“I was forced to acknowledge too late, much too late, that I too had loved, that I was capable of suffering, and that I was human after all.” — Jacqueline Harpman, I who have never known men
One of the most important things we can be doing right now is reading. That may seem strange and counterintuitive in this time of endless catastrophe and emergency. Reading is certainly not all we need to be doing right now, but I believe it is a necessity. Our literacy, critical thinking skills, empathy, attention spans, and imaginations are being deeply eroded by algorithmic late stage capitalism. Now more than ever we need to be honing the skills that reading nurtures in us: deep, complex thought, wild imagination, thinking across difference, cultivating empathy, and paying close attention.
My reading practice has developed profoundly over the last year. I have surpassed my reading goal of 52 books this year. I have read 55 books and it’s not yet November. I am reading voraciously and I am on social media significantly less. I am reading so many incredible and important books. I want to share these books with others and feel the thrill of collective discussion of these important texts. And I want to encourage the development of your reading practice.
To further these goals, I am starting a book club, titled I was human after all. The books will be selected from my reading list, which is largely fiction and narrative nonfiction. The titles will include speculative fiction, magical realism, sci fi, and other weird fiction, as well as memoirs, especially experimental and weird memoirs. We will read one book a month, and meet on the last Sunday of the month over zoom to discuss the book (5pm EST). The book club meeting will be open to anyone who is a paying subscriber that month. You will receive the link to the zoom meeting via email or the substack app (however you subscribe) a little before the meeting starts. Or check clementinemorrigan.com for the link.
The book for November will be:
How to Be Unmothered: A Trinidadian Memoir by Camille U. Adams
You can order the book here or through your local indie bookstore. Please avoid buying from Amazon if at all possible.
The meeting to discuss will be:
November 30th 2025
5pm to 6:30pm EST
The link to the meeting will be sent out and posted at clementinemorrigan.com shortly before the meeting starts. See you then!
I am having a double book launch in Montreal! Please share with all your Montreal contacts and come out! Thursday November 13th, 6:30pm at N’était-ce pas l’été. Free admission, books and zines for sale. I will be joined by Mélissa Thériault of Sans Blague! and Miranda Schrieber of Iris and the Dead.
My zines on trauma informed polyamory are being turned into a book which will be out with Microcosm Publishing in January 2027. The preorder is open! Preordering helps the overall success of the book.
“When we’ve been hurt in our past, relationships can feel fraught, and polyamorous ones even more so. Firebrand author Clementine Morrigan is no stranger to the intense emotions and nervous system reactions non-monogamy can inspire, especially in those of us with insecure attachment styles and significant trauma histories. With directness, vulnerability, and warmth, she shows us how to embrace the parts of ourselves that have acted out, while learning new strategies for our relationships going forward.
Morrigan provides empathy, a new framework and a set of tools, and the achievable goal of building a sense of safety so that our multi-faceted love life no longer overwhelms us. She invites us to validate our experience, set aside our shame, and find a path through the pain toward the fulfilling, secure relationships our hearts desire.” Preorder here!
Have you ordered F*cking Magic yet? Have you called your local bookstore and asked them to carry it? If you want incest survivor, bisexual-queer, psychiatric survivor, crazy magic writing to make it into the hands of as many people as possible, your support goes a long way! Published in a beautiful new edition with Revolutionaries press, F*cking Magic is more than 400 pages long and my favourite thing I’ve ever written.
“F*cking Magic is a collection of 12 zines originally hand-made by Clementine Morrigan and posted throughout the world. From alcoholism to sobriety, surviving incest to BDSM, throughout the seasons and many iterations of becoming, Morrigan leans into the darkest and most vulnerable parts of her life in this cult coming-of-age memoir that speaks to taboos and universal truths.” You can order it here.
SO EXCITED! Ordered the book. Clementine, your work continues to be the best recommendation I ever got from a therapist. Thank you so much for making this happen!!