The One Where I Talk To New York Times Bestseller & Desert Dweller, Brianna Madia — Part 1

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My guest this week is the wonderful Brianna Madia. Back in 2016, with her then husband and her dogs, Brianna moved into their 1990 Ford van and started sharing her life on Instagram. Her following grew quickly and she became one of the first van life influencers — which has led to brand deals and three book deals — as people became fascianted with her colourful, interesting and adventurous life, much of which was spent in the desert in deepest darkest Utah. Then, one fateful day, one of her beloved dogs, Dagwood, was caught under the wheel of their van in a tragic accident, with her ex-husband at the wheel and her in the passenger seat. They drove 6 hours to get Dagwood to a vetinary hospital to save him. In the meantime, Brianna’s Mum started a Go Fund Me page to help with the extortionate cost of the vet bills, and Brianna’s generous followers kindly covered the cost; however, in an attempt to protect her ex, she didn’t initially tell her followers that it was him at the wheel. Dagwood survived, but the whole thing was the beginning of the end of her relationship, as well as the start of a pretty dark phase in her life. Following their split, Brianna subsequently came clean about the fact that her ex had been driving the van when Dagwood was run over, and what followed was a hate campaign of vitriol and bullying that saw an entire community form on Reddit purely to take her down - resulting in losing several brand deals. The worst thing was that Brianna discovered that her ex had actually joined the Reddit thread and was fueling the fire of all of this hate. Brianna’s brilliant new book, Homesick Nomad, is the story of what followed, including a new - but unconventional - relationship with a man called William. Brianna, who is childfree by choice, still lives in her trailer in the desert in Utah, while William lives in Oregon. In our conversation we talk about so many things including some of what she went through with regards the hate she received and essentially being cancelled on the internet, her love of solitude, her choice to not have kids, and last but not least her beloved dogs, including Dagwood who sadly passed in November last year. Homesick Nomad is out now.

05:41 Van Life to Viral Fame

08:11 Dagwood Accident and Divorce

13:42 Homesick Nomad Overview

15:34 Desert Solitude and Cancel Culture

16:18 New Love and Self Definition

22:56 Women, Misogyny and Online Hate

25:36 Criticism vs Harassment

26:18 Dehumanising Online Mobs

30:34 Unfollow and Take Control

32:16 Hate Following Explained

34:18 Why Haters Aren't Happy

37:13 Out of State Fiancé

42:58 Independence Over Tradition

44:37 Thriving Solo and No Kids

Buy Brianna's book: https://www.briannamadia.com/homesicknomad

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