The Pound Project Live: Leyla Kazim x Natalie Lue

On Wednesday 25th March, JP Watson, founder of independent publishers The Pound Project, interviewed myself and Natalie Lue about our powerful titles from 2025: Pathways and Let Go. We discussed the origins of our books, how a pitch and idea became a reality, our writing process and where our ideas are taking us next. And in case you missed either of our limited edition books when they were on sale, JP is kindly re-opening the chance to purchase copies again — which is a real treat. Because they are otherwise totally unavailable to buy anymore. Just drop him an email at [email protected] if you’d like a copy.All three of us would love to hear what you thought about this conversation!For those who are new around hereLet me tell you a bit about my two-part debut book Pathways, that sold out in just three weeks back in June 2025.After spending my entire life living in London — the only city I had ever called home — I began to feel the pull towards a radically different life. Modern living makes us anxious, exhausted and physically unwell. I craved something my bones knew deeply: to grow my own food, to live in harmony with Nature, and to be guided by the sun and seasons. As opposed to strip lighting and spreadsheets. So, my husband and I spent years searching for land, until we found it — a 3 acre plot in the Portuguese countryside, 40 minutes north of Lisbon. We moved to the region in August 2025 and are currently living in rented accommodation. We will soon start building our eco-house in the footprint of an existing ruin and cultivating the land to produce much of our own food. It’s a long game. And whilst we’re still right at the start of this journey, so much has happened since the book came out.Book 1, Pathways: To The LandConsider any aspect of the current human experience and there’s a very good reason for doing things differently. This book is an honest look at the absurdities of modern life and why I quit the only way of living I’ve known, to pursue a very different one in rural Portugal.Book 2, Pathways: To Purposeful LivingA series of mini essays and thought exercises to help us face a simple question: how can we cut through the noise to identify the things that make us feel good and fulfilled?I’m Leyla. I write about becoming aware of the systems that do not serve you and reclaiming your energy, amongst other things. I send this once a week to 9000+ readers — join them if you’d like it in your inbox.If this conversation landed, share it with someone who needs to hear it. And hit the ❤️ so Substack shows it to more people. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit leylakazim.substack.com/subscribe