This week I’m chatting to journalist & bestselling author, Marianne Power. Marianne’s first book, Help Me, where she takes a deep dive into the world of self-help, was published in 25 languages and became a global bestseller. Now, she’s back with her long-awaited follow-up, Love Me: One Woman’s Search for A Different Happy Ever After. In this book, Marianne explores the potential for a life less ordinary. Living alone in east London, and single in her mid-forties, Marianne asks the question of what makes a happy life – and crucially, is it possible without a traditional romantic partner? After listening to this episode, I’ll leave you to answer that question for yourself. Marianne shares so much wisdom with me about how to build a chosen family through local community, leaning in to introversion, and what it means to be single at heart.

If you’d like to hear more from Marianne Power, you can follow her on Substack at helpmenewsletter.substack.com, and of course her books, Help Me! and Love Me! are available to buy at all good book stores. Follow me on Instagram, @chezspecter and subscribe to my weekly email newsletter at francescaspecter.substack.com

Referenced in this episode:

Motherhood by Sheila Heiti

'What Do We Do Now We're Here' - A Substack by Rosie Spinks

Bella DePaulo's Single at Heart

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My guest this week Lizzie Frainier, author of Main Character: Lessons from a Real Life Rom-Com and associate travel editor at The Times. In this episode, she shares what she’s learnt from over a decade of solo travel, which began with a transatlantic home swap inspired by the film The Holiday and continued with a romantic trip for one in Venice, an ill-fated motorcycling trip in Vietnam and an Eat Pray Love style pilgrimage to Bali. We also talk about Lizzie’s infatuation with rom-coms, and how the lessons she learnt from the likes of Notting Hill and Bridget Jones inspired her to write her memoir.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the episode – do leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, if you haven’t already. You can finding Lizzie on Instagram – her handle is just her full name, Lizzie Frainier, which is very chic. I’m on Instagram too @ChezSpecter, and you can follow my writing on Substack at francescaspecter.substack.com.

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Penny Wincer is the author of Home Matters: How Our Homes Shape Us and We Shape Them, her second non-fiction book, and host of the podcast, Not Too Busy to Write, where she interviews writers on their relationship with their craft and how they make time for it.

In the years I’ve been writing this podcast, I’ve learnt alonement is just about practical considerations as it is about the emotional ones. Penny’s work is a testament to that philosophy. Her work is centred around creating the time and space for alone time, even in the most challenging of circumstances - a challenge she herself navigates every day as the mother of a disabled child.

Penny is a one-of-a-kind thinker and a brilliant interviewee, and I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed recording.

You can follow Penny on Instagram at @pennywincer and on Substack. Her latest book, Home Matters, is available to buy now. Meanwhile, I’m on Substack at francescaspecter.substack.com and Instagram @ChezSpecter.

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