March 16, 2026 edition
Paying subscribers get early access to this episode. To become a paying member or to upgrade your subscription, go here.
This week I’m joined by the actor, humorist, and six-time author Annabelle Gurwitch, who returns to the podcast to discuss her new memoir, The End of My Life Is Killing Me: The Unexpected Joys of a Cancer Slacker.
Annabelle was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer during COVID, entirely out of the blue, after what she assumed was a meaningless cough. Five years later, she remains an outlier on a targeted therapy that has kept her stable. In this conversation, we talk about how she has resisted the sentimental clichés surrounding illness, why she rejects the idea that cancer is a “battle,” and how humor, contrarianism, and facing “the shipwreck of the soul” have shaped the way she lives now.
We also get into her wildly cinematic diagnosis story, the humiliation of having her car repossessed in the middle of the night, the strange romantic opportunities that can apparently arise after a terminal diagnosis, and why trying to adopt kittens during COVID turned into an existential crisis.
Guest Bio
Annabelle Gurwitch is an actress, activist, and New York Times bestselling author of six books and two-time finalist for the Thurber Prize.
Her essays have appeared in The New Yorker, New York Times, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and Hadassah Magazine, among other publications. Her six books include the New York Times bestseller and Thurber Prize finalist I See You Made an Effort.
Annabelle co-hosted the fan favorite Dinner & a Movie on TBS, was a regular commentator for NPR. She is serving in leadership as a patient advocate with the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).
The End Of My Life Is Killing Me is out March 17. Pre-order here or wherever you buy books.
Housekeeping
✈️ The Unspeakeasy is now officially coed and will focus on in-person events going forward. But don’t worry, we’re offering three women’s retreats this year. The first is in L.A. in April and is now waitlist only. The others are on the East Coast in the fall, plus our big coed overnight retreat-a-polooza in October. The fall retreats will be open for registration in mid-April. Visit our retreat page for dates and more info.
🏍️ I am hosting Zoom hangouts for Founding Members on the last Sunday of every month at 8pm ET. The next meeting is Sunday, March 29. If you’re a Founding Member, you will get an email with the link. If you’re not yet a Founding Member, you can upgrade your subscription here.
🎁 Make a one-time donation to the podcast. Everything helps and is deeply appreciated. 🙏
📺 Visit The Unspeakeasy on YouTube.
