Margaret Atwood on what finally made her agree to write a memoir
November 17, 2025
2,254
29
1
1.33%
Search the Record
IndexedEvery word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
NPR Podcasts Episodes Around November 17, 2025
See what was published immediately before and after this episode.
16:24Now PlayingMargaret Atwood on what finally made her agree to write a memoir
YouTube Description
as posted by the channelBest-selling author Margaret Atwood says she originally rejected the idea of writing a memoir. But she warmed up to the idea after she began to think of a memoir as a recollection of “stupid things you did, near-death events, catastrophes, and surprising highlights and jokes.” Now, at age 85, Atwood is out with Book of Lives. In today’s episode, she joins NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer for a conversation that touches on the difference between memoir and biography, Canadian identity, and writing from the perspective of an “Inner Advice Columnist.”
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
See pcm.adswizz.com () for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy ()
Links & Promotions
Guests & Subjects Covered
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.