Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with six directives to help her “Get a Life".

Our May book club discussion is about Get a Life, Chloe Brown, a romance novel that features characters experiencing chronic pain and trauma. We talk about impacts and healing from abusive relationships; the mental toll of chronic pain and ableism; and accurate representations of being triggered.

• Book club info, detailed show notes, and other links: linktree.com/novel_feelings
• Get a 10% discount through Amplify Bookstore with the code NOVELFEELINGS10: http://amplifybookstore.com/products/novel-feelings-book-club

Additional content notes for this episode: This book is sexually explicit. We don't discuss details of sex scenes in the episode, but maybe listen to the podcast episode (or the audiobook) with headphones on!

Our podcast was recorded on Wurundjeri Land, which is home to both of us in Naarm/Melbourne. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.

A daring literary account of a young woman’s experience of psychosis by Bengali-Australian writer Sanya Rushdi.

This March, our book club discussion features Hospital, which explores the experience of psychosis and subsequent hospitalisation, drawn from the author's real-life experience. We unpack the limitations of the medical model approach towards treatment of mental health issues, shared decision-making, and the importance of empowerment and identity in recovery.

• Book club info, detailed show notes, and other links: linktree.com/novel_feelings
• Get a 10% discount through Amplify Bookstore with the code NOVELFEELINGS10: http://amplifybookstore.com/products/novel-feelings-book-club

Additional content notes for this episode: involuntary hospitalisation, stigma of psychosis, harmful psychiatric treatments, coerced medication prescribing

Our podcast was recorded on Wurundjeri Land, which is home to both of us in Naarm/Melbourne. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.

Tara Calaby joins us on today's episode to discuss her latest novel, The Spirit Circle: a speculative historical fiction on the intersection of spiritualism and grief. The novel features women who are haunted by grief and come together as a church under the charismatic leadership of a medium. Tara discusses writing cult-ish dynamics in the story, marginalised identities in a historical context, and the impact of grief.

• Detailed show notes, and other links: linktree.com/novel_feelings

Content notes for this episode: death of a child.

Our podcast was recorded on Wurundjeri Land, which is home to both of us in Naarm/Melbourne. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.