Maria Semple: “Go Gentle” | Oprah’s Book Club

The Oprah Podcast

Harpo

Society & Culture

4.2 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2026

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This year marks the 30th Anniversary of Oprah’s Book Club and we are celebrating with her 122nd selection: Go Gentle by International bestselling novelist Maria Semple. Her other books include Today Will Be Different, Where’d You Go, Bernadette and This One is Mine. Go Gentle follows the whimsical life of Adora Hazzard, a Stoic Philosopher and solo middle-aged mother who is raising her teenage daughter Viv on New York’s Upper West side. Adora believes that fulfillment and happiness come from loving life as it is and letting go of what is beyond one’s control. Her well-ordered life is upended when she meets a mysterious, handsome stranger at the ballet. Romance, black market art deals and international intrigue ensue. Maria Semple’s signature wit, humor and the unexpected plot twists are the reason this gripping page turner is Oprah’s Book Club selection for April 2026. Oprah is joined by listeners from across the country who have read the book who have questions for Maria Semple. BUY THE BOOK: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/797319/go-gentle-by-maria-semple/ Chapters: 00:00:00 - Welcome Maria Semple, author of ‘Go Gentle’ 00:02:45 - What is stoicism? 00:05:30 - Creating the main character Adora 00:08:03 - Many genres woven into the book 00:09:30 - Events from Maria’s life 00:11:30 - How Maria finds her characters 00:14:00 - The idea of the coven 00:16:20 - Was the coven a plan B? 00:18:40 - The goal is to love yourself 00:19:40 - Maria on writing TV comedy to fiction 00:22:40 - Learning to trust her voice 00:23:40 - Do you need a guiding philosophy to survive? 00:25:00 - How Maria practices stoicism 00:27:20 - Theme: Love whatever shows up 00:29:45 - Adora struggles with her weight 00:32:00 - Which version of Adora did Maria start with? 00:34:35 - Mother/daughter tension 00:36:00 - Adora’s blindspot 00:37:50 - Stoicism and motherhood 00:40:30 - Oprah’s favorite quotes 00:44:30 - What Maria hopes readers take away Follow Oprah Winfrey on Social: https://www.instagram.com/oprahpodcast/ https://www.facebook.com/oprahwinfrey/ Listen to the full podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0tEVrfNp92a7lbjDe6GMLI https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-oprah-podcast/id1782960381 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I will tell you that it really felt like an act of madness as I was writing this book.
0:04.0	I want to write all about philosophy. I want to make this huge mystery thriller.
0:09.0	There was this whole section about internalized misogyny.
0:12.0	I had this big crazy ending, and plus, it's a romance.
0:15.0	As I was writing it, I never told anybody about it.
0:18.0	People would do this.
0:19.0	Yeah, exactly.
0:20.0	But I kind of knew that I could make it all work.
0:25.4	Everybody, hi.
0:26.5	I'm so pleased to welcome you to the Oprah podcast.
0:29.5	I'm in New York City, home to some of the oldest, coziest, and greatest bookstores in the country.
0:34.9	Hope you check one out the next time you're here.
0:36.8	This year, we're celebrating the 30th anniversary of my book club, the Oprah Book Club, something
0:43.3	I'm so proud of because books have been just a balm to me over the years, a comfort
0:49.0	and a joy since I was a little girl.
0:51.3	And there's nothing I enjoy more than reading a good book even better
0:54.8	when I'm sitting by a fireplace or under a tree. Oh, my goodness. So when I started the book club,
1:00.4	I never could have dreamed that I'd get to my 122nd pick with so many of you readers along for
1:08.0	the ride who also find joy in reading as much as I do.
1:11.6	I'm honored to host one of the largest and longest running book clubs in the country,
1:16.6	and that's entirely thanks to all of you.
1:18.6	I appreciate you so much.
	...

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