17. The Role of the Reflective Narrator featuring Lily Dunn

Lily Dunn joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about the impact her father leaving to follow the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had on her childhood, when she knew it was time to write her memoir Sins of the Father, stepping into her role as reflective narrator, creating tension, family members in our work, and understanding as a means to healing.

Also in this episode:

-writing to find answers

-our early experiences as shadows in our lives

-staying true to your purpose

Books mentioned in this episode:

Educated by Tara Westover

Whip Smart by Meliss Febos

Your Voice in My Head by Emma Forrest

Busy Being Free by Emma Forrst

Lily Dunn writes fiction and nonfiction. Her literary memoir, Sins of My Father: A Daughter, A Cult, A Wild Unravelling is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson (March 2022), and her novel, Shadowing the Sun, by Portobello Books (2007). She has personal essays in Granta, Litro, Hinterland, MIRonline and The Real Story, and is a regular writer for Aeon magazine. She is co-editor of A Wild and Precious Life: Recovery Anthology, with Zoe Gilbert (Unbound 2021). She teaches creative writing at Bath Spa University in the UK and co-runs London Lit Lab.

Connect with Lily:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lilydunnwriter

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilydunnwriting/

Website: lilydunn.co.uk

London Lit Lab: londonlitlab.co.uk

UK Book Link: https://smarturl.it/SinsOfMyFatherHB

US Book Link: https://geni.us/SinsOfMyFatherUS

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Ronit is a teacher and speaker whose essays, creative nonfiction, and fiction have been featured in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named a 2021 Best True Crime Book by Book Riot and was a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards, the Housatonic Book Awards, and the Book of the Year Awards. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and will be published in 2023. She is creative nonfiction editor at The Citron Review and lives in Seattle with her family where she is working on her next book.

More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com

More about WHEN SHE COMES BACK, a memoir: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

https://twitter.com/RonitPlank

https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank

Background photo: Canva Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne

Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll’s Fingers