Wonder and Loss: Writing Grief and Memoir with Sam Meekings

In this episode of The Writing Life Podcast, novelist, poet and Associate Professor of Creative Writing Sam Meekings shares the process behind writing his latest book, Wonder and Loss: A Practical Memoir for Writing about Grief, which interweaves memoir and his personal journey through grief with practical guidance and insight on how to write about it.

Sam Meekings is a British novelist and poet. He is the author of Under Fishbone Clouds (called 'a poetic evocation of the country and its people' by the New York Times) and The Afterlives of Doctor Gachet. He currently works as an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Northwestern University in Qatar, and has spent the last few years living and working in China and the Middle East. He balances his time between teaching, research, raising two kids as a single father, and drinking copious cups of tea.

Sam sat down with Steph for a candid and insightful discussion about writing as therapy, the importance of intention and of setting boundaries, the role of vulnerability, and of embracing the unknown when undertaking a writing project which draws upon lived, painful experiences. There is also lots of room for wonder, magic and play!