To Sleep, Perchance to Dream with Cindy Pham

About this episode

Julia Steudle interviews debut author Cindy Pham about her book that reimagines a classic fairytale while addressing themes of mental health.

CW: There is mention of depression, suicidal ideation, and general references to mental health throughout the episode. In this episode, your host Julia chats with debut author and BookTube star, Cindy Pham, about her book The Secret World of Briar Rose , available in the US June 2nd and UK 4th June. The Secret World of Briar Rose takes the classic fairytale we know and asks the question: What if the princess actually wanted to just sleep? It tackles topics of depression, privilege, and grief both with care and without pulling punches. Order her book from one of her fave indie bookstores: Yu & Me Books (signed and personalized copies available here), Books Are Magic , Book Club Bar , or Words on Warren Read Cindy's favorite books: This is How You Lose the Time War & Know My Name Follow Cindy's journey on Instagram , YouTube , TikTok , and her website As always, thank you for being a Novel Friend! Host: Julia Steudle (she/her) Editor & Artwork: Jonah Kensett (he/him) Music: Brady Dunn (they/them) Content Development: Hannah Latham (she/her) Instagram | Patreon Support indie bookstores through Bookshop.org & Libro.fm Novel Finds is an affiliate of Bookshop.org &amp…

People in this episode

Host: Julia Steudle

Guest: Cindy Pham

Topics covered

• mental health
• depression
• fairytales
• grief
• privilege
• literature

Keywords

• Cindy Pham
• The Secret World of Briar Rose
• mental health
• depression
• fairytale
• grief
• privilege
• BookTube

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Yu & Me Books, Books Are Magic, Book Club Bar, Words on Warren

Books & works: The Secret World of Briar Rose, This is How You Lose the Time War, Know My Name

More episodes of Novel Finds: A literary podcast

• A New Anansi Story with Ama Ofosua Lieb · June 7, 2026 · 27 min
• Pop the Bubble with Silvia Park · May 3, 2026 · 34 min
• We Need Three Day Weekends with Shelly Page · April 19, 2026 · 23 min
• The Perfect Place for Nosy Aunts with Olivia Waite · April 5, 2026 · 48 min
• Dead Goddess Causes Infrastructure Problems with Hannah Whitten · March 15, 2026 · 30 min
• A Lady For Season Six with TJ Alexander · March 1, 2026 · 49 min