Interview: Kathryn Schulz, author of “When Things Go Missing”
Interview: Kathryn Schulz, author of “When Things Go Missing”
We will lose everything we love in the end. It is finding that is astonishing.
Appears in this episode
Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we’re reading, annotating, and discussing “When Things Go Missing,” by Kathryn Schulz. It’s one of my favorite pieces of the past five years. I’m pleased that so many of you have signed up to discuss the article on February 27. I am looking forward to it!
A few weeks ago, I got the opportunity to interview Ms. Schulz. It was an honor. Thanks to her generosity and thoughtfulness, it was a great conversation. We talked about a range of topics, including: how it feels to have a new book out, how she organized the piece, how she thinks about a concept she calls “and-ness,” what her dad meant to her, why she included certain details and not others, and why she ended an article on loss with the phenomenon of finding.
I hope you take a listen!
Also, I encourage you to buy and read Lost & Found, her memoir, published in January, that grew out of this essay. (You can’t have my copy.)
After listening to the interview, feel free to add your thoughts in the comments. What’s one insight that resonated with you? What’s a question you were left with?
I look forward to our discussion on Feb. 27. See you then!
Interview: Kathryn Schulz, author of “When Things Go Missing”
My favorite part was when Ms. Schulz called me “an astute reader!” 😊 It was an honor to interview her. I liked how she was eager to talk about writing. Other authors haven’t gone there as much, maybe because I’m not at their level. So it was great to hear Ms. Schulz talk about organization and details and how she ended the piece.
I agree with Carina about the “category of loss” and how Ms. Schulz thinks about “and-ness.” In particular, I loved this part about finding: “The smitten lovers who marvel every day at the miracle of having met each other are right; it is finding that is astonishing. You meet a stranger passing through your town and know within days you will marry her.”
I’m looking forward to the discussion, too!
I found her use of the phrase "the category of loss" as a helpful way of thinking about smaller instances that flesh out what loss can really look like. When I think about a major ending of a relationship, there's "losing" the relationship but also "losing" the ideas/hopes for the future life that would have been... having the space to tease out the multiplicity of experiences even WITHIN the category felt meaningful to me as I read the article and then reflected with the podcast. I like that she also creates the new category of "and-ness" that isn't losing or finding but really gets to the complexity of everything happening all at once. I appreciated the authentic conclusion where she spoke about hope and discovery. Looking forward to the discussion!