[Susannah Cahalan, inner stuff]: Dealing with “publication psychosis” and finding a topic you can fall in love with Ep 1243

Welcome back to part two of my interview with Susannah Cahalan, bestselling author of the #1 New York Times-bestselling memoir “Brain on Fire,” and the books the “The Great Pretender,” and her most recent “The Acid Queen,” about the life and influence of Rosemary Woodruff Leary, a psychedelic pioneer who has best known in her lifetime as Timothy Leary’s wife but who has a story and legacy all her own.
In addition to her award-winning work as a journalist and author, Susannah’s advocacy work in brain disorders and mental health awareness has taken her around the world, speaking to universities and medical schools. It also earned the American Brain Foundation’s Ambassador Award in 2022.
This is a super juicy episode about managing your own expectations, focusing on the good, and putting your inner critic to good use.
We covered:
- How each of her books have been a wildly different experience in terms of reach and “success”--and how she’s processed how little of a book’s impact is under an author’s control
- Balancing your dreams for your book’s impact with the knowledge that most books don’t get the readership they deserve
- Trying to figure out what the heck to do about using social media to promote your work–on the one hand, it’s vital, on the other, it can suck your time and sap your sanity
- The tarot card reading that helped her get out of a “publication psychosis” spiral over her most recent book (link to him in the show notes on Substack)
- Working with those “who do you think you are?” thoughts–especially as a writer who tackles topics you’re not an expert in
- Using the inner critic as fuel to be really really careful (and hire your own fact checkers)
- Learning how to use ignorance as a strength
- How her process of deciding what to write about has changed now that she’s a couple decades in
- The value of figuring out what you *don’t* want to write about, even if you’re not sure what you do want to cover
- What it feels like to fall in love with your topic
Visit Susannah on Instagram @susannahcahalan or at susannhacahalan.com.
For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.
Thank you for listening!

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