93 | Tricking yourself into writing with Adele Dumont, author of 'The Pulling'

James and Ashley Stay at Home

’I kept this condition very, very secret from everybody.’

Adele Dumont's remarkable new memoir, The Pulling, details her life with trichotillomania — a mental health condition that, at times, has consumed her life.

In this episode, she discusses the unique writing process that enabled her to put long-held secrets first on the page and then into the public sphere. She also describes the impact of revealing her illness through her memoir, especially to family and friends who knew nothing about her condition. We discuss the shame linked to trichotillomania and whether sharing her story has shifted this feeling.

Adele Dumont is an Australian writer and critic. Her work has appeared in Griffith Review, Meanjin, Southerly, ABR, and Sydney Review of Books. Adele’s first book, No Man Is an Island, is an account of her experiences teaching English to asylum seekers in detention. Adele lives in Sydney, where she works as an English language teacher and examiner.

'Get your copy of The Pulling from Booktopia or your local bookshop.'

Books and authors discussed in this episode:

• Lee Kofman (from episode 76);
• Helen Garner;
• Adele’s Guardian article;
• Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid;
• The Wolves of Eternity by Karl Ove Knausgård;
• Unfinished Business by Shankari Chandran (from episode 48)

Upcoming events

• Ashley is teaching Online Feedback: Manuscript Development for Writing NSW starting 4 March 2024
• As part of Seniors Week, Ashley is teaching memoir writing at Glen Street & Warringah Mall Library, on 15 and 19 March
• Ashley is teaching Writing Crime Fiction, a six-week online course with Faber starting 15 May 2024

Learn more about Ashley's psychological thriller Dark Mode and get your copy here or from your local bookshop. Learn more about James' award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy here or from your local bookshop.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson