Why do we cry? How come love hurts? And what’s a happiness researcher doing talking about sadness, anyway?
Helen Russell is a journalist and happiness researcher and How to be Sad is a new podcast based on her book of the same name - exploring why we get sad, what to do when we’re sad, and how we can all get happier by learning to be sad, better. Because let’s be honest – we are in unprecedented times. None of us are where we thought we’d be this time last year and we’re all struggling. We’re having to get better at having difficult conversations and finding ways of handling our sadness.
Join Helen as she talks to some high profile people from all walks of life who have done just that. Each week, special guests share their own experiences of everything from heartache to burnout, anxiety to addiction, the differences between sadness and depression - and how they cope.
Find out more @MsHelenRussell #HowToBeSad and order How To Be Sad at https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/how-to-be-sad-the-key-to-a-happier-life-helen-russell?variant=39445841018958
To celebrate the publication of How to Raise a Viking and as a special thank you to listeners of the podcast we are delighted to share this exclusive extract from the audiobook.
What do Vikings know about raising children? Turns out, quite a lot…
After a decade of living in Denmark and raising a family there, Helen Russell noticed that Nordic children are different. They eat differently. They learn differently. They run, jump and climb out in nature for hours a day, even though the weather is terrible and it's dark October to March. And then they grow up to be some of the happiest adults on the planet. Her question was: how?
In How to Raise a Viking, Russell takes a deep dive into the parenting culture of Denmark and the other Nordic nations, from parental leave policies to school structure, screen time, and the surprising customs that lead to happy, well-adjusted humans. This fascinating peek behind the cultural curtain allows readers a glimpse of another world, where babies sleep outside in their prams up to -20°C and pre-schoolers wield axes.
Refreshingly funny and unfailingly optimistic about the new generation of humans growing up in the world right now, this is a heart-warming love letter to Russell’s adopted homeland and proof that we could all use a bit more Viking in our lives.
Follow Helen on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook @MsHelenRussell
Read more about Helen’s new book, How to Raise a Viking, and get your copy here (https://lnkfi.re/JsiZ1e).
Get in touch with the show at howtobesadpodcast@gmail.com (mailto:howtobesadpodcast@gmail.com)
3 Aug 2022
Season 5 #5 Julia Samuel
Julia Samuel MBE is a psychotherapist, grief counsellor, and author of the bestsellers Griefworks, This Too Shall Pass. She was also one of my favourite interviewees for my book, How To Be Sad when we talked about family and relationships. With four children of her own and nine grandchildren, Julia began exploring her own family stories in adulthood and looking at how Every Family Has A Story – the title of her new book. Here, we talk about:
Inherited trauma and why family stories matter
Bias and how to overcome it
why pain is an agent of change
how family teaches us about love
attachment theory
rupture and repair
The pros and cons of Zoom therapy
Every Family Has A Story (https://uk.bookshop.org/books/every-family-has-a-story-how-we-inherit-love-and-loss/9780241480625?aid=6421) is out now, and you can follow Julia @juliasamuelmbe (https://www.instagram.com/juliasamuelmbe/)
How To Be Sad, the key to a happier life is out in paperback and as an audiobook (https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/How-to-Be-Sad-Audiobook/0008384584?qid=1655126734&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=c6e316b8-14da-418d-8f91-b3cad83c5183&pf_rd_r=9SARY0GDDGYZGCX7ABEK), read by me – and if you enjoyed this episode, give it 5 stars and I’ll love you forever.
Thanks as ever to Matt Clacher at HarperCollins and Joel Grove for production.
27 Jul 2022
Season 5 #4 Rosie Wilby
Rosie Wilby is a comedian, podcaster and author of The Breakup Monologues – about the unexpected joy of heartbreak and all we can learn from it. BBC Radio 4 described her as the ‘queen of breakups’ (what an accolade!) so she was the perfect guest for a chat about how to be sad, well. Here, we talk about:
- Break up grief
- …but how we get over it twice as quickly as we predict
- Friendship breakups
- Why divorce rates for gay women are so high
- Boredom in long-term relationships
- Cheating blackbirds…
- SSRIs and ‘anti-love drugs’
- Hormones and attraction
- Separate bed stigma
- Monogamy: pros and cons
- Finding love – and getting married!
Follow Rosie on Twitter @ (https://twitter.com/rosiewilby)and Instagram @breakupmonologues (https://www.instagram.com/breakupmonologues/)and check out The Breakup Monologues here (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Breakup-Monologues-Unexpected-Joy-Heartbreak/dp/1472982304). And for more on my own long (long) and illustrious history of disastrous breakups, may I nudge you towards chapters 4 and 6 of How To Be Sad (https://www.4thestate.co.uk/book/how-to-be-sad-everything-ive-learned-about-getting-happier-by-being-sad-better-9780008384579/%5D.)…! As ever, I so appreciate your feedback and reviews so keep them coming. Until next time x
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
17 ratings
Spotify
4.7 / 5
13 ratings
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