Slow Stories

Have you seen the moon? What do you want from this provincial life? How much risk can we allow in this careless, rotten world? These are just a few of the many questions readers will encounter in celebrated poet Kate Baer’s new book, How About Now. As the bestselling author of What Kind of Woman, And Yet, and I Hope This Finds You Well, Kate’s latest collection continues her thoughtful explorations of modern womanhood. She comments on the ever-present tension between the body and the mind. She celebrates relationships with love and loved ones. She ruminates on the growth of her children—and herself. Each poem is a tiny mirror made of ink and promise, asking to be engaged and looked at with curiosity—and asking us to find the courage to ask questions ourselves, perhaps most prominently, how about now? In this interview, Kate shared more about her relationship with time, the importance of plugging into our communities, poetry as a vehicle for growth, and the ongoing journey of learning to let go. This episode also opens with a story by Morgan DePerno. - https://slowstoriespodcast.com/kate-baer/ Subscribe to Slow Stories on Substack: https://slowstories.substack.com/ Purchase Slowing: https://bookshop.org/p/books/slowing-discover-wonder-beauty-and-creativity-through-slow-living-rachel-schwartzmann/21201888?ean=9781797223759 Purchase How About Now: https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-about-now-poems-kate-baer/715dbcdc282b1ea4?ean=9780063306080&next=t Follow Kate: @katejbaer Follow Morgan: @bookshelfkeeps Follow Rachel: @rachelschwartzmann

What moves you—and where? Who are you when everything else falls away? What can you find in stillness? Renowned travel writer and speaker Pico Iyer has pursued these questions throughout his storied career and brings them close to home in his latest book, Aflame. In 1990, after narrowly escaping a devastating California wildfire—with only his mother’s cat in tow—Pico was ultimately rendered homeless. At the recommendation of a friend, he eventually found himself at a Benedictine hermitage in Big Sur, California. Despite not identifying as a Christian, what followed for Pico was an unexpected, soul-stirring journey. Encompassing more than one hundred retreats over the past three decades, Aflame brings Pico’s experiences at the monastery to the page. It’s an enriching exploration of silence, fire, and friendship. It’s an ode to impermanence. It’s a reminder to honor the quiet and care in our world. And it’s a testament to finding faith in stillness and, by extension, each other. In this interview, Pico shared more about silence and attention, what monastic living has taught him about time and courage, and what slow storytelling means in his work—and life. This episode also opens with a story from Nicole Graev Lipson. --- https://slowstoriespodcast.com/pico-iyer/ Subscribe to Slow Stories on Substack: https://slowstories.substack.com/ Purchase Slowing: https://bookshop.org/p/books/slowing-discover-wonder-beauty-and-creativity-through-slow-living-rachel-schwartzmann/21201888?ean=9781797223759 Purchase Aflame: https://bookshop.org/p/books/aflame-learning-from-silence-pico-iyer/21427896?ean=9780593420287 Follow Nicole: @nglipson Follow Rachel: @rachelschwartzmann

What is the role of beauty in this day and age? For some, it’s an aesthetic pursuit; for others, it’s simply a state of mind. If we’re talking about the global, multibillion-dollar industry, it’s something else entirely. But for Gloria Noto, beauty is more than meets the eye. As the founder of NOTO Botanics, a multi-use, gender-inclusive, clean cosmetic line, Gloria and her team are committed to “championing ferocious individuality while cultivating a creative and mindful community along the way.” Gloria’s extensive experience as a celebrity makeup artist, contributor, and former founder of THE WORK, an arts and culture publication, lends itself well to this mission: In many ways, NOTO’s true beauty lies in its ability to push the narrative of how we can all relate to beauty and identity more seamlessly. Gloria’s personal commitment to storytelling has also contributed to NOTO’s longevity in our rapidly changing world—and helped her reimagine what life looks like outside the pressures of entrepreneurship. Enter her Substack, Studio Noto, a personal journal featuring essays, musings, and prompts. In this interview, Gloria shared more about her evolving relationship with work and creativity, what qualities are present in her visual “toolkit,” and how time, grief, and solitude have changed throughout her life. This episode also opens with a story by Maggie Featherstone. — Episode Transcript: https://slowstoriespodcast.com/gloria-noto/ Subscribe to Slow Stories on Substack: https://slowstories.substack.com/ Purchase SLOWING: https://bookshop.org/p/books/slowing-discover-wonder-beauty-and-creativity-through-slow-living-rachel-schwartzmann/21201888?ean=9781797223759 Discover NOTO Botanics: https://notobotanics.com/ Follow Gloria: @glorianoto Follow Maggie: @maggiefeathers Follow Rachel: @rachelschwartzmann

What does it mean to be faithful? This question is central to Lauren Elkin's debut novel, Scaffolding, which follows the trials and tribulations of two couples across time and space, occupying the same Paris apartment in 2019 and 1972. It is an incisive study of transformation—physical, emotional, geographical, familial. It is a question and questioning of desire: how we give it, show it, (try to) contain it, and ultimately let it shape us. Lauren is known for nonfiction works like Flâneuse and Art Monsters, and the shape of this conversation moved in several directions, from reflecting on her previous books to global events. Lauren also shared more about her relationship with cities, her arrival at Scaffolding's central themes, and thoughts on the connection between grief, power, and time. This episode also opens with a story from Hannah Bonner. — Episode Transcript: https://slowstoriespodcast.com/lauren-elkin/ Follow Slow Stories on Substack: https://slowstories.substack.com/ Purchase Scaffolding: https://bookshop.org/p/books/scaffolding-lauren-elkin/21068842?ean=9780374615291 Purchase Another Woman: https://bookshop.org/p/books/another-woman-hannah-bonner/21488442?ean=9781958094549 Follow Lauren: @lauren_elkin_ Follow Hannah: @hannah__bonner Follow Rachel: @rachelschwartzmann Order SLOWING: https://bookshop.org/p/books/slowing-discover-wonder-beauty-and-creativity-through-slow-living-rachel-schwartzmann/21201888?ean=9781797223759

What does it mean to grieve? What does it look and feel like? Why is it still so hard for us to understand? These are just a few questions Amy Lin tackles in her astounding memoir Here After. In a series of crystalline vignettes, Amy recounts the unexpected death of her husband Kurtis, her subsequent medical crisis—and the winding journey to live after inconceivable loss. In many ways, Here After is a story of falling—in love, apart, out of time. It's a story that alerts us to our hearts and heartbreaks. It's a story that asks the big, unanswerable questions, but perhaps most poignantly, it asks readers to be here—to bear witness. As Amy writes in the book: "I do not say: Everyone is so afraid of grief, and this fear is dangerous to the grieving. I do not tell him the painful lesson I am learning: Enduring the thing itself—he is not coming back—is unbearable but denying it is worse, is an even greater, even more insidious, threat to living, if that is what you want to do." In this interview, Amy shared more about the value of seriousness in life, her thoughts on slow storytelling and creativity, and what time means to her now. This episode also opens with a story from Julie Chavez. — Episode Transcript: https://slowstoriespodcast.com/amy-lin/ Follow Slow Stories on Substack: https://slowstories.substack.com/ Purchase Here After: https://bookshop.org/p/books/here-after-a-memoir-amy-lin/20214421?ean=9781958506325/ Purchase Everyone But Myself: https://bookshop.org/p/books/everyone-but-myself-a-memoir-julie-chavez/19726158?ean=9781958506059/ Follow Amy: @literaryamy Follow Julie: @juliewriteswords Follow Rachel: @rachelschwartzmann Pre-order SLOWING: https://bookshop.org/p/books/slowing-discover-wonder-beauty-and-creativity-through-slow-living-rachel-schwartzmann/21201888?ean=9781797223759

"Point of view has a terrible memory. I've looked at photos scrolling up and over, zooming in and out, and realize it is not love I want, just the ability to zoom back out. A woman loses herself when she can no longer zoom out." This is one of the many resonant passages readers will encounter in Victoria Chang's latest poetry collection, With My Back to the World. Across three parts, Victoria engages with the work of renowned artist Agnes Martin, who ultimately provides a portal for the writer to consider identity, existence, death, grief, depression, and time. While these themes may be universal, Victoria's voice is singular. Page after page, her passion for language becomes all the more apparent. As she writes in "Gratitude, 2001": "What am I outside of language? Is this the solitude Agnes spoke of—standing in an auditorium without a microphone or an audience, at a podium reading wind. And where the skin that has been wound tightly around me my whole life, is also the thing that I've been writing on. To think, everyone will write one final word." In this interview, Victoria shared more about her relationship with process and pace, the nuances of writing and publishing in this day and age, and what she's learned as an artist, educator, and mother. This episode also opens with a story from Amy Lin. — Episode Transcript: https://slowstoriespodcast.com/victoria-chang Follow Slow Stories on Substack: https://slowstories.substack.com/ Purchase With My Back to the World: https://bookshop.org/p/books/with-my-back-to-the-world-poems-victoria-chang/19994823 Learn more about Victoria's work: https://victoriachangpoet.com/ Follow Victoria: @fattery12 Follow Amy: @literaryamy Follow Rachel: @rachelschwartzmann Pre-order SLOWING: https://bookshop.org/p/books/slowing-discover-wonder-beauty-and-creativity-through-slow-living-rachel-schwartzmann/21201888?ean=9781797223759

Authenticity has never been more critical in a world that celebrates fleeting trends. In an industry like fashion, and for entrepreneur Mason Spector, discerning design is just a small part of creating long-term impact and connection. As the co-founder of the Los Angeles-based clothing brand Madhappy, Spector and his team are committed to "using apparel, events, and experimental retail spaces to explore a personal expression as a means to an improved state of mind." Words like "optimism" and "community" are often associated with the brand—and for Mason, in particular, that's no happy accident. His personal experiences have culminated in building an intentional business that confronts one of the most pressing issues of our time: mental health. In this interview, Mason shared more about his dynamic upbringing, his relationship with pace, and what he's learned about the mental health journey. This episode also opens with a story from writer and podcast host Sam Cohen.—Episode Transcript: https://slowstoriespodcast.com/mason-spector Follow Slow Stories on Substack: https://slowstories.substack.com/ Learn more about Madhappy: https://madhappy.com/ Follow Madhappy: https://instagram.com/madhappy/ Follow Mason: https://instagram.com/masonspec/Follow Sam: https://instagram.com/samcohenwriting/Follow Rachel: https://instagram.com/rachelschwartzmann/ Pre-order SLOWING: https://bookshop.org/p/books/slowing-discover-wonder-beauty-and-creativity-through-slow-living-rachel-schwartzmann/21201888?ean=9781797223759

How do we find and maintain a sense of wonder in a world that's become so unpredictable? Katherine May (author of Wintering and The Electricity of Every Living Thing) tackles this pressing question in her latest book, Enchantment, which is “an invitation to each of us to experience life in all its sensual complexity and to find the beauty waiting for us there.” Calling upon the natural elements—earth, water, fire, and air—Katherine launches a personal and collective investigation into how we can restore ourselves and restoke imagination. Far from prescriptive, Katherine's work always invites readers to follow their curiosities. To slow down and open themselves up to a process of reflection. As she writes in Enchantment: “When we look for enchantment to give us direct, concrete revelations, we miss the point. It is too big for us to swallow all at once. It teaches us in constellations, and invites us to undertake the slow, lifelong work of assimilating a moment.” In this interview, Katherine shared more about the process of finding Enchantment, musings on motherhood, and what she's learned about living, working, and creating—both online and off. This episode also opens with a story from Jess Dekker. — Episode Transcript: https://slowstoriespodcast.com/katherine-may/ Learn more about Katherine's work: https://katherine-may.co.uk/ Follow Katherine: https://www.instagram.com/katherinemay_/ Purchase Katherine's books: https://bookshop.org/contributors/katherine-may Follow Jess: https://www.instagram.com/jessdekkerreads/

Who are you when no one is looking? This question came to mind when reading Allie Rowbottom's incisive debut novel, Aesthetica. The story follows Anna, a former Instagram celebrity, on her path of reflection and redemption as she seeks to undergo a high-risk elective surgery called Aesthetica™, which is said to “reverse all her past plastic surgery procedures, returning her, she hopes, to a truer self.” As readers bounce between Anna's past and present, Allie paints a nuanced portrait of a woman stepping into herself while considering her relationship with fame, family, and the trappings of a landscape predicated on image and youth. In this interview, Allie shared more about why Aesthetica is a continued conversation from her memoir JELL-O Girls, her thoughts on privacy and pace, and embracing womanhood. This episode also opens with a story by Dakota Bossard. — Episode Transcript: https://slowstoriespodcast.com/allie-rowbottom Learn more about Allie's work: https://allierowbottom.com/ Follow Allie: https://www.instagram.com/allierowbottom/ Purchase Aesthetica: https://bookshop.org/p/books/aesthetica-allie-rowbottom/18180848?ean=9781641294003 Follow Dakota: https://tiktok.com/@dakotabossard

From Chopped to Top Chef to restaurant dreams, Fatima Ali's star was on the rise. But after a devastating cancer diagnosis upended her plans, the young chef vowed to experience all she could with the time she had left. Yet as her illness suddenly worsened, Fatima pivoted once again, this time turning to the page as a place to reflect on her identity, food, family, and life. The result is Savor, a collection of intimate vignettes from Fatima and her mother guided by collaborator Tarajia Morrell, whose editorial prowess and shared values helped bring Fatima's story to book form. Like Fatima, Tarajia's appreciation for gathering around a table has informed how she moves through the world. And her own story of creativity, resilience, and love reaffirms a universal truth: There is so much to savor when we pay attention to the things that connect us most. In this interview, Tarajia shared more about her time with Fatima, telling stories in the digital age, and what she's learned about motherhood, love, and loss. This episode also opens with a story by Jenna Matecki. - Episode Transcript: https://slowstoriespodcast.com/tarajia-morrell Learn more about Tarajia's work: https://www.tarajiamorrell.com/ Follow Tarajia: http://www.instagram.com/tarajiamorrell Purchase SAVOR: https://bookshop.org/p/books/savor-a-chef-s-hunger-for-more-fatima-ali/18069623 Learn more about Jenna's work: http://jennamatecki.com/ Follow Jenna: https://www.instagram.com/jennamatecki/

Think about the places you frequent most. What’s the experience like? How does it make you feel? How are you connecting? And who are you connecting with? Whether online or offline, Naj Austin has been exploring these questions through her visionary endeavors, which include Ethel’s Club and, most recently, Somewhere Good, an “audio platform for intimate community conversations.” With its distinct, design-driven app and a growing suite of partnerships and offline offerings, Somewhere Good is poised to become a leader in how we can authentically connect in our complex digital age. For Naj, shifting away from scrolling our feed and moving towards feeding our relationships remains a through-line. And with that mission comes recalibrating how we pay attention to ourselves—and each other. In this interview, Naj shared more about the role of slowness and solitude in her work, her relationship with listening, and the importance of community participation. This episode also opens with a story from Amy Snook. - Episode Transcript: https://slowstoriespodcast.com/naj-austin Learn more about Naj's work: https://najaustin.com/ Follow Naj: https://www.instagram.com/najaustin/?hl=en Learn more Amy's work: https://www.pareastudios.com/parea-books Follow Amy: https://www.instagram.com/asnooks/?hl=en

This is your sign to take a break. Step outside, and feel the delicate earth beneath your feet. Stretch your arms towards the sky, and put your phone in your pocket. Whether you're a city dweller or beach-goer, the great outdoors is closer than you think—but no matter where you are, one idea endures: when we disconnect from our devices, the world opens itself up to us in magical ways. For Getaway Founder and CEO Jon Staff, this idea has gradually become second nature. Founded with the belief that "free time should be a right and a ritual for everyone," Getaway cabins offer visitors the chance to escape, replenish, and slow down. But as the leader of a business whose mission is to help others ultimately do nothing, Jon is putting everything into creating a brand that embodies its values—inside and out, online and off. In this interview, Jon shared more about redefining escape, his relationship with writing, what technology gives and takes from us, and the magic of doing nothing. This episode also opens with a story by today's partner (Pablo Carrascal of) Ostrichpillow. - Episode Transcript: https://slowstoriespodcast.com/jon-staff Learn more about Getaway: https://getaway.house/ Purchase Jon's book: https://bookshop.org/p/books/getting-away-75-everyday-practices-for-finding-balance-in-our-always-on-world-jon-staff/13584980 Follow Getaway: https://www.instagram.com/getawayhouse/ Learn more about Ostrichpillow: https://ostrichpillow.com/ Follow Ostrichpillow: https://www.instagram.com/ostrichpillowofficial/

As hours pass, pay attention to the way the light shifts. Notice how the afternoon sun fades into dusk. Another night has arrived: How was your day? How do you feel? And perhaps more importantly, how will you rest and replenish? These questions drive the work of creative entrepreneur Ashley Merrill. Over the years, her company, Lunya, has grown into a category-defining sleepwear brand at the intersection of wellness, design, and, as Ashley puts it, “creative problem-solving.” But for Ashley, achieving success means nothing without building a business—and living a life—fueled by intention. In this interview, Ashley shared more about the relationship between creativity and pace, the complicated notion of balance, how she views slow storytelling, and how dreams show up in her daily life. This episode also opens with a story by Bryn Taylor. - Episode Transcript: https://slowstoriespodcast.com/ashley-merrill Learn more about Lunya: https://lunya.co/ Follow Ashley: https://www.instagram.com/ashley__merrill/ Follow Lunya: https://www.instagram.com/lunya/