A Story of Unfitting: Susan Swan's Memoir, Big Girls Don't Cry
From Getting Lit with Linda - The Canadian Literature Podcast by Linda Morra
December 15, 2025 · 48 min · Season 6 · Episode 94
About this episode
Linda Morra interviews Susan Swan about her memoir, exploring themes of self-worth and breaking free from societal limitations.
Our warmest wishes for the season – and a reminder that this is the last interview for the podcast (there may be one smaller episode at the year’s end, but not an interview), before we open up voting for this year’s GLWL awards : the author featured in your favourite episode will receive a cash prize and medal to honour their involvement. In this episode, Linda reflects on how boxes are at times about imposed limitations. "Don’t box me in," you might argue – or let’s try to think outside the box (because it’s time for a change!). And it is this -- thinking and living outside the lines (and boxes) -- that Susan Swan’s wonderful new memoir, Big Girls Don’t Cry: A Memoir About Taking Up Space (HarperCollijns ), compels us to do, to locate our sense of dignity and agency, to find our sense of self-worth. Swan is the author of several novels including The Biggest Modern Woman in the World (1983), The Last of The Golden Girls (1989), What Casanova Told Me (2004), and The Wives of Bath (1993), which was made into the film Lost and Delirious (3:45). In this episode, we discuss how taking up space can be…
People in this episode
Host: Linda Morra
Guest: Susan Swan
Topics covered
- memoir
- self-worth
- agency
- gender
- literature
- Canadian authors
Keywords
- Susan Swan
- memoir
- self-worth
- agency
- Canadian literature
- gender roles
- Margaret Atwood
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: HarperCollins
Books & works: Big Girls Don't Cry: A Memoir About Taking Up Space
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