Podcast Summary: "A Cure for Solastalgia" by E.M. Linden

It's Storytime with Wil Wheaton
Host: Wil Wheaton
Release Date: December 10, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of “It’s Storytime with Wil Wheaton” features Wil’s reading of “A Cure for Solastalgia” by E.M. Linden, a speculative fiction story originally published in Strange Horizons (Jan 2024). Through Wil’s evocative narration, listeners are drawn into a lyrical tale of magic, generational conflict, environmental grief, and the aching search for belonging and restoration in a changing world. The story poignantly explores the concept of “solastalgia” – the emotional distress caused by environmental change to one's home – as experienced by the protagonist, who wields an inherited but misunderstood magical gift.

Key Discussion Points & Story Highlights

1. Introduction & Framing the Generation Gap (01:39 – 03:25)

• Wil sets the stage for the story’s emotional landscape: the moment when we first leave home, adopt our own values, and inevitably find ourselves clashing with our parents over differences—a phenomenon he calls “the generation gap.”
• Notable Quote:
  • “When we come home for the first time, we will do everything we can to convince our parents that the values we are now living should also be their values... The resulting deeply disappointing and frustrating experience is commonly called the generation gap.” (Wil Wheaton, 02:14)

2. Meet the Protagonist: Inheritance, Outsider Status, and Magic (03:39 – 07:00)

• The protagonist, after leaving home at 17, recalls their mother's strict advice: not to care too much, hide their gift, and prepare for loneliness—advice quickly rendered useless by the real world.
• The protagonist’s magical gift draws them to communities of environmental activists and “others like them” (with their own distinct magical ‘signatures’).
• Notable Quote:
  • “When I leave home at 17, my mother tells me three things: not to care too much, to keep my gift a secret, and to get used to being alone. ... None of this is good advice.” (03:39)
• The first real encounter with magic outside the family: Molly and Quinn, new friends with their own gifts, explain the concept of a magical ‘signature’, helping the protagonist see themself in a new light.

3. Discovering Community and Identity (06:52 – 09:50)

• Through Molly and Quinn, the protagonist first experiences true kinship and belonging, breaking the isolation imposed by their parents’ secrecy.
• Magic is defined not as a tool for profit (as the parents use it in their landscaping business), but as an act of care, restoration, and identity.
• Descriptions of magical “signatures” become lyrical: “My magic sidesteps like a crab... smells of silt and juniper, thrashes like an alligator, tastes of brine and eel skin.” (07:37)
• Notable Quote:
  • “You don’t always know at first, not your own signature. You don’t notice how your magic feels to others, what shape it takes, because it’s you. You’re inside it.” (Quinn, 09:21)

4. Rejection of Inheritance, Embracing One’s Own Power (10:07 – 11:51)

• The protagonist recalls their mother's gendered mythology around magic (“Men shape the water... Women weave land”), ultimately dismissing it as “gendered bullshit.”
• The parents’ use of magic is contrasted with the protagonist’s: the parents build for the wealthy, the protagonist undoes corporate and ecological harm.
• Notable Quote:
  • “My mother was doing her best to help, but she didn’t really know either.” (10:46)

5. Enacting Restoration—Limits and Costs (15:08 – 21:05)

• The protagonist, Molly, and Quinn use their magic to undo environmental destruction and capitalist overreach—restoring destroyed land at personal cost.
• Magical restoration is exhausting and painful, with toxins and microplastics absorbed into the protagonist’s body: “Toxins and microplastics surge out of the land and into my blood. I reel and vomit into the bucket I brought with me. It’s worth it.” (17:34)
• Yet, their powers have limits—the team can’t reverse every scar: “We don’t talk about the stretches of the coast that stay dead, the forests that won’t grow again, however deep Quinn digs... The places tipped so far off balance that they can’t support the life that’s meant to be there.” (20:05)

6. Facing Home and Solastalgia (23:38 – 26:48)

• The theme of solastalgia—longing and grief for a changed homeland—emerges. The protagonist feels unready to return home, dreading what remains.
• Friends gently confront the protagonist: “Grief... that’s what’s stopping you. Grief for your place. There’s a word for that, Molly says. Solastalgia.” (24:45)
• The dilemma is not about healing all scars or feeling better, but about responsibility: “Not a cure for solastalgia. A responsibility.” (26:44)
• Notable Quote:
  • “Who else will try?” (Quinn, 26:56)

7. The Final Restoration—Choosing to Return (27:17 – 29:59)

• The protagonist returns home. Their parents’ ‘signatures’ saturate the resort—chlorine, pesticides, perfection disguising damage.
• In a powerful final act, the protagonist undoes the artificial paradise, summoning wetlands, wildness, and true night back to their home.
• Notable Moment:
  • “I don’t let go until the night around me is hot and damp and dark, rich with the tang of salt and the beat of insects and the shadows of mangrove trees... Herons rise, the wetlands undrain.” (29:06–29:41)

8. Story Credits and Author Background (30:31 – 31:08)

• Wil Wheaton reads author notes: E.M. Linden, a speculative fiction writer from Aotearoa (New Zealand), known for themes of nature, queerness, and loss.
• Wil thanks listeners and points out where to find Linden and additional works.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote / Moment | Speaker | |-----------|----------------|---------| | 02:14 | "The resulting deeply disappointing and frustrating experience is commonly called the generation gap..." | Wil Wheaton | | 03:39 | "When I leave home at 17, my mother tells me three things: not to care too much..." | Protagonist | | 07:37 | "My magic sidesteps like a crab... smells of silt and juniper, thrashes like an alligator..." | Protagonist | | 09:21 | "You don't always know at first, not your own signature... because it's you. You're inside it." | Quinn | | 17:34 | "Toxins and microplastics surge out of the land and into my blood. I reel and vomit into the bucket I brought with me. It's worth it." | Protagonist | | 20:05 | "We don’t talk about the stretches of the coast that stay dead, the forests that won’t grow again, however deep Quinn digs..." | Protagonist (Reflection) | | 24:45 | "Grief... that's what's stopping you. Grief for your place. There's a word for that, Molly says. Solastalgia." | Quinn & Molly | | 26:44 | "Not a cure for solastalgia. A responsibility." | Quinn & Protagonist | | 26:56 | "Who else will try?" | Quinn | | 29:06 | "I don't let go until the night around me is hot and damp and dark, rich with the tang of salt and the beat of insects..." | Protagonist |

Thematic Takeaways

• Solastalgia: The story’s emotional core is the sense of displacement and grief when one’s home is irrevocably changed, especially by environmental loss.
• Generation Gap & Magic: The protagonist’s journey echoes the universal struggle to define oneself against the hopes and worldviews of one’s parents—especially around what counts as meaningful work and care.
• Restoration vs. Escape: True healing comes not from nostalgia or escape, but from the act of facing loss and choosing to bear responsibility—even when the task is impossible.

Episode Segments & Timestamps

• [01:39–03:25]: Wil’s introduction; theming around values, responsibility, and the generation gap.
• [03:39–11:51]: Beginning of the story; description of protagonist’s background, meeting magical kin.
• [15:08–21:05]: Magical activism and restoration; personal and ecological limits.
• [23:38–26:48]: Grappling with solastalgia; the choice to return home.
• [27:17–29:59]: The climactic restoration of the protagonist’s home.
• [30:31–31:08]: Author background and acknowledgments.

Conclusion

Wil Wheaton’s narration brings out the lyrical beauty and poignant themes of “A Cure for Solastalgia.” The episode is both an intimate coming-of-age and an urgent eco-fantasy, resonant for anyone who’s felt out of step with their family, or who mourns for the loss of beloved places. The story’s careful attention to character, environmental specificity, and the ache of grief and healing, makes it a standout installment on “It’s Storytime.”