In Episode 29, we interview Jessica Carew Kraft about her deeply engrossing debut book, WHY WE NEED TO BE WILD, a teaching memoir that chronicles her journey from surviving the tech world to embracing the ancestral skills community that has allowed her to finally thrive. If you’ve ever watched an episode of “Alone,” your curiosity might have been piqued about the people who have the skills not only to survive, but to thrive in the wild. For Jessica, learning these skills was literally a matter of life and death after watching her extraordinary mother struggle with multiple sclerosis and die too early. Haunted by the ‘dis-ease’ she witnessed as a child, Jessica begins to question the gross imbalance in her own life and consider if the modern world is feeding or starving her and her daughters. Determined not to succumb to her mother’s decline, she sets out into the ancestral skills community to learn how to rewild the parts of herself that had been dying and reawakens the innate wisdom of living a life in harmony with nature. This is an extraordinary story and one of the best teaching memoirs I’ve read in a long time. I loved talking with Jessica about her journey and extraordinary mom—whose spirit is guiding her forward. And while I might never stop my car to pick up roadkill with my own daughter, I envy the skills Jessica has learned to do so with her own daughters—and live off the land. This is one wise, humorous and soulful woman who I hope you get to know and love in Ep. 29.
Page One, produced and hosted by author Holly Lynn Payne, celebrates the craft that goes into writing the first sentence, first paragraph and first page of your favorite books. The first page is often the most rewritten page of any book because it has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. We interview master storytellers on the struggles and stories behind the first page of their books.
About the guest author:
Jessica Carew Kraft is an independent journalist trained in anthropology, with degrees from the University of London, Yale University, and Swarthmore College. Her reporting on health, culture, tech, and education has been published in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Forbes, San Francisco Chronicle, Politico, NBC News, KQED, and many other outlets. In mid-life she became a naturalist and wild food forager. She lives with her two daughters and like-minded neighbors of various species in the forest of the Sierra Foothills. Get her book WHY WE NEED TO BE WILD and learn more at JessicaCarewKraft.com
About the host:
Holly Lynn Payne is an award-winning novelist and writing coach, and the former CEO and founder of Booxby, a startup built to help authors succeed. She is an internationally published author of four historical fiction novels. Her debut, The Virgin's Knot, was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers book. She recently finished her first YA crossover novel inspired by her nephew with Down syndrome. She lives in Marin County with her daughter and enjoys mountain biking, surfing and hiking with her dog. To learn more about her books and private writing coaching services, please visit hollylynnpayne.com or find her at Instagram and Twitter @hollylynnpayne.
If you have a first page you’d like to submit to the Page One Podcast, please do so here.
As an author and writing coach, I know that the first page of any book has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. So I thought to ask your favorite master storytellers how they do their magic to hook YOU.
After the first few episodes, it occurred to me that maybe someone listening might be curious how their first page sits with an audience, so I’m opening up Page One to any writer who wants to submit the first page of a book they’re currently writing.
If your page is chosen, you’ll be invited onto the show to read it and get live feedback from one of Page One’s master storytellers. Page One exists to inspire, celebrate and promote the work of both well-known and unknown creative talent.
You can listen to Page One on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher and all your favorite podcast players.
If you're interested in getting writing tips and the latest podcast episode updates with the world's beloved master storytellers, please sign up for my very short monthly newsletter at hollylynnpayne.com and follow me @hollylynnpayne on Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook. Your email address is always private and you can always unsubscribe anytime.
The Page One Podcast is created at the foot of a mountain in Marin County, California, and is a labor of love in service to writers and book lovers. My intention is to inspire, educate and celebrate. Thank you for being a part of my creative community!
If you'd like to support my work, please leave a review on Apple podcasts, Spotify or any of your favorite podcast players. And please share these episode with your friends and fellow book lovers. Thank you for listening.
Be well and keep reading.
~Holly~
@hollylynnpayne