Episode 142: Bonnie Tsui on Finding the Right Container to Tell a Story

“I try to be really open to anything that comes my way,” says bestselling author Bonnie Tsui. Her newest book, On Muscle, isn’t a memoir, but it begins with her recounting her father encouraging her and her brother to “make a muscle.” Tsui appears in many sections of the book interacting with the various characters she introduces. Yet it’s not a book explicitly about her, and if there’s a main character it’s probably human muscle. In this episode we speak with Tsui to find the right balance of personal storytelling, history, science, experts and interesting characters. Plus why poetry is a part of her research and the value of pulling multiple disciplines into her writing.Bonnie Tsui is a longtime contributor to The New York Times and the author of the new book On Muscle: The Stuff That Moves Us and Why It Matters—a vivid, thought-provoking celebration of musculature and one of the most anticipated books of the year; it is currently being translated into six languages. Her bestselling books include Why We Swim, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and a Time magazine and NPR Best Book of the Year, and American Chinatown, which won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. Her work has been recognized and supported by Harvard University, the National Press Foundation, the Mesa Refuge, and the Best American Essays series. She lives, swims, and surfs in the San Francisco Bay Area.Links:Website www.bonnietsui.comInstagram www.instagram.com/bonnietsui8https://www.bonnietsui.com/Rosemerry’s new album, Risking Love videos or on SpotifyGrand Mesa Writer’s Symposium This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe