As a special treat to wrap up the first season of Writers On The Couch, Jen speaks at a Waterstones Live event with the glorious author Lucy Ashe.

In celebration of Lucy's hotly-anticipated new novel The Model Patient, Jen and Lucy get stuck into the gnarly darkness of desire, obsession and the impossible depths of psychoanalysis.

One of the jumping-off points of their convo was the fantastically compelling essay written by Lucy in US publication Bustle, about her own experiences of psychoanalysis. If you'd like to know more, you can read 'My therapist, my fantasy lover, my god' HERE.

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The billion dollar industry that is self-help may ultimately save us all, and here's a woman who knows.

When Tamu Thomas wrote Women Who Work Too Much, she thought she was simply conveying common sense. Today, Jen and Tamu discuss accidentally writing books which spark pushback, and how it feels to get caught up in systems which are hostile to change.

Tamu is a former social worker and leading women's coach, who believes 'Work should develop us not deplete us. When it's grounded in meaning and purpose it can become a source of connection and flourishing that fuels our wellbeing.'

Here at WAM, this resonates. And, from what we hear, suspect it might for you, too...

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Lucy Vine is WAM's romcom queen. And she's written 8 of them so far, so there's fortunately a plenitude for you to get stuck into, too.

She's also just embarked on her first ComCrim, the hilariously brilliant, fabulously feminist Lottery Winners Widows Club under her pseudonym Elly Vine, and we are all over this. Jen is espesh excited for the upcoming Good For You, detailing a therapist's public anger meltdown. That Vine joy just keeps coming.

Lucy is one of the smartest, wittiest women you'll have the privilege to expose your earholes to, and we were honoured to have her grace WAM's threshold. In this ep of Writers On The Couch, she and Jen roam all over, musing on why romcom is denied the literary recognition it deserves, the death of humour, cutting your hair short in the style of your fave teacher... and their shared obsession with tiny dogs. Buckle up!

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