1: Caroline Foran

If history teaches us anything, it’s that the third entry in any franchise often turns out to be a waste of everyone’s time: Spiderman III, The Godfather Part III, Alien 3 and The Dark Knight Rises.  But, in keeping with the spirit of the podcast, if Andy had actually learned anything (a tall order as anyone who went to St. Kevins C.B.S. will testify) he wouldn’t have made Be Grand, which returns, gloriously, for its third resit.  And there’s no one better to kick things off than best-selling author and broadcaster Caroline Foran. With the world we once knew seemingly disintegrating before our eyes, many of us are no doubt struggling with anxiety.  Having battled with the condition all her life, Caroline is the ideal guide to help us navigate this new terrain.  For her, the time she realised that something had to change was when she landed what she thought was her dream job but then found herself overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety and despair.  Tired of the control it exercised over her life, Caroline resolved to interrogate the reasons behind the condition and the means by which it disrupted her wellbeing.  Her story and the knowledge she gained was documented in her best-selling book Owning It (available in all good bookshops), which was a huge success and led to her writing a sequel of sorts, The Confidence Kit, as well as producing a chart-topping podcast that delved deeper into how anxiety can affect a life and how we can deal with it. It wouldn’t be Be Grand without talking about our guest’s school days and Caroline explains how the illness made what should have been a happy time in her life a living nightmare as she struggled with feelings that she didn’t even have a name for and also expresses her hope that today’s school students have a better idea of when to say “enough is enough”.  If any of this sounds too gloomy then be reassured by the fact that there’s also discussions on what it’s like for a book you’ve written to become a hit, how the dark days are sometimes “The City on the Edge of Forever” (one for Star Trek fans) and what we all really want to know… what exactly does Chris Pine smell like? Be Grand is delighted to return for a third season and is grateful for all of its listeners and fans.  Please remember to subscribe and leave us a review wherever you drink from the trough of podcasting goodness. Stay home, stay safe, stay sane and we’ll see each other again soon! https://twitter.com/begrandpod https://twitter.com/CarolineForan https://twitter.com/HiAndyGaffney https://twitter.com/gottheshift