In this week’s episode, our host and bestselling author Theo Clarke speaks to writer and journalist Arabella Byrne about her memoir In the Blood: On Mothers, Daughters and Addiction, co-written with her mother Julia and published by HarperCollins.
They discuss: the practical and emotional challenges of co-writing a memoir with a parent; writing faithfully about family, the influence of journalism and fiction on memoir, the changing landscape of recovery books; family silence around addiction, and she shares her advice for writing.
IN THE BLOOD
In the Blood: On Mothers, Daughters and Addiction is a memoir in two voices, telling the story of a mother and daughter who both found themselves in Alcoholics Anonymous just nine months apart. Exploring addiction across generations, family secrets, memory and recovery, it is a powerful account of how women navigate inherited trauma and find a way forward.
BIOGRAPHY
Arabella Byrne is the co-author of In the Blood: On Mothers, Daughters and Addiction, published by HarperCollins in November 2024 and longlisted for the TLS Ackerley Prize for Memoir. She writes for The Spectator, The Times, The Telegraph, Literary Review, and The Critic, amongst others.
She is an Ambassador for NACOA (the National Association for Children of Alcoholics) and holds a PhD in French history from the University of Pennsylvania. Arabella is married with two children and lives in Oxfordshire.
ABOUT THE HOST
Theo Clarke is an author, podcaster, and former politician. She hosts the book club A Thread of One’s Own and the hit women’s health podcast Breaking the Taboo. She is the bestselling author of Breaking the Taboo: Why We Need to Talk About Birth Trauma which was shortlisted for the Westminster Book Awards. The former MP for Stafford, Theo won Speech of the Year at the Parliamentarian of the Year Awards and has been included multiple times in the prestigious Top 100 Women in Westminster list.
Follow @theoclarkemp and @drarabella
