others. So I want to read this to you because it was something that your friend Edra had asked you when you were in the throes of your divorce at 25. Yes. And the question was about your first husband. Does he make you a better person?

[Ann Patchett]

Yes.

[Debbie Millman]

And he didn't. And so when she asked you about Carl, does he make you a better person, you wanted to tell her, yes, with the full force of his life, with the example of his kindness and vigilance, his good sense and equanimity, he makes me a better person. And that is what I aspire to be better. And no, it really isn't any more complicated than that.

[Ann Patchett]

That's right.

[Debbie Millman]

That's what your work does to people. It makes us consider how we can be better people. I've been living in your work now for the last month. In addition to having read it earlier, before, and every time I came away from reading one of your short stories, one of your essays, one of your books, I came away thinking, I feel like a better person having read this. And I want to thank you for that.

[Ann Patchett]

Thank you.

[Debbie Millman]

And I want to thank you. I want to ask you one last question, which isn't really my question. This is a question that Roxanne, my wife, likes to ask writers that she loves. And I said, can I ask Anne this question, since it's really your question. And she gave me permission, and I love her.

[Ann Patchett]

So there you go.

[Debbie Millman]

So this is a question from both me and Roxanne. What do you love most about your

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work and how you create it?

[Ann Patchett]

That I get to do it. What an insane privilege that I get to write. And it really means everything's good, you know, I have food, I have health, I have shelter. I am safe. I am. I am not scrambling. And I get to make art. And this was my dream. The Secret to happiness is low expectations. And all I ever wanted in my life was to write and to be able to take care of myself in the very smallest way off of writing. And I never upright updated that dream. Like, I've never wished for anything beyond that in my work. That I get to do this, that you would read it and apply your big brain to it is astonishing. I am the luckiest person in the world. And I really. I'm going to just twist a little bit here because a lot of that last TED session was just a giant bummer. And I. If not me, if I'm not happy, I don't know who the hell is. And I get a lot of grief. People say, oh, she's a Pollyanna. She's so unrealistic. Her characters are so nice to each other. And I think if I wrote about serial killers, you would never say this. You don't know any serial killers. I look at the world through the eyes that I have, and I see so much kindness in every direction, horror in the news, but open up the front door. People are so kind and generous and they care and they listen and they take care of one another. And the more you see it, the more you see it. And I just feel like I've got to stand up for that, you know, for the love and for the goodness and for all of the generosity that people show me every minute of my life, all of it. And so that's what I want to write about, and that's what I want to get down in books.

[Debbie Millman]

And that's why you make us better people for having read the work. Ann Patchett, thank you. Thank you. Congratulations on receiving this wonderful TED Trailblazer.

[Ann Patchett]

Thank you very much. Thank you, all of you. And as somebody who interviews people for a living, gosh, you're good at this. Thank you.

[Debbie Millman]

Did somebody get that on tape?

[Ann Patchett]

Thank you.

[Debbie Millman]

Thank you, Ed.

[Narrator/Producer]

That interview took place on April 14, 2026 at the Ted Conference and Vancouver. You can watch Ann Patchett's TED talk about the love of her life on ted's website. Design Matters is produced for the TED Audio Collective by Curtis Fox Productions. The interviews are usually recorded at the Masters in Branding program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, the first and longest running branding program in the world. The editor in chief of Design Matters Media is Emily Weiland.

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Oh man, that sounds genuinely incredible.

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The Fryer's Turkey Breast in stores now. Discover the craftsmanship behind every bite at your local Boar's Head deli. Bull's head. Committed to craft since 1905,

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