Episode Details

What if getting older isn’t really about having fewer things to look forward to, but about learning to appreciate what’s already here?

In this episode, I sit down with Irish author, teacher, poet, and former musician Kevin McManus to talk about his novel The Light of the Evening and some of the bigger questions that come with getting older. How do we make sense of grief and loss? What happens when illness changes the way we look at life and how do we learn to appreciate the ordinary days that we might once have taken for granted?

Kevin’s novel grew out of some deeply personal experiences, including his wife’s illness and the death of his father. But rather than being a story about despair, The Light of the Evening is ultimately a hopeful book about finding meaning in the everyday.

We talk about why the small things such as a cup of tea, a conversation, a laugh, a good day, can become more meaningful as we get older, and why we might be better off paying attention to the life we’re actually living rather than constantly waiting for the next weekend, holiday, birthday, or big event.

Kevin also shares the unusual path that brought him to writing. He started playing music and writing lyrics as a teenager, spent years playing in bands, moved into poetry, and eventually became a crime novelist before taking a much more personal direction with his latest book.

Along the way, we discuss creativity, self-doubt, marriage, ageing, rural Ireland, and the importance of simply putting your work out into the world.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why the ordinary moments of life can become more valuable as we get older
• What illness and loss can teach us about appreciating the present
• The meaning behind the title The Light of the Evening
• Why getting older doesn't necessarily mean the end of hope, ambition, or possibility
• How grief can become a source of creativity
• Kevin's journey from playing bass in bands to becoming a novelist and poet
• His years writing crime fiction and why he eventually wanted to move in a different direction
• The role of humour and companionship in a long marriage
• Why we shouldn't overlook the small victories and good days
• How rural Ireland and writers like John McGahern and Seamus Heaney influenced Kevin's work
• Why a "page of rubbish is better than a page of nothing"
• How to overcome self-doubt and actually get started on the work you've been thinking about
• Why you eventually have to stop tinkering and let your work go
• The danger of always waiting for the next thing instead of enjoying the day you're living
• What it means to look back at the life you've lived and realise that perhaps you did more than you thought

At its heart, this is a conversation about making peace with the life you've got, finding beauty in ordinary days, and recognising that there is still light ahead, even when you're entering the later chapters of life.

LInks:

https://kevinmcmanusbooks.com/

Book: The Light at Evening

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