mysticism, chronic illness & the collapse of certainty [w/ Sophie Strand]
5/26/20261 hr 39 min
guest info:
www.sophiestrand.com/
www.instagram.com/cosmogyny/
www.substack.com/@sophiestrand
GO BUY HER BOOKS!!!!
host info:
www.hannawilliams.com
www.patreon.com/gracepilled
www.instagram.com/gracepilled
In this episode of Gracepilled, I sat down with writer and “neo-troubadour animist” Sophie Strand for a sprawling conversation about mysticism, illness, ecology, beauty, paradox, and what it means to stay openhearted in a world that often feels unsafe.
Together we explore Sophie’s unusual upbringing around Buddhist monks, interfaith spirituality, rescued animals, and ecological thought, as well as the role chronic illness played in dismantling simplistic spiritual narratives about healing, fairness, and transcendence.
The conversation moves through topics like animism, Joan of Arc, climate anxiety, Groundhog Day as a spiritual text, mystical experience, riddles and parables, the difference between beauty and glamour, and why the deepest spiritual truths often live inside contradiction rather than certainty.
This episode is ultimately about surrender: not as passivity, but as the willingness to remain in relationship with reality even when there are no guarantees, no explanations, and no “happy ending” waiting at the end of suffering.
You can find Sophie’s work through her books, essays, and Substack.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsHanna Williams· Host0:00
Welcome to Grace Pilled, a podcast about the spiritual process and the mysterious forces shaping your life. My name is Channa, and since 2015, I have been a practitioner in a classical Shakta tantric tradition, which informs literally every aspect of my life, including the things that I like to talk about. I work with people to recognize the deeply spiritual patterns that are shaping their life so that they can start moving with those patterns instead of against them. This show is that whole conversation out loud again, and again, and again. You can work with me through my website, hannawilliams.com, or join my Patreon for deeper teachings and ongoing Q&A sessions, also a community Discord server. I also have a 100% free human design resource on my website if you want to start your human design experiment. But for now, let's get into the episode. I just got off of a call with Sophie Strand. It was a delightful experience. And if you don't know Sophie, Sophie is a beloved writer who, in my opinion, dissolves the boundary between body, earth, and spirit. In her work, she blends myth, ecology, and deeply personal narrative in a way that challenges, you'll hear this in the conversation,