FEATURE:
Paradise in Trouble
IN THIS PHOTO: Rosie Holt will be hosted by The Trouble Club on 22nd July at The Groucho Club, London
Checking in on a Wonderful and Inspiring Club
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THE last time I published…
IN THIS PHOTO: Elizabeth Uviebinené spoke at Darmouth House for The Trouble Club on 17th June
a feature about The Trouble Club, it was back on 23rd March. I have a bit to catch up on now. I am going to take us as far as 22nd July. I am writing this on 30th June. Regardless, before I get to the events from 23rd March through to 22nd July, I wanted to do some housekeeping. You can follow The Trouble Club on Twitter and Instagram. Since the last feature, the club has now expanded. It holds events in Manchester in addition to London. Whereas Director Ellie Newton usually hosts (with Francesca Edmondson, Marketing & Events Coordinator, also hosting), we also have journalist Lara Olszowska. I am going to discuss the events I have attended and what I am going to between now and a few weeks from now. You can check out the schedule here. On 24th March, I attended Monarchs, Mistresses & More. A Guided Her-story Tour of Mayfair. A tour through Mayfair, it is led by the brilliant Mandy Morrow. Few tour guides offer up history with this perspective. She discusses the amazing and overlooked women who lived, worked and died in Mayfair. From the trailblazers to the rebels! It was an a stunning and illuminating tour. Not only did we get to learn about some important and fascinating women. It was also an opportunity to discover sites, alleys and corners of Mayfair I had never visited! If you are interested, you can book to go on one of these walks/tours here.
Moving into 26th March. This was a Neurodiversity Discussion with Jess & Mia. As The Trouble Club wrote: “Dynamic neurodivergent duo, Jess and Mia are the founders of the fast-growing Instagram platform I Am Paying Attention and they are on a mission to make work more neurodivergent-friendly”. As someone – like most who were on that Zoom event – who is neurodivergent, it was really helpful, and almost de-stigmatising hearing from Charlotte Mia and Jess Joy. Sharing their experiences of autism and ADHD, their book, How Not to Fit In: An Unapologetic Guide to Navigating Autism and ADHD is essential reading. I want to come to an interview from March, where they talked about the book and subjects it addresses:
“After meeting at university ten years ago and being each other’s rock for so many years, How Not to Fit In by best-friends Charlotte Mia and Jess Joy is the vital accompaniment for anyone trying to navigate their neurodivergence or simply anyone interested in these experiences. This book takes readers through all aspects of autism and ADHD and is hugely affirming, inspiring, and encouraging in what life can be like for people and how much society still needs to change. The debut gives real hope for a better understanding of neurodivergence.
Mia and Jess’s engaging, warm nature shines through in their book and upon meeting them. Their desire for change is palpable and they really stand out as people with inclusion and equality at the very heart of how they think and everything they do.
Is there anything that other ADHD and autistic resources sometimes don’t get quite right that you’ve tried to do differently in your book?
Mia: We’re very visual people and lots of the resources felt overly simplified or childlike or just used massive blocks of inaccessible text.
Jess: Lots of online resources are also information for parents about parenting their young children, but obviously as a woman in my late twenties how can I relate to this? Neurodivergence shows up in so many ways. In the book we’ve tried to break off text with bold writing, big quotes and have notes acknowledging the often-heavy nature of discussion. We want people to take breaks and process.
IN THIS PHOTO: Jess Joy and Charlotte Mia/PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Jackson for The Times Magazine
Has writing this book been transformative for you in any different ways than your social media platform?
Jess: I think the way we have navigated social media has been more aligned with where we currently have been on our journey, sharing quite in the moment experiences. But the book has had more in-depth reflection and looking at things like trauma and how that can play into our experiences.
Mia: We weren’t ready for the trauma that the book was going to bring up, were we?
Jess: Definitely not! We had to think about what is going to serve the person reading this? How do we encapsulate everything we’ve learned?
Mia: We had to drag up things that we haven’t spoken about on social media. It’s been tough in that way but also healing. I think people who read the book will get a more well-rounded view of us as people compared to the snippets of social media.
Your inclusion of stories from other people really made it feel like a community driven book. How did you come to the decision to do this and choosing what stories to include?
Jess: While our conversation needs to take place about being neurodivergent in adulthood, we also have a level of privilege. Emmanuel Fru is a young Black autistic man from Sweden who was detained for having an autistic meltdown. We’re very aware that unmasking isn’t always possible or safe, especially when you are already being discriminated against in various ways. We never want to only centre our experience.
Mia: It was probably one of the biggest tasks of the book. Not only figuring out who to include but also how to do it in an ethical way, as we were restrained by our publishers in terms of navigating paying people for their time and stories. If we’re going to hear from minorities, we can’t and don’t expect free labour. I think both us and our publishers have learnt a lot from that process of questioning how things work.
You note in the book that autism referrals have tripled since 2019! What would you say to narratives that “suddenly everyone is autistic or has ADHD” ?
Jess: I honestly don’t see how it could possibly be a negative thing that more people are in tune with what they might be struggling with and what they need. I think whatever label or lack of label people use, everyone deserves to navigate their existence with peace. So what if everyone is autistic and ADHD? Why don’t we just create an environment that works for everyone a little better?”.
Moving to 9th April, that is when I attended AllBright to see How Men Came to Rule with Angela Saini. The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule by Angela Saini is another book I would urge people to check out. I learned so much from the talk. How patriarchy and male dominance has been imbedded in culture and society from as far back as we can remember. Here are some more details:
“SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2023
A WATERSTONES BOOK OF YEAR FOR POLITICS 2023
‘I learned something new on every page of this totally essential book’ Sathnam Sanghera
‘By thinking about gendered inequality as rooted in something unalterable within us, we fail to see it for what it is: something more fragile that has had to be constantly remade and reasserted.’
In this bold and radical book, award-winning science journalist Angela Saini goes in search of the true roots of gendered oppression, uncovering a complex history of how male domination became embedded in societies and spread across the globe from prehistory into the present.
Travelling to the world’s earliest known human settlements, analysing the latest research findings in science and archaeology, and tracing cultural and political histories from the Americas to Asia, she overturns simplistic universal theories to show that what patriarchy is and how far it goes back really depends on where you are.
Despite the push back against sexism and exploitation in our own time, even revolutionary efforts to bring about equality have often ended in failure and backlash. Saini ends by asking what part we all play – women included – in keeping patriarchal structures alive, and why we need to look beyond the old narratives to understand why it persists in the present”.
Good Girls with Hadley Freeman happened on 12th April at Century Club. She was talking about Good Girls: A Story and Study of Anorexia. It was a very honest and raw talk from the journalist. I think everyone who was there at the talk went away moved and informed. For those who do not know about her book, here are some more details:
“A searing memoir from Hadley Freeman, bestselling author of House of Glass, about one of the most misunderstood mental illnesses.
From the ages of fourteen to seventeen, Freeman lived in psychiatric wards after developing anorexia nervosa. For the next twenty years, she grappled with various forms of self-destructive behaviour as the anorexia mutated and persisted. Combining personal experience with deep reporting, this profoundly honest and hopeful story details Freeman's long journey to recovery”.
The Price of Life with Jenny Kleeman was one of the most interesting talks for The Trouble Club. At Home Grown, it was really intriguing. A book that explores the value of a human life in many different situations and forms, I would urge people to check it out. It was a really funny and brilliant evening on 17th April. The reviews for The Price of Life have been positive. Here is what The Guardian noted about a thought-provoking book:
“Kleeman shows how prices are contingent on social status, where you live, market conditions and pure chance. While some of the variations reveal injustice, others are less meaningful and harder to compare. As Kleeman acknowledges, £200 to hire a killer or the $500 paid for a child bride in Afghanistan are really measures of desperation. It is when we get to the more abstract top-down allocation of resources, the necessary weighing of one life against another, that this book provides the most satisfying answers to the philosophical questions posed with such thoughtful clarity at the start.
Followers of the philanthropic movement known as effective altruism believe charitable donations should be determined by cool-headed quantification of the benefits, rather than a leaflet through the letterbox with a picture of an injured puppy. Effective altruists will prioritise helping a stranger on the other side of the world over a homeless person on your street if it represents more bang for your buck. They will tell you how to save a life for just $4,500 – as long as it’s a life in Africa, because those are deemed the least expensive. One advocate ruminates on the optimum age to save a person’s life. “I think my peak value is the death of an eight-year-old,” he says.
England and Wales’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) must also be dispassionate, but in the service of a cash-strapped NHS rather than billionaires’ consciences. Its deliberations are fascinating, and take place largely out of public view. Nice uses a measure called a Qaly: a quality-adjusted life year. One Qaly means one year in good health, and is worth £20,000-30,000. If a drug costs that much or less for each additional year of good health it provides for a patient, then Nice will approve it.
Kleeman meets the mother of a child with a rare genetic disease who was just over the age limit for access to the world’s most expensive medicine. She appealed to Nice through the media and it relented, showing its human face. The organisation has to reconcile the competing interests of the individual and the collective – as the mother put it, “I appreciate that there isn’t a never-ending supply of money, but when it’s your child … ” This tension is vastly exacerbated by market capitalism. “As long as pharmaceutical companies are run for profit,” Kleeman notes, “there will be a price on life.”
Her book is a mind-bending exploration of intrinsic and fungible value, recalling Shylock’s pound of flesh and his muddling of ducats and daughters. First you deplore the imposition of rigid metrics on tender human beings, then you remember that monetary worth is itself elastic. Kleeman has picked an illuminating lens through which to explore the quantification of everything in a data-driven society, and the pros and cons of cost-benefit analysis. Surprisingly, Nice’s Qaly figure was pretty much plucked from the air: it’s a relative measure, an arbitrary tool for comparison. “The danger comes,” Kleeman observes, “when people treat tokens as if they truly represent the real price of a human life.”
Having mooted a cost-benefit analysis for lockdowns, Cuomo bottled it. “To me, I say, the cost of a human life … is priceless, period,” he declared. The then chancellor Rishi Sunak promised, likewise, to “do whatever it takes”. But “whatever it takes” has a price tag. Divide the cost of lockdown by the number of life years it saved, and you get £300,000: 10 times the Qaly threshold. If you piously dismiss these sums as cold calculation, Kleeman points out, more people might die, now or in the future. Putting a price on life can amount to exploitation, but sometimes it’s a way of being fair”.
Before heading into May’s Trouble Club event, there was one on 25th April, at The Hearth. The Trouble Club x Intact Creatives STORY SLAM! Was extraordinary. A chance for people to take the mic and share their stories, poems, notes or whatever they want to say, it is always a very emotive and connective experience. Story Slam, hosted by Ciara Charteris, was magnificent. I hope that they collaborate with The Trouble Club more in the future. There are a few May events I want to get to. The first, An Evening With Lucy Worsley, took place on 7th May at The Conduit in Covent Garden. She was discussing her book, Agatha Christie, and her history with and love of the famed author. A fascinating book that is worth ordering, I did not know about Worsley’s love and passion for Agatha Christie:
“Why did Agatha Christie spend her career pretending that she was 'just' an ordinary housewife, when clearly she wasn't? As Lucy Worsley says, 'She was thrillingly, scintillatingly modern'. She went surfing in Hawaii, she loved fast cars, and she was intrigued by the new science of psychology, which helped her through devastating mental illness.
So why - despite all the evidence to the contrary - did Agatha present herself as a retiring Edwardian lady of leisure?
She was born in 1890 into a world which had its own rules about what women could and couldn't do. Lucy Worsley's biography is not just of an internationally renowned bestselling writer. It's also the story of a person who, despite the obstacles of class and gender, became an astonishingly successful working woman.
With access to personal letters and papers that have rarely been seen, Lucy Worsley's biography is both authoritative and entertaining and makes us realise what an extraordinary pioneer Agatha Christie was - truly a woman who wrote the twentieth century”.
There are a couple of other events from May I will not expand on. One is An Evening with MP Claire Coutinho, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. That happened on 21st May at Century Club. Also, the brilliant Breaking Free From Old Patterns with Dr Annie Zimmerman. Hosted by Lara Olszowska, it was a wonderful talk. The History Lessons with Shalina Patel took place on 22nd May at The Hearth. As a history graduate, it was engrossing hearing Patel talk so passionately about teaching history and bringing different times and events to life. Discussing what history curriculum is taught to students now – one more expansive and deeper than years before -, it was a wonderful and illuminating evening. Her book is definitely one people should think about getting:
“Taking the reader on a tour through history, from the Romans to the Second World War via Tudor courts, medieval castles and more, this hugely entertaining debut from an award-winning history teacher explores a variety of historical topics in a thoughtful and engaging way. Written in an approachable and accessible style, Shalina Patel will be your guide on an eye-opening and jaw-dropping journey back in time.
The History Lessons invites readers to reclaim our history education, and is a treat for curious minds keen to look beyond the usual narratives. This is a book that celebrates stories and people that may be less familiar - but no less remarkable or fascinating”.
There are four past events and five future ones I will highlight before wrapping things up. Exhausted with Anna Katharina Schaffner was really moving and resonated. Burnout is something that we all experience at some point. Scaffner investigated and explored why we feel burnout. On 5th June at AllBright, we witnessed a really interesting talk. Schaffner is an exhaustion coach. Her book provides a lot of answers and reasons why we go through burnout. Ways we can identify and manage it:
“Burnout is said to be the defining feeling of the post-pandemic world - but why are we all so exhausted? Some of us struggle with perfectionism, while others are simply overwhelmed by the demands of modern life. But whatever you're feeling, you are not alone - and this liberating, enlightening guide to exhaustion in all its forms will help you find the energy to beat burnout and weariness. From confronting our inner critics to how our desire to be productive stops us from being free, I bring together science, medicine, literature and philosophy to explore the causes and history of exhaustion and burnout, revealing new ways to combat stress and negativity. Inventive and freewheeling, full of comfort, solace and practical advice, Exhausted is an inspiring guide to getting control of your own exhaustion - and rediscovering happiness along the way”.
The View From Down Here with Lucy Webster was extremely powerful. The View from Down Here is a memoir about sexism, ableism and disabled womanhood. Talking at The Hearth on 6th June, hearing Webster speak about her experiences and daily life. The ignorance and prejudice she faces. It was shocking to hear. She is resilient and defiant in the face of such discrimination. If you don’t know about the book, then it is well worth a read. The talk was extremely important and affecting:
“Women's lives are shaped by sexism and expectations. Disabled people's lives are shaped by ableism and a complete lack of expectations. But what happens when you're subjected to both sets of rules?
This powerful, honest, hilarious and furious memoir from journalist and advocate Lucy Webster looks at life at the intersection; the struggles, the joys and the unseen realities of being a disabled woman. From navigating the worlds of education and work, dating and friendship; to managing care; contemplating motherhood; and learning to accept your body against a pervasive narrative that it is somehow broken and in need of fixing, The View From Down Here shines a light on what it really means to move through the world as a disabled woman”.
Two more June events before moving into this month. How to Find Your Inner Voice with Elizabeth Uviebinené was very helpful to me. As a journalist, hearing about her app, Storia, was inspiring. Elizabeth Uviebinené is the award-winning author of five books, including the phenomenon, Slay In Your Lane. She was at Dartmouth House on 17th June. You can find out more about Storia here:
“Our minds have never been so active, processing everything from content to conversations, the mundane to cherished memories, aspirations, and worries. Basically, we’re overstimulated and living on autopilot.
Consequently, the modern world is now a feedback device; it seeks to tell us who we are, what we should be, and what we should dream about. And it is loud. So loud, in fact, most of us have lost sight of our true, authentic selves.
But our inner voice is the engine room of our lives. It requires nurturing. So I'm building Storia to help you separate the signal from the noise. Welcome”.
One of the funniest and most entertaining events I have been in attendance for The Trouble Club was The Revenge Club with Kathy Lette on 19th June at The Hearth. The amazing Australian travel writer, author and T.V. presenter discussed her must-read book, The Revenge Club. A book that focused on middle-aged woman as leads is rare. It is rare on screen and beyond. A very necessary book, it is currently being discussed as a T.V. series. Lette was in superb form as she talked about the book and her profile career. I am very interested in The Revenge Club:
“Matilda, Jo, Penny and Cressy are all women at the top of their game; so imagine their surprise when they start to be personally overlooked and professionally pushed aside by less-qualified men.
Only they’re not going down without a fight.
Society might think the women have passed their amuse-by dates but the Revenge Club have other plans.
After all, why go to bed angry when you could stay up and plot diabolical retribution? Let the games begin…”.
On 4th July, there is a very important Trouble event. Trouble's Election Night Special featuring Coco Khan! Happening at Kindred in Hammersmith, Trouble members will congreagate to see the Election results come in. It is shaping up to be a big event:
“It’s happening! Britain is going to the polls on the 4th of July and we want you to join us for a drinks, talks and networking evening to watch the results as they roll in.
We’ll have a large screen showing coverage, speakers throughout the evening such as Pod Save the UK host, Coco Khan and political commentator Marina Purkiss (tbc). There will also be drinks and grazing boards.
We’ll watch the exit poll come through at 10pm and see the first official results trickle in. Join us for the biggest political night of the year!”.
I am really looking forward to A Truly, Madly, Funny Evening with the sensational Helen Lederer at AllBright on 18th July. I think this is the next live event I am going to. The legendary comedian, I know, will talk about her new memoir, Not That I’m Bitter. She will also reflect on her amazing career:
“What was it like as one of a handful of women at the heart of the right-on alternative comedy scene in the 1980s? Piece of cake? Bit of a laugh? Well, yes, and no. It had its ups - but also its downs. Helen Lederer was a regular on the stand-up circuit and new-wave sketch shows in the decade that launched the careers of today's comedy household names and national treasures.
She shared stages with comedy pioneers like Ben Elton and John Hegley, and TV screens with Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Harry Enfield, and many others. From the iconic Absolutely Fabulous, to Bottom, Happy Families, Naked Video, French and Saunders and Girls on Top, it is difficult to think of a comedy show that Helen wasn't a part of. So, plain sailing then? Well, not really. Even in those ground-breaking, anti-Thatcher days, there was only room at top for so many women. For the rest, it was as much a struggle to be seen and heard in the world of comedy as in any boardroom or workplace, and just as difficult to avoid the predators.
Helen will join us to talk about her phenomenal, rollercoaster of a career as well as the Comedy Women in Print Prize which Helen founded in 2018 in response to the low number of women awarded the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize. Three women in 18 years. Come along to learn more and hear from one of the greatest comedy legends in Britain”.
Happening at The Groucho Club on 22nd July, Why We Were Right with Rosie Holt MP(ish) is going to be quite the event! Her political spoofs and videos might take on a new angle and relevance after the General Election. Her new book, Why We Were Right makes for brilliant reading. I would suggest you try and get a ticket for the upcoming Trouble Club event:
“This event could not have come at a better time. Rosie Holt is an MP....sort of.....well not at all actually but she does do an incredible job of taking the mickey out of our elected representatives, especially the ones in blue.
Rosie is best known to her >300k followers for her viral internet ‘interviews’ on Twitter in character as a hapless, desperately loyal Conservative MP. Her MP alter ego often creates chaos and conversation online, as she reacts to the news agenda and proudly defends the last 14 years of Conservative government.
To accompany her viral interviews, Rosie's written and entire book from the perspective of Rosie Holt MP, taking us through the triumphs of the last decade - from getting Brexit done and bending the Ministerial Code, to rowing back on climate change policies and voting in Liz Truss as leader. Why We Were Right explains why the so called ‘scandals’ or ‘controversial’ decisions of the government that have been derided by the Left and the ‘woke’ media were completely right – and intentional – all along.
Join us for a night of laughter and tears as we look back at many years of Tory leadership with their greatest troll”.
IN THIS PHOTO: Olivia Petter/PHOTO CREDIT: Alexandra Cameron
The final event I want to throw ahead to is The Power of Celebrity with Olivia Petter. Taking place on 24th July at AllBright, I am really excited about this talk. It sounds like it is going to be a must-attend evening. Her debut novel is available from 18th July:
“We give celebrities a power they don’t deserve. Power they haven’t earned. What happens when they exploit it?
Imagine you’ve just spent the night with the most famous man on the planet. Except you don’t quite remember it. That is what happens to Rose, a twenty-something woman in Olivia Petter's new book, Gold Rush.
Gold Rush is a story about consent, celebrity culture, and trying to figure out where women fit in a world that consistently devalues and disrespects their bodies.
Join us as we meet Olivia to discuss the book, her phenomenal articles (which cover everything from Bridgerton sex scenes to Paul Mescal's shorts) and the celebrities that we love to loathe.
As a journalist, Olivia specialises in violence against women, pop culture, relationships, mental health, sexual health, travel, fashion, and beauty. Her writing has been published in The Sunday Times, British Vogue, British GQ, Grazia, Stylist, Refinery29, The Independent, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Sun, and The Huffington Post”.
Check out all the wonderful events upcoming for The Trouble Club. The fact that the club has expanded to Manchester and is growing is testament to its reputation and popularity. I am looking forward to attending some incredible talks. I have been a member of The Trouble Club for over a year and have got so much from it. Some amazing people, a welcoming and inspiring community together at some beautiful, unique and incredible spaces across London. Hosting some empowering and wonderful women. I would advise anyone who is even slightly interested in The Trouble Club to join. In addition to talks, there are members dinners, coffee mornings, social events, book clubs and much more. It is a very varied and rewarding experience. I have been so fulfilled being immersed in…
PARADISE in Trouble.