Podcast Summary: "Katie Welch, 'Ladder to Heaven' (Wolsak & Wynn, 2025)"
New Books Network | Host: Holly Gady | Guest: Katie Welch
Release Date: January 22, 2026
Overview
In this episode of the New Books Network, host Holly Gady interviews Canadian novelist Katie Welch about her forthcoming novel, Ladder to Heaven. The conversation delves into the novel’s themes of addiction, motherhood, climate catastrophe, speculative storytelling, and the enduring search for redemption. Drawing from personal experience and real-world anxieties, Welch crafts a post-apocalyptic narrative that explores deep emotional vulnerabilities through vivid worldbuilding and unconventional character arcs.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
Genesis of Ladder to Heaven
[03:28]
- Welch describes the book’s origins as a “fusion of two really disparate ideas.”
- Refers to Catherine Schulz’s New Yorker piece on the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and her own personal journey into sobriety.
- The “literal and metaphorical earth shaking events” merge as she imagines a protagonist (Del) whose life is shattered both internally (addiction) and externally (natural disaster).
Portrayal of Addiction and Maternal Complexity
[04:22] – [07:39]
- Holly, herself a mother and recovering addict, expresses gratitude for the nuanced, compassionate portrayal of Del.
- Welch clarifies that Del is not strictly autobiographical, but her own recovery influenced the character:
“Del has a glitch in her character that she's a little bit different psychologically than the norm. … I have a lot of sympathy for Del. ... She's a frustrating person. She was a frustrating person to write about. Sometimes I would think, what would Del do in this situation? I'd think, oh, God, I know what she would do. And that's … a bad idea. But I can tell that that's what she would do.” (Katie Welch, 06:35)
- The pressure and expectations placed on mothers is a central tension:
“Pax is not held to the same standard as Del is because she's the mother and he's the father. And that was deliberate.” (Katie Welch, 09:05)
- Welch and Holly discuss how societal and familial judgments are disproportionately harsh on mothers, especially regarding addiction and separation from children.
“A woman with children is almost always related [her bottom] to those children … it's not the same for men.” (Katie Welch, 10:31)
Climate Catastrophe, Worldbuilding, and Narrative Focus
[11:17] – [14:14]
- The book is set in a vision of the near future (2045) following a massive earthquake and compounded climate disasters.
- Welch limits Del's perspective to her immediate environment:
“She was really forced to be … only deal with her immediate environment. ... She just really can only see right in front of her. So she does notice more. ... She's far more in touch with nature.” (Katie Welch, 13:05)
- Holly commends the focus on regionality rather than a global overview, linking it to Del’s hyper-localized trauma and perception.
- Welch details that crafting this speculative world required “looking around” at real, contemporary issues in British Columbia—heat, snowmelt, atmospheric rivers.
The Talking Animals and the Function of Weirdness
[14:58] – [16:50]
- With the earthquake comes a reality shift: communication between humans and animals is suddenly possible. Welch roots this conceit in her own reverence for animals and time in BC’s wilderness.
“I do think that animals are communicating with us … and the more we listen to them, the better off we'd be.” (Katie Welch, 15:33)
- Del, who struggles to communicate with humans, finds her connections most possible with animals.
- Notably, each animal species has a distinctive “voice”—the seals are characterized as “funny and a little bit ruthless.”
Reading: “Ghost Forest”
[17:14] – [21:21]
- Welch reads a passage where Del camps in a devastated forest, describes interactions with nature and the now-communicative animals, and copes with her physical and emotional challenges.
“Manx, my dog, was the first animal I heard speak after the earthquake. … Coyotes were annoyingly loquacious, cougars pithy and inscrutable, horses gentle and direct. Ravens knew only one word: food, but they seemed intelligent. I suspected they could say much more and chose not to.” (Katie Welch, 19:28)
Chang (Chung): A Parallel Survivor
[21:21] – [23:12]
- Introduction of Chang, a character who has lost everything in the disaster but copes with greater resilience and positivity than Del.
“When Del comes across him, she can't really understand why he would help her. … He's being kind because being kind makes him feel better. Because it does. And it's not a complicated thing. But it does take Del the whole book to learn this from Chung.” (Katie Welch, 22:45)
Grace, Redemption, and Narrative Surprises
[23:24] – [25:12]
- Holly notes the unconventional arc: Del’s redemption is not packaged as many readers might expect.
- The novel’s title is inspired by an eight-word poem:
“The ladder to heaven has only one rung.”
- Welch elaborates:
“That rung is love. … The only redemption that you get is … knowing that moving forward, Del is on a better path.” (Katie Welch, 24:49 / 25:12)
- Holly emphasizes how the ending is “truer to life” and intentionally eschews “tidy, pat endings.”
Writing Style and Connection to Nature
[27:25] – [28:38]
- Holly praises the earthy, sensory richness of Welch’s prose.
- Welch, not a poet but an evocative prose stylist, describes immersing herself in the landscape, then translating that experience for readers:
“I just would close my eyes … pretend that I was there and write down everything that occurred to me about what that experience was like and then try to work that into the description.” (Katie Welch, 28:19)
Impact and Final Reflections
[28:38] – [29:26]
- Holly talks about how the book reinforced her environmental consciousness, making the case that “just to go outside and roll around in the grass like a dog … unplug a little bit and ... appreciate what’s around us.”
Notable Quotes & Moments
-
On Del’s complexity:
“She was a frustrating person to write about. Sometimes I would think, what would Del do in this situation? I'd think, oh, God, I know what she would do. And that's...a bad idea. But...that's what she would do.”
—Katie Welch [06:35] -
On motherhood and addiction:
“A woman with children ... her bottom is almost always related to those children ... it's not the same for men.”
—Katie Welch [10:31] -
On animal communication:
“If we listen to animals, I think they are communicating with us and the more we listen to them, the better off we'd be.”
—Katie Welch [15:33] -
Chang’s philosophy:
“He's being kind because being kind makes him feel better. ... It does take Del the whole book to learn this from Chung.”
—Katie Welch [22:45] -
On redemption:
“The ladder to heaven has only one rung. And that rung ... is love.”
—Katie Welch [24:43]
Timestamps for Key Segments
- [03:28] — Origins of the novel: Cascadia earthquake + addiction
- [06:35] — Del’s character and moral ambiguity
- [09:05] — Judgments on mothers vs. fathers
- [13:05] — Hyper-focused, hyperlocal world after catastrophe
- [14:58] — Talking animals: rationale and narrative function
- [17:14]–[21:21] — Author Reading: "Ghost Forest"
- [22:45] — Introduction and function of Chang
- [24:49] — Title meaning and the theme of redemption
- [27:25] — Writing process and evoking natural settings
- [29:26] — Next novel preview: mystery in a tree planting camp
Conclusion: Tone and Style
The conversation is deeply empathetic, candid, and at times wryly humorous, mirroring the book’s style. Both host and guest demonstrate vulnerability and curiosity, while maintaining careful boundaries around plot spoilers. The episode will appeal to readers seeking honest, nuanced explorations of trauma, recovery, and humanity’s relationship to the changing world.
Further Reading:
Ladder to Heaven by Katie Welch (Wolsak & Wynn, 2025)
Look out for Welch's forthcoming novel set in a tree planting camp, featuring speculative twists and an ensemble cast.