The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert Top of the Tops: Stephen's Journal | Suleika Jaouad
May 10, 2026
Suleika Jaouad, author and journalist who writes about illness, recovery, and creativity. She discusses creative alchemy and how art can transform hardship. She talks about journaling as a private practice that saved her during cancer and about bringing music into hospitals to turn fear into celebration. She also shares a kinder approach to living after recurrence.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Creativity Is A Lost Universal Capacity
- Creativity is a universal capacity that often gets lost through 'creative injuries' as we age.
- Suleika Jaouad traces loss of uninhibited creativity to a humiliating 8th grade incident that silenced her public writing for years.
How Journaling Saved Her During Treatment
- Journaling became a lifeline when Suleika was diagnosed with aggressive leukemia at 22.
- She used writing to externalize grief and anger, which let her converse with herself and reconnect with others during treatment.
Public Creativity Reenacts Personal Alchemy
- Creative expression can be communal and transformative when performed publicly.
- Suleika and John designed book events where live music and readings reenacted creative alchemy and reignited her desire to play bass.
