In this episode, I have the honour of chatting with Minelle Mahtani to discuss her memoir, May It Have A Happy Ending.

In May It Have A Happy Ending, Minelle travels back and forth in time to investigate the parallels between finding her voice in broadcasting and watching her mother lose hers to tongue cancer.

The book is an exploration of voice, with people, animals, nature, and things speaking vividly about identity, belonging, and the importance of making our own place in the world. It challenges us to examine the impact of our voice, the manner of our questions and the weight of the answers we give others.

It’s also an exploration of love. Of love that’s too much, too little, and love that’s just right.

May It Have A Happy Ending is out now from Penguin Random House Canada.

Show highlights

00:00 - Introduction

2:09 - Talking about how the book makes me feel

5:57 - Laughing after death happens

10:45 - Keeping the voicemails of loved ones

15:31 - Holding love and the bad memories of the departed simultaneously

17:58 - The scam of false hope and the vulnerability of caregivers

20:51 - Finding home and idea

22:59 - Passing down traditions and sharing the role of matriarch

29:05 - Asking anti-colonial questions on the path to writing the book

34:49 - Knowing the worth of her sound

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Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0EbmSKFEpm8

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Guest’s links

Buy May It Have A Happy Ending: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/704247/may-it-have-a-happy-ending-by-minelle-mahtani/9780385675208

Follow Minelle on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minellemahtani/

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Host’s links

Find out more about the show: https://www.journeyoftheart.com/

Follow Journey of the Art on Instagram: ⁠ https://www.instagram.com/journeyoftheartpod/

Book a one-on-one with Lola: https://wordcaps.com/coaching/

In this episode, I’m joined by award-winning Cree Métis storyteller and multidisciplinary artist Arnolda Dufour-Bowes to discuss her latest children's book, "Maggie Lou Meets Her Match." Arnolda shares her creative strategies, the importance of family and cultural storytelling, and her approach to balancing humor and serious themes in her work.

You’ll find the initial part of our conversation deeply motivating as Arnolda talks about plunging headfirst into creative endeavours.

Maggie Lou Meets Her Match is a story about girlhood, creativity, and Indigenous family traditions. But mostly, it’s about joy, healthy competition, and the audacity to discover the world through the balance of joy and pain.

It’s out now from Groundwood Books.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction

01:22 - Creative strategies and fearlessness

07:31 - The Maggie Lou series

09:01 - Family dynamics and Indigenous storytelling traditions

11:51 - The balance of family love and discipline in Indigenous culture

19:37 - Bringing back stories of joy

21:51 - Celebrating playfulness and audacity in girls

29:05 - Authenticity in writing about non-Western cultures

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Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Vmfsd1tJAAQ

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Guest’s links

Visit Arnolda’s website: www.arnoldadufourbowes.com

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Host’s links

Find out more about the show: https://www.journeyoftheart.com/

Follow Lola on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/journeyoftheartpod/

Book a one-on-one with Lola: https://wordcaps.com/coaching/

This moving episode with Halina St James is a conversation about intergenerational trauma, an exploration of a mother-daughter relationship, the Second World War, family secrets, love and forgiveness. Our conversation is centered around Halina’s new book, the Golden Daughter.

The Golden Daughter takes us on a journey with Halina as she tries to uncover her mother’s past after discovering her mother’s secret stash of letters upon her passing. Halina translated these letters and then embarked on a journey that took her back to Germany, where it all began, to put the pieces together to find out who her mother was. This journey led her to her biological father’s grave and into the embrace of long-lost family.

The Golden Daughter is out now from House of Anansi Press.

Show highlights

0:00 - Introduction

2:44 - The beginning of the past: how the book began

7:32 - Managing the emotional toll of writing a painful memoir

12:04- The structure of truth

14:37 - Stark abandonment: Finding family and belonging

19:00 - The irony of secret keepers and the truth teller

26:32- A journalist’s perspective on visions

30:25 - Finding closure

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Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3slKw8v3_7o

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Guest’s links

Buy The Golden Daughter: https://houseofanansi.com/products/the-golden-daughter?srsltid=AfmBOoqwfY-cF78zLf3R0rJ84FfYkPp0JHAVwpJ3BAknPoCPQY2no-03

Find out more about Halina: www.halinastjames.com

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Host’s links

Find out more about the show: https://www.journeyoftheart.com/

Follow Journey of the Art on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/journeyoftheartpod/

Book a one-on-one with Lola: https://wordcaps.com/coaching/