Therapy Works

What happens when a parent is absent from your childhood, and how does that shape the person you become?

Bestselling author Elif Shafak joins Julia Samuel to explore her relationship with her father, the loneliness she experienced growing up and how storytelling became a tool for personal growth and mental health recovery by helping her find connection and belonging. Raised largely by her grandmother and mother in Turkey, Elif grew up surrounded by strong women but with very little contact with her father. She opens up about the pain of discovering that he had been a present and loving parent to her half-brothers, the anger that followed and how those early experiences influenced her personal growth and instinct to write about people whose voices have been forgotten or silenced.

They also explore the emotional cost of Elif Shafak's prosecution in Turkey following the publication of her novel, The Bastard of Istanbul, her complicated relationship with her homeland and the sense of grief that can accompany living between cultures. Elif speaks candidly about her mental health and experiencing postnatal depression, losing her ability to write during that period and the challenges of navigating motherhood alongside her creative identity, experiences she later explored in her memoir Black Milk.

Elif Shafak reflects on the family patterns we inherit, why literature helps personal growth by helping us understand ourselves and others, and the importance of human connection in an increasingly anxious and divided world.

Elif Shafak’s new novel is In One Brief Moment All Eternity (published on 15 Oct).

If you enjoyed this conversation:
Listen to Julia’s conversation with Mary Berry, on family, grief and learning to live alongside loss: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/therapy-works/id1646616622?i=1000791219769

You may also enjoy Sathnam Sanghera on bridging conflicting cultures, exploring family, identity, heritage and the search for belonging: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/therapy-works/id1646616622?i=1000674940873

Never miss an episode: follow the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Subscribe here to Therapy Works on Substack for weekly insights into emotional well-being.
Subscribe here to The Times and The Sunday Times to enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism.

Guest: Elif Shafak
Producer: Georgie Rutherford
Executive Producer: Emily Leahy
Video Producer: Darren Michael
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s listener is struggling with the growing responsibility of caring for her elderly father. Although increasingly frail, he refuses offers of help and becomes angry when she tries to intervene, leaving her constantly worried about the next crisis. Julia, Sophie and Emily explore how to care for an ageing parent while protecting your own wellbeing, and what happens when old parent-child dynamics continue long into adulthood.

Please do send in your Agony Aunties questions to: jsamuelpod@gmail.com

Never miss an episode: follow the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
You can also watch episodes of Therapy Works on Julia’s YouTube page.
Subscribe here to Therapy Works on Substack for weekly insights into emotional well-being (hyperlink 'subscribe here' with the link)
Subscribe here to The Times and The Sunday Times to enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism.

Hosts: Julia Samuel, Emily Samuel, Sophie Samuel
Producer: Georgie Rutherford
Video Producer: Darren Michael
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when the person the world sees doesn’t quite match who you are behind closed doors? In this open conversation with five-time Olympian and former world champion swimmer Mark Foster, we explore the double life he lived for much of his extraordinary sporting career.

For 20 years, Mark was one of the fastest swimmers in the world, breaking world records and competing at five Olympic Games. But while his public identity was defined by success in the pool, privately he kept his sexuality hidden from teammates, coaches and much of the world around him. He opens up about why he felt unable to share that part of himself, and the fears that kept his public and private lives separate.

Mark Foster also shares his relentless pursuit of improvement at the highest level of sport, why even becoming the fastest swimmer in the world never felt like an endpoint, and what years of competition taught him about failure, resilience and separating what you achieve from who you are.

We talk about his childhood, his relationship with his parents and the importance of finding people who give us a sense of belonging. Mark also reflects on why he eventually decided to speak publicly about his sexuality at 47, the importance of visibility and what he discovered when he allowed himself to be more vulnerable in therapy.

From Olympic success to self-acceptance, this is a conversation about identity, happiness and what can happen when we feel able to show other people who we really are.

Never miss an episode: follow the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Subscribe here to Therapy Works on Substack for weekly insights into emotional well-being.
Subscribe here to The Times and The Sunday Times to enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism.

Guest: Mark Foster
Producer: Georgie Rutherford
Executive Producer: Emily Leahy
Video Producer: Darren Michael
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to this special Off Air X Therapy Works crossover episode, celebrating Therapy Works joining The Times podcast family.

Julia joins Jane Garvey and Fi Glover from Off Air for a wide-ranging conversation about therapy, relationships and mental health. They discuss how to find a good therapist, whether therapy should have an end date, the value of the stiff upper lip and what to do when you find yourself overthinking at 3am. Julia also answers some of Jane and Fi’s listeners’ questions along the way.

Off Air with Jane & Fi is available wherever you get your podcasts.

If you’d like to send a question to Therapy Works, please email: jsamuelpod@gmail.com

Off Air Producer: Eve Salusbury
Therapy Works Producer: Georgie Rutherford
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After some time away from her usual routine, this week’s listener found herself questioning parts of her work and relationships, only to feel those doubts fade once normal life resumed. Julia, Sophie and Emily explore how to tell the difference between a passing feeling and something that genuinely needs our attention, why busyness can sometimes stop us noticing what we really feel, and how looking for patterns can help.

Please do send in your Agony Aunties questions to: jsamuelpod@gmail.com

Never miss an episode: follow the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Subscribe here to Therapy Works on Substack for weekly insights into emotional well-being
Subscribe here to The Times and The Sunday Times to enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism.
You can also watch episodes of Therapy Works on my YouTube page.

Hosts: Julia Samuel, Emily Samuel, Sophie Samuel
Producer: Georgie Rutherford
Executive Producer: Emily Leahy
Video Producer: Darren Michael
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.