I hugely enjoyed this conversation with the novelist and memoirist Lily Dunn, who spoke to me remotely this week from her home in Bristol. We talk about the craft and process of memoir, writing, relationships, agents, publishing and our shared experience of growing up as the daughters of 60s-generation parents who were (in various ways) following their bliss, often at the expense of their offspring.
Lily’s recent memoir, The Sins of My Father: A Daughter, a Cult, a Wild Unravelling, tells the astonishing story story of her charismatic, brilliant, self-destructive, philandering hippie father who abandoned his young family in London to follow his spiritual guru in a desperate and ultimately tragic quest for meaning and self-gratification. It’s a gripping tale, rendered with great tenderness, insight, honesty and emotional subtly. You can buy it here or somewhere less evil, for instance at your local bookstore. Lily also writes a wonderful Subtack And A Dog, which was meant to be mainly about her hilarious insane dog (hence the name) but has evolved into something richer over time, as the best Substacks do.
I’ve posted the audio and transcript FREE for all subscribers, so you can read or listen while doing the dishes if you prefer. This is a great interview for anyone who is writing a memoir or generally interested in the craft itself, because not only is Lily a best-selling author, she’s also an experienced teacher (she has a PhD in creative writing) and co-founder of the London Lit Lab, which offers remote courses, and on top of all this she’s currently hard at work on an upcoming book about memoir writing, due out next year. This is your opportunity to glean some valuable free wit and wisdom from a bonafide guru of memoir. Just don’t abandon your kids to follow her okay? That would be weird.
Enjoy!
a conversation with the memoirist Lily Dunn