An Unquenchable Thirst, with Anne H. Putnam
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Why does Anne feel a deep need to be understood through memoir?
I'm convinced that the these experiences that we have where we feel so alone that there's a huge portion of the rest of the world who's feeling the exact same way at any given time. Um and it's so important to see those things reflected so that we just don't feel like there's something wrong with us for it.
Hello and welcome to Uncorking a Story. I'm your host, Mike Carlin. Today I'm joined by Ann H. Putnam. Anne is a writer and editor with an unending interest in the stories that shape our humanity. She's the author of Naval Gazing, One Woman's Quest for a Size Normal, and her latest Make Do and Mend, a breakup memoir, which explores love, loss, and self-discovery with raw honesty and humor. Welcome to Uncorking a Story, Anne.
Thank you so much for having me.
And I'm excited to have you and I'm curious, where does your story as an author begin?
Um, well, like I think so many authors, I always loved writing and I always loved words. Um, unlike so many authors, I never really considered that I could that I could write a book. Um I heard you say that in your interview that you know you thought you could never write a book. I actually My first book, Naval Gazing, was originally a book of essays because I thought maybe I can write a collection of shorter. You know, the thought of writing an entire book to me just seemed impossible. Um course now it's like all I can do. Then I had to relearn how to write essays later on. Um but you know I also just never thought I would be published. I was not one of those kids who dreamed big. I thought maybe I'd be an English teacher and I'd be stoked.
You know, if I was really lucky, I would be an editor at a publishing house. So I never really like thought I would publish a book, but I um went to England to be with a boy. Um, spoiler alert, the boy that is the center of the breakup memoir. Uh and I did a master's degree in order to be there legally. And the master's degree I did was creative nonfiction because I loved writing creative nonfiction and part of that master's degree was we had to write a book. And so I wrote this book just really for school and then I sort of backed my way into getting an agent and a publishing deal. Um I had no idea what I was doing. I was twenty eight years old when the book came out. I genuinely was just so stunned that it all happened.
Um
And was that what the the navel gazing book or the the breakup book? Okay. All right.
That was Naval Gazing, which was published in the UK and Commonwealth, um, excluding Canada. And for any rights nerds in the audience, but um not actually picked up here in the US, which I was really surprised. I thought for sure it would be a major US interest, you know, because it's all about body and body image and weight and it's like such an American such an American book. And uh everyone loved it. All the editors loved it, but they had no No idea how to package it. And I think that's because they it's not really a straightforward. I lost a hundred pounds and my life got infinitely better. Or I went and had weight loss surgery and my life was over, you know, I got these horrible complications or like died or whatever.
Right. We love to have this intense binary of like the extremes. And the whole point of writing that book for me was that life is just not about that for most people. So it didn't get picked up here, so now that I've published Make Do and Mend, I've decided to re to republish Naval Gazing over here, um, which is like really just so much more work than I thought it was gonna be. I was like, the book is done, it'll be fine. It's so much work, but I think it'll be worth it in the end.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, um, you know, tell me what what did you want to be when you grew up? I mean, if you if you weren't thinking about dreaming big about, you know, being an author, what like what was what was on the list of um, you know, things that that you wanted to be?
I mean I really I really thought I would be an English teacher. And I was an English teacher for a little while actually. Um But I thought, you know, maybe I could be an editor.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why does Anne feel a deep need to be understood through memoir?
0:00–6:09
2
How did Anne transition from a structured master’s‑program book to a decade‑long solo memoir?
6:09–12:09
3
What challenges did she face finding an agent and publishing her first book?
12:09–18:25
4
Why did Anne decide to self‑publish *Make Do and Mend* and how did she fund it?
18:25–25:49
5
How does Anne handle editorial pressure to portray her ex more harshly?
25:49–31:47
6
What role did therapy and the ‘compost‑pile’ mindset play in shaping her writing process?
31:47–38:29
7
How does Anne balance vulnerability with the business side of indie publishing?
38:29–44:28
8
What advice does Anne give to writers about owning their story and navigating self‑publishing?
44:28–50:07