We'd all do well to "grow a spiritual pair"
Bowen Dwelle in conversation with Michael Mohr
This conversation is part of a series of interviews with various brothers and teachers, including many fellow writers, all of which are part of the body of work surrounding my book-length memoir An Ordinary Disaster—one man's proof that we can all learn to listen to ourselves, and to act upon the inner voice of our self, our sanity and our soul.
I’m glad you’re here! And—this is a reader-supported publication. If you appreciate my work, please consider becoming a paying subscriber. As a full-time working writer, I appreciate every reader and everyone who chooses to part with five bucks a month to support my writing. Almost all of this Substack remains free; only contribute money if you feel inclined to do so, but there are a few things that I make available only to paying subscribers, like my long-form handbook on intuition.
is the writer behind and writes which includes his serialized memoir of the same name. In addition to their writing, Bowen offers his intuitive Guide Service, and Michael works with writers as a developmental editor.
Michael and I got together for a deep and wide-ranging conversation that covered a number of topics including how our own writing has changed us, patriarchy and personal responsibility, the psychosexual realm between mothers and sons, love, commitment and addiction, women who inspire and support us, and, of course, what we’re working on next.
If you’re a writer who values authentic, no B.S., honest, vulnerable conversations, we think you’ll get a lot out of this discussion.
Following the interview are links to some of our writing, some other writers of memoir on Substack, further reading on memoir, and some questions for you. We’d love to hear from you!
Use the ♡ and comments below 👇🏻
Our Conversation
Listen in the player at the top of the page, or watch the interview on Youtube
⭐️⭐️ THANK YOU FOR LISTENING⭐️⭐️
Please SUBSCRIBE to both of our Substacks
Bowen writes memoir and personal essay on topics including alcohol, addiction and depression… adventure, fitness, sports, and nature… identity, masculinity, fatherhood and being child-free, love, relationships and sex, among other things. If you’re not already a subscriber to Bowen’s substack, please do take this opportunity to subscribe now.
Michael writes about everything from identity politics to AA and sobriety to existentialism and death to meditation and more. At Sincere American Writing you get a mix of fiction, memoir, personal essay, book reviews, cultural commentary and much more. If you’re not already a subscriber to Michael’s ‘Stack, please take this opportunity to subscribe now.
Our Writing
Here are two of the more popular pieces we’ve written on Substack:
Writers Versus The World — How Writers are Different from Everyone Else
Think of any daring, talented and interesting writer—Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Didion, Sontag, Kerouac, Steinbeck, Henry Miller, Baldwin, Mailer, David Foster Wallace, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Ottessa Moshfegh, Zadie Smith, Elif Batuman, etc—and you instantly see that the art stems from an intriguing, even dangerous artist. This is causal: Writers are generally an unusual lot. They are weird, freakish, isolated, individual, “different.” The wild eccentric weirdos who the rest of society seems flummoxed and yet often captivated by… Follow this link to read the rest of Michael’s piece.
Other Writers We Like on Substack
Just Enough to Get Me in Trouble by Lyle McKeany
by Latham Turner
by Dee Rambeau
by That Guy From the Internet
by Alex Olshonsky
by visakan veerasamy
by Sarah Fay
Further Reading
Sexus (The Rosy Crucifixion, #1), Henry Miller
The Happiest Man Alive: A Biography of Henry Miller, Mary V. Dearborn
Blackout, Sarah Hepola
The Routine Things Around The House, by Stephen Dunn
The Women’s Movement, by Joan Didion
Mens Writing Group on Substack
We host a monthly group for men on Substack writing memoir, autofiction, personal essay and other first-person informed work—which really could include just about anything, including fiction.
This group already includes several strong writers Michael Mohr Latham Turner Joshua Doležal Lyle McKeany Dee Rambeau
Participation is by request and invitation. If you’re interested in the possibility of joining us, please complete this questionnaire.
We’ve got some questions for you
What is the purpose, in your mind, of writing, of Art, of creative expression? Why do it at all?
What does it mean to be a woman or a man in 2023 America? How has this changed over the past few decades?
Why do you read memoir? Is this a very different reason than why you read fiction? Why?
How do you feel about personal responsibility? Does your race or gender condemn you to a certain kind of existence, or can you transcend that?
How has your mother or father shaped you as an adult? Have you transcended any of that shaping? Why or why not?
Was this worth your time?
Use the heart ♡ below to let us know
👇🏻
"Why do you read memoir? Is this a very different reason than why you read fiction? Why?" I'm responding to this one because I haven't considered it till now. If the fiction novel is in the first-person, the answer is the same: I want to get inside someone's head and experience someone else's life. Whether the character is real or fiction makes little difference to me.
This is an excellent conversation, thank you Bowen & Michael. You both have fantastic interview skills.
I appreciated Michael's comment that, as a culture, we seem to have lost the nuance of conversation or dialog. That, sadly, seems to be a vast understatement. Hopefully, places like Substack and conversations such as these will begin to restore the balance.
I fully agree with both of your take on personal responsibility and enjoyed this part of the discussion. For some reason the word robust keeps coming into my mind about it, I guess that's to say that you both dug into that issue fully. I guess it was easy for me to go along for the ride as I was in full agreement!
I met a little resistance in the discussion of mothers though. I am a Mom to two young men so was curious where you guys were going to go with the discussion. I think Jung's take on the whole thing needs to be looked at with a very wide lens. That being said, I am not a Jungian scholar so my knowledge of his full take on Moms and sons is only rudimentary. I found the discussion interesting while at the same time thinking 'holy shit and no damn way!'
Two other points that hit home were when you, Michael, talked about writing as externalizing the internal. Love that, and same for when Bowen talked about responding to the work, not the person, because the work is the soul. Bravo! That is something I need to bear in mind. I am a not-yet-reformed people pleaser so sometimes catch myself responding to the person as much as the work. I am going to work on that and question myself in the moment.
Well done on nailing some amazing topics.