This Is What It Would Look Like If Everybody Just Felt Safe

This Is What It Would Look Like If Everybody Just Felt Safe

Kathryn Nicolai joins Kay Lock Kolp for a deeply personal conversation about creativity, recovery, storytelling, and the lifelong practice of creating spaces where people feel safe enough to rest, heal, and be themselves.

In this thoughtful interview, Kathryn reflects on the evolution of Nothing Much Happens, First This, and Stories from the Village of Nothing Much, as well as the release of her novel On the Street Where You Live. She shares how storytelling began as a childhood comfort, how creativity became a practice rather than a talent, and why ordinary moments continue to inspire her work.

The conversation also explores living with aphantasia, embracing imperfection, recovering from anorexia and orthorexia, building inclusive communities, and the quiet courage of claiming the identity of "writer." Throughout, Kathryn returns to the idea that stories can become places where people feel welcomed, connected, and safe.

Topics discussed:

• The origins of Nothing Much Happens

• Creativity as a daily practice

• Living with aphantasia

• Recovery from anorexia and orthorexia

• Storytelling and nervous system regulation

• Building inclusive communities

• Identity, intuition, and belonging

• The inspiration behind On the Street Where You Live