Recorded 22 June 2022

Breakfasters: Chloe Hooper "Bedtime Stories"

When Hooper’s partner Don Watson was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive illness she struggled to find a way to talk to her children about it. Part memoir, part manual Bedtime Stories sees Hooper explore classic children’s literature to try and find a way to communicate life’s biggest moments.

“One of the things I confronted in the book was having these conversations about mortality with my children … and then not wanting to have it with myself,” she says. “Once you do start to talk to children about this, they are natural philosophers, they want to be invited into conversations about life’s biggest mystery.”

Hooper and the team talk about the tricky emotional territory she trod on this project, the fear of romanticising trauma and why children can be trusted with such big ideas.

Chole Hooper
Listen to Breakfasters: Chloe Hooper "Bedtime Stories"13:2422 June 2022