The Clearing with Katherine May Daisy Buchanan’s Swiss mountain glamour
Feb 28, 2026
Daisy Buchanan, a witty novelist and productive writer, conjures a glamorous Swiss-chalet retreat filled with silk pajamas, roaring fires and library comforts. She chats about cultivating calm amid neurodivergent anxiety, juggling multiple projects, rituals for rest and the novels that comfort and shape her imagination.
01:01:48
Rest Is A Skill For A Noisy Neurodivergent Mind
- Daisy Buchanan finds rest hard and links it to being neurodivergent and anxious, describing persistent noisy thought and difficulty calming the mind.
- She contrasts brief restorative practices like Reiki sessions with long-term practice needed to cultivate stillness, calling calmness a skill to be practiced.
Reiki Facial Shifted Her Inner Weather
- Daisy recounts receiving a Reiki facial voucher, attending reluctantly, and experiencing unexpectedly transformative imagery and safety during the session.
- She describes Rebecca's hands getting hot and cold, guided breathwork and a sound bath in Margate that left her lighter and wanting to return.
Swiss Chalet Hotel Of Marabou Pyjamas And Cake
- Daisy's dream clearing is a glamorous snowy Swiss chalet hotel with a library, roaring fires, cake trolley, sauna and ice bath, arriving by golden train and horse carriage.
- She imagines luxurious non-alcoholic champagne, attentive staff, and sole possession of the library for comfort and anticipation of a grand ball.
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Intro
00:00 • 5min
Welcome and rest fantasy setup
05:01 • 32sec
Can you rest? Daisy on struggle with stillness
05:33 • 4min
Practicing calm like a craft
09:29 • 42sec
Productivity, public life and writing priorities
10:11 • 2min
Juggling ideas and simultaneous projects
12:11 • 2min
The reality of literary life and mortifications
14:20 • 3min
Daisy's glamorous snowy chalet clearing
17:43 • 2min
Solitude amid a social hotel vibe
19:52 • 3min
Preparation rituals and starlet comforts
22:50 • 1min
Skiing, walking and being relieved of obligation
23:59 • 1min
What to bring: notebooks and silk pyjamas
25:11 • 5min
The Pursuit of Love as a talisman
30:20 • 4min
Origin of reading loves and family themes
34:21 • 6min
Reading to heal and sober reflection
40:23 • 5min
When to end a retreat and return
45:41 • 3min
Small cabin joys and autistic comforts
48:55 • 2min
Improv, laughter and instant community
50:41 • 2min
Bringing back pyjamas and a novel idea
53:05 • 5min
Writing ambitions and favorite influence
57:35 • 57sec
Outro
58:33 • 4min
#
The story of Tracy Beaker
Jacqueline Wilson
Nick Sharratt
The Story of Tracy Beaker follows the life of ten-year-old Tracy, who lives in a children's residential care home she calls 'The Dumping Ground' due to neglect from her mother.
Through her diary entries, Tracy imagines her mum as a Hollywood star coming to rescue her, copes with behavioural issues, rivalries like with Justine Littlewood, and failed foster placements.
She forms a bond with writer Cam, boosting her confidence and helping her connect with others, in a touching and funny tale of resilience and hope.
#69157
The Cazalet Chronicles
Elizabeth Howard
#
The Diary of a Provincial Lady
E. M. Delafield
The Diary of a Provincial Lady is a series of comic diary entries by E. M. Delafield that capture the trials, pretensions, and small triumphs of a middle-class Englishwoman managing home and social obligations.
Written with deadpan humor and social observation, the books satirize domesticity and the anxieties of respectability in early 20th-century Britain.
The narrator’s voice blends self-deprecation with sharp-eyed commentary on neighbors, family, and the foibles of provincial life.
The work has endured for its relatable portrayal of everyday struggles and its gently mocking tone toward social conventions.
It remains a classic of English comic fiction and has influenced many later writers of domestic satire.
#
The weather in the streets
Rosamond Lehmann
The Weather in the Streets is Rosamond Lehmann’s novel that continues to explore complex adult relationships, moral ambiguity, and the emotional fallout of romantic entanglements.
Known for its psychological depth and elegiac tone, the book offers a more somber counterpoint to Lehmann’s earlier, lighter works.
It examines how social pressures and personal choices intersect, often with painful consequences for the characters involved.
Lehmann’s nuanced prose illuminates the interior lives of her protagonists and the social worlds they inhabit.
The novel is regarded as an important mid-20th-century study of desire, regret, and the costs of emotional compromise.
#
Mortification
Writers' Stories of Their Public Shame
Robin Robertson
Mortification is an edited anthology in which authors write candidly about episodes of public shame and professional embarrassment.
The collection gathers personal essays that range from mildly humiliating mishaps to deeply affecting confessions, offering both humor and pathos.
Contributors include a range of well-known contemporary writers who reflect on how mortifying moments shaped their careers or self-understanding.
The anthology highlights the universality of embarrassment while exploring its emotional and artistic consequences.
It serves as a readable, often funny, and sometimes poignant examination of vulnerability in the public eye.
#2222
• Mentioned in 20 episodes
Home Cooking
A Writer in the Kitchen
Laurie Colwin
Home Cooking is a unique blend of memoir and cookbook, where Laurie Colwin shares her passion for food, cooking, and entertaining.
The book includes 33 essays that range from basic recipes like fried chicken and potato salad to more special topics such as 'How to Avoid Grilling' and 'Kitchen Horrors.
' Colwin's writing is warm, generous, and down-to-earth, making the book a delight for both amateur cooks and food lovers.
It features personal stories of culinary successes and disasters, as well as practical and achievable recipes that reflect her family favorites and cooking experiences in various settings, from a tiny apartment to bustling parties.
#
Family Happiness
Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy's 'Family Happiness' is a novella that explores themes of love, family, and the search for meaning in life.
The story follows a young woman's journey of self-discovery as she navigates new relationships and experiences.
Through her engagement with various artistic activities, she gains a deeper understanding of love and its multifaceted nature.
The novella's simple yet profound narrative reveals the interconnectedness of seemingly disparate experiences, highlighting the unifying power of love and the search for meaning.
Tolstoy's masterful storytelling creates a poignant and insightful exploration of human relationships and the complexities of life.
#30075
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Rachel's holiday
Marian Keyes
Gerri Halligan
Rachel's Holiday follows the story of Rachel Walsh, a young woman living in New York who is forced to confront her addiction after an overdose.
She returns to Ireland and checks into the Cloisters rehab facility, where she must come to terms with her past and her relationships.
The novel explores themes of addiction, denial, and recovery with Keyes' signature blend of humor and emotional depth.
#27384
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
All Grown Up
Celia Dodd
#29057
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Ballet shoes
Noel Streatfeild
Ruth Gervis
Ballet Shoes follows Pauline, Petrova, and Posy Fossil, three orphans adopted by Great-Uncle Matthew, an eccentric paleontologist, and raised by his great-niece Sylvia in 1930s London.
When their guardian's financial support dwindles and money becomes scarce, the girls enroll at the Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training to earn money for their household.
Each sister discovers her own path: Pauline becomes a talented actress, Posy develops into a brilliant ballet dancer, and Petrova, who despises performing, dreams of flying aircraft.
The novel explores themes of family loyalty, ambition, sacrifice, and coming of age as the sisters navigate the demands of stage life while supporting one another.
#
Insatiable
Asa Akira
#2222
• Mentioned in 20 episodes
Home Cooking
A Writer in the Kitchen
Laurie Colwin
Home Cooking is a unique blend of memoir and cookbook, where Laurie Colwin shares her passion for food, cooking, and entertaining.
The book includes 33 essays that range from basic recipes like fried chicken and potato salad to more special topics such as 'How to Avoid Grilling' and 'Kitchen Horrors.
' Colwin's writing is warm, generous, and down-to-earth, making the book a delight for both amateur cooks and food lovers.
It features personal stories of culinary successes and disasters, as well as practical and achievable recipes that reflect her family favorites and cooking experiences in various settings, from a tiny apartment to bustling parties.
#71131
Happy All the Time
Laurie Colwin
#559
• Mentioned in 56 episodes
Little Women
Louisa May Alcott
Written by Louisa May Alcott, 'Little Women' is a semi-autobiographical novel that details the lives of the March sisters in 1860s Massachusetts.
The story is loosely based on Alcott's own childhood and that of her three sisters.
It explores themes of domesticity, work, and true love, and is known for its portrayal of the sisters' distinct personalities and their struggles with societal expectations.
The novel follows their experiences with poverty, illness, and personal growth, and it has been praised for its realistic and empathetic depiction of family life and the challenges faced by women during that era.
#12339
• Mentioned in 4 episodes
THE PURSUIT OF LOVE
Nancy Mitford
#97195
Invitation to the waltz
Rosamond Lehmann
Invitation to the Waltz, published in 1932, is a novel by Rosamond Lehmann that follows the preparations of two sisters, Kate and Olivia Curtis, for a significant social event.
The story delves into the complexities of adolescence, particularly Olivia's transition from girlhood to womanhood, as she navigates her first dance and the societal pressures that come with it.
The novel is a prequel to Lehmann's later work, The Weather in the Streets.
#68
• Mentioned in 228 episodes
The great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published in 1925, 'The Great Gatsby' is a tragic love story, a mystery, and a social commentary on American life during the Jazz Age. The novel is narrated by Nick Carraway, who moves to Long Island and becomes entangled in the lives of his wealthy and mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby, and Gatsby's obsession to win back his first love, Daisy Buchanan.
The story delves into themes of honesty, the temptations of wealth, and the struggle to escape the past, ultimately reflecting on the disintegration of the American Dream.
A deliciously glamorous escape to the snowy setting of a luxury Swiss chalet hotel where 1920s faded English aristocracy meets 1950s Hollywood starlet decadence.
Marabou-trimmed silk pajamas and well-stocked libraries with crackling fires abound in this absolute joy of an episode with author Daisy Buchanan.
Listen in as Daisy imagines herself preparing for a Grand Ball, with all the pleasure of a day spent wrapped in enormous fluffy white towels and none of the anxiety. She also romps through an array of subjects with Katherine, from her newfound love of reiki to the quest for calm in the neurodivergent brain and why she is so drawn to reading about the strangeness of large families.
The most wonderfully realised escape to indulge in at any time.
Links from the episode:
Daisy’s Instagram
Daisy’s books
Mortification edited by Robin Robertson
The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield
The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann
The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
The Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson
Laurie Colwin’s books - Home Cooking, More Home Cooking, Happy All the Time, Family Happiness
Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript and to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free
Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US
Follow Katherine on Instagram
Visit Katherine’s Website
Production Credits
Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins
Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong
Producer - Alice Lloyd
Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary
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