The SelfWork Podcast

465 SelfWork: Families and Other Calamities: A Conversation with Leslie Gray Streeter

Sep 26, 2025
Leslie Gray Streeter, a veteran journalist and author, shares her insights on grief and family dynamics. She discusses how her writing career, sparked by her memoir 'Black Widow,' evolved into her new novel 'Families and Other Calamities.' Leslie delves into her personal journey of single parenting, navigating the challenges of loss, and the complex emotions tied to family relationships. Her candid exploration offers a blend of humor and heart, making her story both relatable and inspiring.
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INSIGHT

Grief Is Misread By Observers

  • People judge grieving timelines, assuming moving on too quickly means lack of love.
  • Leslie Gray Streeter says distance from loss increases freedom from others' opinions.
INSIGHT

Fiction As Emotional Distance

  • Writing fiction let Streeter invent consequences she hadn't lived and explore familiar truths safely.
  • She found catharsis and emotional availability she lacked when writing her memoir earlier.
ANECDOTE

Readers Felt Betrayed By Real-Life Ending

  • Streeter describes readers' parasocial reactions after her husband's death and the surprise at an incomplete love story.
  • She used fiction to turn those realities into a cathartic, rollicking novel.
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