River of Humanity: A Conversation with Susan Cain
On longing, grieving those still alive, friendship, the sound of tennis, inherited war trauma, the pain of separation, speaking our truth, and what animals can teach us.
Intimate conversations with our greatest heart-centered minds.
When
first hit the scene with her revelatory book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, introverts across the planet sighed with relief. Not only was the pressure off having to sparkle in loud, often chaotic environments. Silence, solitude, and heart-centered listening were finally recognized as magnificent strengths rather than unfortunate weaknesses. It spent eight years on the New York Times bestseller list.Then came Bittersweet: How Sorrow And Longing Make Us Whole which explored sorrow and longing and the soul-nurturing lessons they can teach. Oprah picked this one for her book club. And Bittersweet also became a #1 New York Times bestseller.
Speaking with Susan was such a delight. She’s kind and thoughtful and funny. Her compassion and fierce intellect shines brightly in every word. From the moment we began chatting right through until the screen went blank, I found myself wishing she were my neighbor!
Susan’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Economist, and The Wall Street Journal. Her TED talks on the power of introverts and the hidden power of sad songs and rainy days have been viewed over fifty million times. Before she began writing, Susan was a high powered corporate lawyer (thank goodness for all of us she chose to become a writer instead!). She’s an honors graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School. And she has a gorgeous Substack The Quiet Life with Susan Cain.
⭐️ Susan is very graciously offering Beyond readers 25% off a one year subscription to The Quiet Life. You can only take advantage of this special offer by clicking this link! If you enjoy this interview and Susan’s work, you will definitely find kindred spirits there!⭐️
Here’s Susan reading one of my favorite passages from Bittersweet. It goes right to my heart!
Being a bittersweet introvert, I loved this interview! I think you will, too!
You write about bittersweet—the notion of light and dark, birth and death, bitter and sweet being forever paired—as a universal longing for a perfect and beautiful world. What does that world look like to you?
A world in which everyone is kind, and the lions really do lay down with the lambs. That's what I think we're all longing for. You could also conceive of it as a return to the mother; a return to the perfect and unconditional love that a baby experiences when they're in the womb.
That’s so beautiful! Can you talk about how longing has been misunderstood in modern times, and even replaced by what you call the “tyranny of optimism?”