Slow Stories15 Apr 2025

Pico Iyer — "Words are only as rich as the silence that underlies them."

What moves you—and where? Who are you when everything else falls away? What can you find in stillness? Renowned travel writer and speaker Pico Iyer has pursued these questions throughout his storied career and brings them close to home in his latest book, Aflame.

In 1990, after narrowly escaping a devastating California wildfire—with only his mother’s cat in tow—Pico was ultimately rendered homeless. At the recommendation of a friend, he eventually found himself at a Benedictine hermitage in Big Sur, California. Despite not identifying as a Christian, what followed for Pico was an unexpected, soul-stirring journey.

Encompassing more than one hundred retreats over the past three decades, Aflame brings Pico’s experiences at the monastery to the page. It’s an enriching exploration of silence, fire, and friendship. It’s an ode to impermanence. It’s a reminder to honor the quiet and care in our world. And it’s a testament to finding faith in stillness and, by extension, each other.

In this interview, Pico shared more about silence and attention, what monastic living has taught him about time and courage, and what slow storytelling means in his work—and life. This episode also opens with a story from Nicole Graev Lipson.

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https://slowstoriespodcast.com/pico-iyer/

Subscribe to Slow Stories on Substack: https://slowstories.substack.com/

Purchase Slowing: https://bookshop.org/p/books/slowing-discover-wonder-beauty-and-creativity-through-slow-living-rachel-schwartzmann/21201888?ean=9781797223759

Purchase Aflame: https://bookshop.org/p/books/aflame-learning-from-silence-pico-iyer/21427896?ean=9780593420287

Follow Nicole: @nglipson

Follow Rachel: @rachelschwartzmann

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