Lydia Denworth Is Someone We Really Like
Photo from Lydia Denworth
by The Candidly Team
Lydia Denworth is an author. And an acclaimed speaker. And a brilliant science journalist who writes about everything from brain imaging to baboon troops.
Lydia’s work on the science of language, lead-poisoning, and the biology of friendship is utterly fascinating and enlightening.
We like Lydia.
We asked her a few questions about her daily life, her greatest challenges, and what she can’t live without. Unsurprisingly, her answers are thoughtful and complex. Just like her.
The Candidly Questionnaire
1. In a word, what is your most compelling quality?
Earnestness.
2. In a word, what is your biggest challenge?
Discipline.
3. What kitchen tool do you use every single day and kind of can’t live without?
My teapot. I begin every morning with a big pot of black tea with lemon, which I really miss when I’m traveling. Hotel tea is not the same.
4. When do you feel most connected with yourself?
Walking in the woods and fields on our farm in Central New York.
5. Are essential oils anything?
Not for me.
6. Do you struggle at all with boundaries? How?
I work at home so I have real issues creating separation between my private and professional lives. Weekend? What’s a weekend? I could always be working. And I could always be futzing and fiddling around the house or talking to family members. Or hanging with the dog or cat.
7. How do you dampen self-critical thoughts when they get too loud?
They are especially loud at three in the morning. If, in fact, it is three in the morning, I lie with a hand on my heart and a hand on my belly and do deep breathing exercises. If it is daytime, I either write about it in a journal because getting it on the page gets it out of my head, or I call one of my best friends. I have several who can be relied on to list my wonderful qualities and accomplishments and tell me I’m being too hard on myself. Those are terrific friends to have.
8. Describe the most “you” outfit of all time.
Jeans, boots, and a really beautiful sweater. Fall is my season.
9. What meal can you make the hell out of?
Farm breakfast. We raise pigs, chickens, and cattle, and most years, I have a decent garden. I make my own biscuits, cook up our bacon, sausage, and eggs, and gather berries from the garden when they’re in season. Even the butter is local.
10. What book has made the biggest impact on your life?
Everything by John McPhee. He showed me what was possible in serious nonfiction.
11. Apart from family, what woman do you deeply admire?
Deborah Blum. She is a Pulitzer-Prize-winning science journalist and bestselling author, and she is not only immensely thoughtful and talented, but warm and generous and nurturing with colleagues.
12. Why does the word “feminist” get people so wound up?
Because they misunderstand it as radical. A feminist is someone who believes in social, political, and economic equality for all. I think it is radical not to share those beliefs.
13. Which Insta account’s stories do you always tap through until the end?
Anything to do with independent bookstores.
14. Do you think social media’s good qualities outweigh the bad?
I worry about the political misinformation, but on the personal front, the good does outweigh the bad. I have done a lot of reporting on this issue so I have science to support that opinion. The effects of social media on well-being are quite small, both the positive and the negative, but the largest effect is on relationships and it is positive. If you use social media as one of several channels to connect with friends, you strengthen those bonds.
15. What quote or phrase has really stayed with you?
My father always said, “life is not just what happens to you, it’s what you do next.” It is as good a summing up of resilience as I have come across.
16. Do you have a phobia? How do you deal?
No phobias, but as a life-long city person, I can become thoroughly freaked out by the countryside at night. I deal by locking all the doors and windows and hiding out in my bed.
17. How do you feel about cilantro?
Willing.
18. Describe, in detail, your perfect bedtime routine.
My routine starts earlier in the evening with a cup of mint tea. It includes readying the house for bed, too. I tidy the kitchen, make sure the dishwasher was run, check the locks, turn out the lights. Then I get into my most comfortable PJ’s (I’m a t-shirt and pajama pants girl), obsessively wash and moisturize my face, brush my teeth, cuddle with my husband and read a terrific mystery. The sexier stuff comes in the morning.
19. What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever read on the internet?
The one that comes to mind is a 2015 New Yorker article by Kathryn Schulz on West Coast earthquakes. It was called The Really Big One and it was such a slam-dunk, fabulous piece of science writing that I spent an afternoon re-reading it and trying to figure out how she did it.
20. What’s your relationship with bangs?
I’m like Goldilocks. They can’t be too short or too long, they have to be just right. They also make me feel inept since I can never make them look as good as my hairdresser, Louis, does.
What is your single favorite:
Wellness product that *actually* works: Body Back Buddy massager.
Lip balm: Burt’s Bees.
Jeans brand: Velvet.
Mascara: Bobbi Brown.
Robe: A spa robe I brought back from a resort in Southeast Asia.
Sex product: Sorry, not telling.
Last-minute gift: Wine.
Bra: Third Love.
Shampoo: Innersense.
Comfortable shoes: Frye boots.
Splurge skincare: Ultraluxe.
Drugstore skincare: Aveeno.
Everyday bag: A big old blue leather bag from Sundance Catalogue.
Podcast: #AmWriting with Jess and KJ.
Drink: Diet Coke and Sauvignon Blanc.
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