Living While Dying

Talking about withholding a cancer diagnosis, depoliticizing aunts, and Ancestor Trouble with guest Maud Newton.

Episode Notes

Danny Lavery welcomes Maud Newton, author of Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation.

Lavery and Newton tackle two letters. First, from a letter writer who doesn’t want to tell her new boyfriend about her cancer diagnosis. Another letter writer is worried that her favorite aunt can’t stop talking about her political organization. Plus, a deep dive into Newton’s new book.

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Production by Phil Surkis.

About the Show

Every week, Danny M. Lavery brings on a guest to answer questions from listeners before diving into conversation about relationships, dissatisfaction, drives, regrets, estrangement, embarrassment, self-assessments, and feelings from the monumental to the minute.

Submit your questions to Danny about manners, morals, and more here.

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Host

Danny M. Lavery is a co-founder of the Toast and the author of Texts From Jane Eyre, The Merry Spinster, and Something That May Shock and Discredit You. Lavery wrote Slate’s Dear Prudence column from 2016 to 2021. He writes an email newsletter at Substack called The Chatner.

Big Mood, Little Mood