Lily Dunn on the Radical Craft of Memoir

Episode 1

In this episode - the first ever episode of this podcast - I’m joined by writer and memoirist Lily Dunn to talk about what it really means to reclaim your voice through writing.

Podcast artwork for episode one featuring Lily Dunn.

We explore Lily’s journey from Sins of My Father to her new book, Into Being, a guide to memoir writing that treats the act of telling your story as both creative craft and personal transformation. Our conversation goes deep into the realities of writing memoir: power, silencing, fear, responsibility and the courage it takes to tell the truth when it implicates family, history and yourself.

Lily speaks candidly about growing up as the daughter of a cult member, the long-term effects of grooming and neglect from her father, and how writing became a way to make sense of experiences that had never been properly named. We talk about voice as something embodied and hard-won, not stylistic or performative and about why so many women struggle to give themselves permission to speak.

This episode is also a practical and philosophical exploration of memoir itself: the role of editors and mentors, the difference between memory and story, the ethics of writing about others and why publishing your work can be an act of generosity rather than self-exposure.

At its heart, this is a conversation about finding authority in your own experience and about writing as a way of stepping out of silence and into agency.