Welcome to our first edition of The Great Big Book Club Chats. In this series we will see great minds have honest conversations about what makes them tick. Today’s interview is with the prolific Author, Comedian & Mental Health Advocate, Ruby Wax, interviewed by the equally dazzling journalist, TV host & fake tan CEO, Claudia Winkleman.
This is one of those fly-on-the-wall conversations that are as engaging & laugh out loud funny as they are moving & informative. So pour yourself a cuppa & let’s dive in.
In this episode, Ruby & Claudia talk:
- “Keeping busy to fend off the demons”: lockdown & the impact on mental health.
- Society’s obsession with being busy & Ruby’s response to the pandemic: “cleaning up sunshine”.
- How we can use this opportunity to pause & ask yourself what is your life’s true purpose.
- Ruby Wax’s Frazzle Cafe: A group for likeminded people, who define as ‘frazzled’, or simply ‘stressed about stress’. As well as the power of Frazzle Cafe & communities that create safe spaces of BS-free support.
- Ruby Wax on ‘How To Be Human’: her book that explores conversations on being human with Ruby, a monk & a neuroscientist.
- “It’s not your condition, it’s the human condition.” Ruby on our ‘caveman brains’ that have simply been been renovated with a new coating of wallpaper.
- How it takes periods of ‘isolation to get insight’.
- Modern day Mindfulness. And *hint* it isn’t ‘woo-woo’ anymore. It’s internationally recognised science to help you understand how to live with your thoughts.
- Compare & Contrast with social media & marketing. How we are creatures of addiction that are controlled by our dopamine.
- ‘And Now For The Good News’ Ruby Wax’s new book that explores the nature of mental health & happiness. From communities learning emotional intelligence to young children with the ability to control their cortisol levels.
- Big Business & ‘Conscious Capitalism’: Breaking down barriers of control & command, & instead working as small teams.
- Patagonia: A brand that is taking being ethical seriously. Telling consumers, “don’t buy any more of our clothes until they need to be repaired”.
- Ruby’s adventures in Africa, favelas & international communities, meeting people that ‘give a damn’ about co-creating a positive future.
- Ruby Wax on the experience of writing books being similar to being ‘dilated’ and giving birth over 12 months. Her secrets to nailing Non-Fiction? Writing on trains, in cafes, always moving & never sitting at home.