“We all need our own philosophy”

This conversation is part of an ongoing series of conversations with fellow writers including several on Substack such as and Sex at Dawn author as well as others including addiction expert Dr. Adi Jaffe, master coaches Michael Lipson and Robert Ellis, ultra-runner Charlie Engle and legendary sci-fi author Kim Stanley Robinson.

Today’s conversation is between the writer behind and who writes at , which includes his serialized memoir of the same name.

Latham and I got together recently for a deep and wide-ranging conversation covering writing to explore, how “adventure doesn’t happen by accident,” writing as men and the transition into being an older man, using research in storytelling, how “we all need our own philosophy,” the challenge of positive confrontation and “the Goat Work,” how we relate to our immediate geography, long-distance walking, wayfinding, personal spirituality, the gods we’re praying as — and, of course, what we’re working on next.

If you value authentic, honest, deep, vulnerable conversations between working writers, 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, and some questions for you. We’d love to hear from you!

Our Conversation

Use the audio player at the top of the page, or watch the interview here ⬇️

⭐️⭐️ THANK YOU FOR LISTENING⭐️⭐️

Some of our own writing

* Latham: The Men’s Movement is Dead; Long Live the Men’s Movement

* Bowen: The Man Pays—on the bittersweet joy of being child-free

* Latham: What Will You Die For —on developing a personal philosophy of life

* Bowen: I’m Here to Tell the Truth—the introduction and table of contents to my serialized memoir, An Ordinary Disaster.

Latham and I will both be posting a piece this coming week on the theme of “Recovery” from a group of men including ourselves, Joshua Doležal Michael Mohr Dee Rambeau and . You may recall our previous series on “Fatherhood” from September. Be on the lookout for Latham’s piece on December 11 and Bowen’s on the 13th!

Subscribe for more

Latham writes — a newsletter about growing up after you’ve become an adult. It’s part memoir, part essays, but always exploration of an authentic life.

Bowen’s writing at includes memoir and personal essay on men, adventure, addiction, depression, love and money.

Other writers we recommend on Substack

and Just Enough to Get Me in Trouble The Bright Life Make Me Good Soil

Further Reading and Listening

* 📚 The Denial of Death, by Ernest Becker

* 📚 The Flowering Wand: Rewilding the Sacre