High Five With Chelsea Bieker

The author of Madwoman on five (or six!) of her current obsessions.

Each month, I ask an author I love to share five recommendations they have for other writers, whatever is the wind beneath their wings when they sit down to write. This month I reached out to Chelsea Bieker, author of three books, most recently the novel Madwoman, a Book of the Month club pick the New York Times calls “brilliant in its depiction of the long shadows cast by domestic violence.” Her first novel, Godshot, was longlisted for The Center For Fiction’s First Novel Prize and named a Barnes & Noble Pick of the Month. Her story collection, Heartbroke, won the California Book Award and was a New York Times “Best California Book of 2022.” Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Marie Claire UK, People, The Cut, Wall Street Journal, and others. She is the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Writers’ Award, as well as residencies from MacDowell and Tin House. Raised in Hawai’i and California, she now lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two children.

I’m sure you’re dying to know what our unbelievably accomplished author has to share, so without further ado, here is Chelsea’s High Five!

1. The “world’s most perfect trench coat” is something the narrator of Madwoman, Clove, is intent on finding. This is in lieu of addressing her very real credit card debt, crippling post-weaning anxiety, and the fact that her life is imploding after receiving a letter from her estranged mother in prison—but I get it! The perfect trench was a pursuit of mine for a long time after seeing the most stylish woman ever on a flight from New York to Portland looking effortlessly put together with a baseball cap, a white tee, great jeans, and… a perfect trench. My longing was born. The one she had (of course I asked) was no longer available but I think I have found an equal with this. For me it’s all about structure, defined sharp shoulders and a super classic cut. It’s not too oversized and looks cool with everything. 

   

2. Lipstick was my mom's thing. I get sentimental thinking about her fuchsia stain left on every cup, and the time in second grade my lips were chapped on the way to school and she handed me her bright, bold lipstick because it’s all she had. I got sent to the principal’s office for it and she was aghast. Her devotion to Revlon Wild Orchid persisted through her life, even in the most dire circumstances, which--respect. For me, a new lipstick is an instant mood boost and a vice I’ll never give up. Lately I cannot get enough of this one: The Violette Bisou Balm in Guimuave. I’m not usually a matte girly but this super light and somehow moisturizing lipstick has this really cool blurring effect that makes lips look super full and sort of popsicle stained. It’s perfect and I tell everyone about it. 

3. Floral dresses: there is just something about the perfect floral dress that makes me feel so happy, in my element, and in touch with my California roots. I love the dresses Christy Dawn and Doen make most. I wear them all summer and then add wool tights and sweaters them during chilly Portland winters. They just feel whimsical and special. This one from Doen has been on repeat lately. 

4. I lost both my parents in the last three years, and of all the books I read and things I did (energy healing, therapy, screaming in the car alone) to manage my wild grief, beginning to imagine that I can have a continued relationship with them has been the most nourishing. I started this journey after reading "The Light Between Us" by Laura Lynn Jackson, a renowned psychic medium. The book details Jackson’s (highly interesting) background in how she discovered her gifts for connecting to dead people, and then all the ways you can cultivate loving relationships with those on the other side. I discovered it through a chance encounter with a woman at a park who had also lost a parent and understood. She said, “just read it.” I’m so glad I did. It’s really a beautiful dose of hope for the worst of days and made me feel like I didn’t have to move right into acceptance of an END, but rather that I was stepping into a new way of being. I recommend it to everyone who has lost someone, but it’s a beautiful book for us all at any stage.

   

5. This simple face moisturizer that's cheapy cheap: It's got ceramides and hyaluronic acid and it works! So much of the skincare world feels overwhelming to me, and it's hard to drop mega bucks on tiny vials of mystery fluids, but with this, it's simple and good and something I can count on every day. A true staple. 

6. I know you said 5, but one last thing. I have been so out of my normal writing routine with my book launching, that I've had to take baby steps back into sanity. And I always do this with morning pages, just as our Lord Julia Cameron advises. Three pages long hand in the morning before anything else happens. The magic is that beginning the day this way sets you up to be smarter all day long, with an ear bent toward art versus noise. It is simple and effective medicine. 

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