How Great Is This Life Advice?
Author Chanel Miller reveals her favorite pants and the life advice Oprah gave her (!)
Hi! How is your week going? We have been visiting family in England, which means fish and chips, boat rides, and darts at the pub (which Anton always wins!).
But, most excitingly, Big Salad editor Kaitlyn Teer spoke with Chanel Miller about her new middle-grade novel, Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All. You may know Chanel from her 2019 bestselling memoir, Know My Name, about being sexually assaulted by a Stanford athlete. Her victim impact statement, which she read aloud to her attacker in court, also went viral on BuzzFeed. I LOVED her memoir; it should be required reading. Now, she is fulfilling her lifelong dream of writing a children’s book.
Here, Chanel shares eight great things, including a work-from-home hack and the life advice Oprah gave her…
Beauty essential: I take Chanel hand cream everywhere, especially on airplanes, because my skin gets so dry. It’s my sacred egg, given to me by my mom. Anytime I feel my sense of self dissolving, I reapply it to remember who I am (Chanel!). Truly.
Style uniform: I love Big Bud Press’s cotton work pants so much, I have them in every color under the sun. They’re wide-leg and comfortable enough for jumping, squatting, anything.
Podcast: I listen to The New Yorker: Fiction podcast, where editor Deborah Treisman and a guest discuss a short story. I feel as if I’m back in English class asking questions like, ‘Why do you think they include the pear on the table?’ Put me there for 20 minutes, that’s my safe place. My go-to episode is Ottessa Moshfegh reading Sheila Heti’s story, ‘My Life Is a Joke.’
TV show: The cartoon Arthur is my comfort show. In fact, I want to change all these answers to ‘Arthur’! The Brain, Arthur’s smart, soccer-playing friend, was my childhood crush. If he were a man, I’d still be so into him.
Music: Mitski’s new album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, especially the song ‘The Frost.’ The whole album is solemn but bright — my favorite.
Work ritual: I light a candle when I start working and blow it out when I’m done. It’s good to mark when you’re entering that headspace, especially at home. My current one is Baisun Candle Co.’s hinoki forest, but I actually lit a different candle for every chapter of my middle grade novel. They helped me visualize the scenes.
