Bec and Nat determine that they don’t have one big success to tie them to their past (lucky them!); instead they are resilient types who just keep on chugging.

Bec learns something new about Nat when it comes to Instagram recipes. Bec shares the story of faking her art project in grade 11 and then getting invited to the gifted art class, and having to grapple with feeling like a fraud.

They talk about imposter syndrome and comparison, and their tendencies to downplay their abilities. They talk about big mom failures, Nat’s thesis “failure,” Bec’s fight “failures” with Simon, the tightrope walking of being a teacher, and when it’s time to drop the baggage completely.

Corrections: Written on the Body is written by Jeannette Winterson. NOT Dionne Brand. Rebecca is not to be trusted.