A daring literary account of a young woman’s experience of psychosis by Bengali-Australian writer Sanya Rushdi.

This March, our book club discussion features Hospital, which explores the experience of psychosis and subsequent hospitalisation, drawn from the author's real-life experience. We unpack the limitations of the medical model approach towards treatment of mental health issues, shared decision-making, and the importance of empowerment and identity in recovery.

• Book club info, detailed show notes, and other links: linktree.com/novel_feelings
• Get a 10% discount through Amplify Bookstore with the code NOVELFEELINGS10: http://amplifybookstore.com/products/novel-feelings-book-club

Additional content notes for this episode: involuntary hospitalisation, stigma of psychosis, harmful psychiatric treatments, coerced medication prescribing

Our podcast was recorded on Wurundjeri Land, which is home to both of us in Naarm/Melbourne. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.

Tara Calaby joins us on today's episode to discuss her latest novel, The Spirit Circle: a speculative historical fiction on the intersection of spiritualism and grief. The novel features women who are haunted by grief and come together as a church under the charismatic leadership of a medium. Tara discusses writing cult-ish dynamics in the story, marginalised identities in a historical context, and the impact of grief.

• Detailed show notes, and other links: linktree.com/novel_feelings

Content notes for this episode: death of a child.

Our podcast was recorded on Wurundjeri Land, which is home to both of us in Naarm/Melbourne. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.

This week, we get on the mic to discuss an unexpected identity crisis: we seem to be growing out of Young Adult (YA) fiction. We try to define what exactly YA is (a tough job!) and what we still love about books in this category, as well as grapple with why we no longer gravitate towards this area in the bookshop. And oh, we took a slight detour into discussing Middle Grade (MG) books as well.

Book club info, detailed show notes, and other links: linktree.com/novel_feelings

Our podcast was recorded on Wurundjeri Land, which is home to both of us in Naarm/Melbourne. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.