The Write Question is celebrating Mother’s Day with writer, explorer, and life coach Steph Jagger—author of Everything Left to Remember: My Mother, Our Memories, and and a Journey Through the Rocky Mountains (Flatiron Books), which just came out in paperback.
After her mother Sheila is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Steph travels with her mother to Montana and around the Rocky Mountain West to make memories (memories her mother, unfortunately, will soon forget) and to place another mother, Mother Earth, at the center of their attention. This is a memoir about mothers and mothering; about memory, inheritance, and lineage; and, as you will hear in this conversation, about surrendering to discomfort.
About Steph:
Steph Jagger is a sought-after mentor and coach whose offerings guide people toward a deeper understanding of themselves and their stories. Her work, including speaking and facilitating, centers on re-membering self and feminine initiations of worth. She is obsessed with recreation and re-creation. Steph is a world record breaking endurance athlete who grew up in Vancouver, Canada, and currently lives and works on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Steph Jagger is the author of two books. Her first, a memoir called Unbound: A Story of Snow & Self-Discovery, was published in 2017. Her second, also a memoir, details a mother-daughter story set in the national parks of the American West. It’s called Everything Left to Remember and is in stores now.
Steph Jagger recommends:
Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home by Toko-Pa Turner (Her Own Room Press)
When Women Were Birds: Fifty-Four Variations on Voice by Terry Tempest Williams (Picador USA)
The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine by Sue Monk Kidd (HarperCollins)
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (Penguin Press)
The Smell of Rain on Dust: Grief and Praise by Martín Prechtel (North Atlantic Books)
Lauren Korn recommends:
Everything Left to Remember: My Mother, Our Memories, and and a Journey Through the Rocky Mountains by Steph Jagger (Flatiron Books)
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Vintage Books)
Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong (Penguin Press)
The Long Goodbye by Meghan O'Rourke (Riverhead Books)
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (Vintage Books)
Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence, and Grief by Victoria Chang (Milkweed Editions)
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The Write Question team for this episode was Lauren Korn, host, co-producer, and editor; and Chris Moyles, co-producer, editor, and sound engineer.
The Write Question logo and brand (2022) was designed by Molly Russell. You can see more of her work at iamthemollruss.com and on Instagram @iamthemollruss. Our music was written and recorded by John Floridis.
Funding for The Write Question comes from Humanities Montana; members of Montana Public Radio; and from the Greater Montana Foundation—encouraging communication on issues, trends, and values of importance to Montanans.
The Write Question is a production of Montana Public Radio.