Welcome back to the final portion of my interview with Lauren Kessler an award-winning author of 15 books including her brand new and most personal by far, Everything Changes Everything, which covers how she moved forward after losing her husband and her daughter within eight months of each other by walking 500 miles across Spain on a solo pilgrimage along the famed Camino de Santiago.
In addition to being a writer, Lauren is a backyard farmer, a backcountry hiker, a tent-camper, and a quadruple Aries–if you know, you know.
Today we get a peek at where Lauren is headed next, as well as what she’s been reading, watching, drinking, and fantasizing about eating.
We covered:
- Looking for pockets of inspiration amid a sea of upsetting headlines
- A suffragist whose story inspires Lauren in her own life
- How her current throughline is creating work that helps people move through loss
- Starting to ponder the possibility of pursuing a partnership now that she’s five years past losing her beloved husband–or really, how she’s avoiding said pondering but still, the possibility lingers
- Thoughts on maintaining the stamina for maintaining a writing career as long as possible
- The novella by Norman McLean she reads three times a year, and why
- Why, when she drinks alcohol, she drinks tequila (such a sweet story)
Connect with Lauren at laurenkessler.com or laurenjkess.substack.com.
For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.
Thank you for listening!

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[Lauren Kessler: what’s coming up]: Building and maintaining the stamina needed for a multi-decade writing career Ep 1253