How My DORKY, Hot BF Quit Doomscrolling - 200-Page Book Club - Kukum by Michel Jean
Our guest today claims he's winning the war against nighttime doomscrolling. If you also want to win this war, he has a simple rule: read seven pages a night. Promises include better sleep, deeper conversations with your dogs, a sexier vocabulary, and more.
Introducing the 200-Page Book Club! If you’re one of those people who can’t remember the last time you’ve finished a book, there is hope!
Step one: We’ll pick a book that is 200 pages or less.
Step two: Read seven pages of this book every day.
One month later: You have finished a book!
And for our inaugural pick of the 200-Page Book Club, we have KUKUM by Michel Jean. It’s a novel set in rural, Indigenous Quebec more than 100 years ago, yet its themes feel surprisingly familiar in an era when Big Tech Companies are reshaping our work, our communities, and even our childhoods without asking for our input.
Spoiler Alert: There are no spoilers, but you may not be surprised by certain historical events. And listen to the end for a listener questioner from Stressed and Enmeshed, our poster child for the helicopter-parented generation.
Disclaimer: Erica and Jahon are non-Indigenous readers so there are some limitations to our perspective. To learn more and go deeper on topics we are not qualified to explore, please check out our list of resources.
KUKUM by Michel Jean in English
KUKUM de Michel Jean en français
Our guest today is Jahon Mousavi-Torbati! Maybe you remember him from our riveting episode Unhinged Ways to Learn French in Quebec. He loves public transit, pineapples, and kobo e-readers. Listen to the show for more wildly exciting fun facts.
Follow Jahon on Instagram: @jahonart
Check out his Concept Art Drink and Draw: @conceptartdrinkanddraw
Jahon’s website and Quebec fantasy illustration project: artstation.com
Instagram: @erica.j.schmidt
Substack: @ericajschmidt
Website: ericajschmidt.com
More on KUKUM, the INNU Nation, and Residential Schools
Michel Jean on Writing and the English Translations of His Novels
Article: Claude Boivin, survivor of Pointe-Bleu residential school, on finding peace
Nametau innu: Memory and knowledge of Nitassinan: a website dedicated to the Innu nation in which elders pass on their skills and knowledge to younger generations.
Other Books and Resources
Histoire Populaire de l’amour au Québec T.1 : Avant 1760
Erica’s essay called How to Start Reading Again
How to Start Reading Again, Part Two
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents
Time Stamps: Kukum by Michel Jean on the 200-Page Book Club
00:00:00 How our guest today eliminated nighttime doomscrolling
00:01:34 The big reveal! Introducing our guest, Jahon Mousavi-Torbati!
00:02:10 This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life Theme Song. Lovebirds Erica and Jahon introduce each other the way they introduce new people on Love on the Spectrum, one of our favourite shows.
00:05:11 Jahon Mousavi-Torbati’s literary debut.
00:06:32 Jahon shares wisdom on the 200-Page Book Club. How to create the winning conditions to quit scrolling and start reading.
00:11:08 Jahon introduces the inaugural pick for the 200-Page Book Club. No Spoilers! The book is Kukum by Michel Jean. Please note that Erica and Jahon are non-indigenous readers and therefore there are some limitations to our perspectives. Please see links and resources in the show notes for deeper reading.
00:12:17 Kukum was written by Michel Jean, an Innu author. Fun fact about where the Innu lived compared to the Inuit. Difference between narrator Almanda’s settler Christian upbringing compared to the Innu way of life. Often Innu culture allowed for more freedom for women.
00:14:32 Kukum begins with a love story. We loved the romantic vibes! Jahon tells us the surprising reasons why the book is relevant to our times.
00:16:44 Jahon asks Erica about the writing style. Fictionalized memoir of Michel Jean’s grandmother’s life. Slow burn. Love the short chapters!
00:19:23 Jahon talks about culture and language preservation.
00:21:25 Transition from nomadic to sedentary lifestyle
00:22:32 Jahon notes the differences in anxiety levels and childhoods for Almanda’s children and our own experience as children of the 90s.
00:26:26 The benefits of connection to nature, jahon’s dream of making social media and phones in public except for designated areas.
00:30:32 Listener Question from Stressed and Enmeshed. Jahon recommends the book, Adult Children of Emotionally Immature People. Erica recommends the goal of financial independence.
00:40:57 Where to find and follow Jahon online
Listener Question from Stressed and Enmeshed
Dear Erica and Jahon,
My parents never let me do anything alone as a kid and now that I’m an adult, I have a really hard time trusting myself. I’m a 26-year-old woman and I only just moved into my own apartment with roommates. I feel like I am entirely indecisive and I struggle with everything from lunch choices, what clothes to buy, and how to spend my weekends. I feel like at this age, I should feel more independent but I find I’m constantly calling my parents, especially my mother, for advice. After talking to her, I tend to feel more stressed than before I called. Is this normal? What can I do to feel more grown up and independent?
Love, Stressed and Enmeshed
