About this episode

Elif Shafak discusses the significance of older women, the impact of menopause, and the art of storytelling.

This episode of The Shift first aired in August 2021. My guest today is one of the most intelligent, thoughtful people I’ve ever interviewed - and I’ve interviewed A LOT. Writer and academic, Elif Shafak has written 19 books and 12 novels and been shortlisted for countless literary prizes, including the Booker Prize. Known for her bravery and outspokenness in the face of oppressive regimes, she has almost 2million followers on social media and is the best-selling female novelist in Turkey - a country to which she has been unable to return for the past 5 years after being put on trial for, amongst other things, insulting Turkishness. Her latest novel, The Island of Missing Trees, about the partition of Cyprus, is also about love, longing, exile and the environment. I think it might be the most beautiful thing she’s ever written, but you’ll have to judge for yourself. Elif talks about what home means to her, the importance of freedom and sharing your truth, the two very different women who made her, the importance of lifelong learning and the art of storytelling, and why menopause signals the end of “ayip” (shame). Oh, and being a middle-aged metalhead! * You can buy all the books…

People in this episode

Host: Sam Baker

Guest: Elif Shafak

Topics covered

• menopause
• shame
• storytelling
• freedom
• identity
• literature

Keywords

• Elif Shafak
• menopause
• shame
• storytelling
• freedom
• literature

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Island of Missing Trees, There Are Rivers In The Sky, The Shift: how I lost and found myself after 40

Places: Turkey

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