My Unlived Life

Tom and Miriam discuss what might have happened if, at the age of 17, he’d come out to his parents when an opportunity unexpectedly presented itself at a school picnic, instead of waiting until the age of 23 to tell them his truth. Along the way they talk about full moon parties in Thailand, the impact of hiding your identity at a formative age and how often others can see you more clearly than you see yourself.Tom Rob Smith's bestselling novels in the Child 44 trilogy were international publishing sensations. Among its many honours, Child 44 won the International Thriller Writer Award for Best First Novel, the Galaxy Book Award for Best New Writer, and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and the inaugural Desmond Elliot Prize, and is now a major motion picture. Tom’s new novel, Cold People, about a colony of global apocalypse survivors trying to reinvent civilisation under the most extreme conditions imaginable, is to my mind an intimate and hopeful look at how people can and do come together against all odds. Crucially, it’s out now and available in your local bookshop.

Caro and Miriam talk about what might have happened if she had attended a traditional university as opposed to going to drama school, which she describes as an 'intense and edgy place'. Along the way they discuss being two opposing things at once, the impossibility of actually having it all, and how tricky it is to find a good harp.Caro Giles is a writer based in Northumberland, whose words are inspired by her local landscape. She writes honestly about what it means to be a woman, a mother and a carer and about the value in taking the road less travelled. Her writing has appeared in journals, press and periodicals and she was named Countryfile magazine’s New Nature Writer of the Year in 2021. Twelve Moons, her stunning, enveloping memoir about finding yourself and your voice, is out now and available in all good bookshops.Make sure to subscribe to hear the rest of Season 4 – in each episode, Miriam Robinson interviews a guest about another path their life might have taken. Together, step by step, they write the stories of their unlived lives. Produced by Neil Mason

Sophia and Miriam discuss what her life would have been like if she’d received an offer to work as assistant private secretary to the Queen, a job she was asked to apply for but which ultimately went to someone a bit older. Along the way they discuss what one wears to an interview at the palace, the bravery of female artists, the liberation that comes on the other side of the menopause and some very romantic trees.S.J. Bennett was a strategy consultant and startup manager before turning to writing. She has published ten books for teenagers, winning The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition in 2009 and the Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 2017. The Windsor Knot was her first novel for adults, and Murder Most Royal -her most recent book and the third in the Her Majesty The Queen Investigates series - is out now and available in all good bookshops.Make sure to subscribe to hear the rest of Season 3 – in each episode, Miriam Robinson interviews a guest about another path their life might have taken. Together, step by step, they write the stories of their unlived lives. Produced by Neil Mason

Journalist & writer Emma Hughes and Miriam what might have happened if, after going through a rigorous application process, she’d received and taken an offer to work at M!5. Along the way they discuss the things we learn as we get older, the way society privileges certain types of intelligence and whether or not we need to be a bit more serious.Emma Hughes is a London-based freelance writer and editor who covers everything from food to travel, relationship advice to romcoms, for everyone from Time Out to Wired and the Guardian and many more. Emma's first novel, No Such Thing As Perfect, was published in 2021 and is available in all good bookshops and on Bookshop.org. Her second novel, It's Complicated, is out in July 2023.Make sure to subscribe to hear the rest of Season 3 – in each episode, Miriam Robinson interviews a guest about another path their life might have taken. Together, step by step, they write the stories of their unlived lives. Produced by Neil Mason #MyUnlivedLife

Davina and Miriam discuss the moment in her life when her father was diagnosed with lung cancer, a moment that is central to her book. She and her husband were living with her parents at the time, and while she continued to be very involved in her father’s care, she chose to move out of the house in his final months, one of several moves that would take her away from suburban London and deeper into the British countryside. Together they explore what life might have looked like had she stayed living there, along the way examining the ebb and flow of grief, the unexpected impact of wartime trauma and the resilience we can find in the most challenging times.Davina Quinlivan is a Lecturer in the Department of English and Creative Writing at The University of Exeter. She taught at Kingston School of Art for over a decade and regularly leads the ‘F: For Flânerie' film and literature seminar series at The Freud Museum. She lives in a rural hamlet on the outskirts of Exeter with her family. Her new book Shalimar: A Story of Place and Migration is published by Little Toller and has been co-published in audio by Spiracle Audiobooks. She is currently working on a book about rivers and migration, mothers and daughters, as a loose follow-up to Shalimar. Make sure to subscribe to hear the rest of Season 3 – in each episode, Miriam Robinson interviews a guest about another path their life might have taken. Together, step by step, they write the stories of their unlived lives. Produced by Neil Mason #MyUnlivedLife

Helen and Miriam explore what might have happened if - at the age of 26 - she’d not moved from Australia to the UK with the man who became her husband (and who she ultimately divorced). Along the way they discuss finding joy after divorce, the wounds left by infidelity and the lifesaving magic of really good girlfriends.Helen Thorn is an award-winning comedian, podcaster and author widely known for her honest and hilarious take on parenthood, being single in her 40s and body positivity. Together with Ellie Gibson she is the co-host of hugely popular The Scummy Mummies podcast, and has performed to packed out theatres around the UK. Helen’s book Get Divorced: Be Happy is a joyful guide to going it alone, showing you that divorce is not the end but very much the beginning, and is out now in paperback in your local bookshop.Make sure to subscribe to hear the rest of Season 3 – in each episode, Miriam Robinson interviews a guest about another path their life might have taken. Together, step by step, they write the stories of their unlived lives. Produced by Neil Mason #MyUnlivedLife