Ep. 215 - Diane Les Becquets: Between Heaven and the Rest of My Life

National bestselling novelist Diane Les Becquets joins Stories from Real Life for an unforgettable conversation about survival, faith, creativity, and the remarkable healing power of nature.

Known for literary novels that immerse readers in America’s wild landscapes, Diane has earned acclaim for Breaking Wild, The Last Woman in the Forest, and her newest novel, Where the Water Meets the Sky. Her latest work is a moving coming-of-age story set in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula that explores grief, memory, forgiveness, and the restorative power of community and the natural world.

But during the writing of this novel, Diane faced a life-changing challenge of her own.

Diagnosed with five brain aneurysms, she underwent complex surgery and emerged with a transformed perspective on writing, faith, family, and purpose. Following her recovery, she returned to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—traveling to the very locations that inspired her novel—as both a celebration of life and a pilgrimage of gratitude.

In this deeply personal episode, Diane shares how beauty, wonder, and wilderness continue to shape both her stories and her life.

In This Episode

* The inspiration behind Where the Water Meets the Sky

* Why Michigan’s Upper Peninsula became the heart of the novel

* Surviving five brain aneurysms

* Finding peace after trauma

* Faith, surrender, and creativity

* Nature as a source of healing

* Why place can become a character

* Living with gratitude after facing mortality

* What she hopes readers carry with them long after finishing her books

About Diane Les Becquets

Diane Les Becquets is the award-winning, national bestselling author of Breaking Wild, The Last Woman in the Forest, and Where the Water Meets the Sky.

Her novels have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews, been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, and earned numerous literary honors, including the Colorado Book Award and the New Hampshire Outstanding Work of Fiction.

Drawing from years spent exploring wilderness alongside archaeologists, wildlife biologists, conservationists, and foresters, Diane creates stories where landscape becomes as important as the people who inhabit it. She now lives in New Hampshire and continues to write from her backyard writing studio, “Wild Spaces.”

Books Mentioned

* Where the Water Meets the Sky

* Breaking Wild

* The Last Woman in the Forest

* Nuremberg, Mississippi

Connect with Diane Les Becquets

🌐 Official WebsiteDiane Les Becquets

📚 Where the Water Meets the SkySimon & Schuster Book Page

📖 Author Page at Simon & SchusterSimon & Schuster Author Page

📸 Instagram@dianelesbecquets

📚 GoodreadsGoodreads Author Page

Learn More

If you’re drawn to stories about resilience, healing, wilderness, and the search for meaning, Diane’s novels offer richly imagined worlds where nature becomes both setting and teacher. Her latest novel, Where the Water Meets the Sky, has been praised as “a love letter to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula” and a deeply affecting meditation on memory, forgiveness, and belonging.

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