For women who occasionally disappear into fictional worlds and would quite like some company while doing it.
So… The Deadwives Club is actually a thing.
Which is slightly ridiculous, considering the whole thing started with my husband basically accusing me of becoming temporarily deceased whenever I read a good book.
He wasn’t entirely wrong.
When I’m into a book, I’m IN it.
You can talk to me. You can ask me a question. You can probably stand directly in front of me waving your arms.
But if something dramatic is happening between two fictional people I’ve become unnecessarily emotionally invested in?
Good luck.
Apparently, living with me at those particular moments is a little like living with a dead wife.
And somewhere between the jokes, the eye rolls and me undoubtedly insisting “I’m nearly finished this chapter”, a name appeared:
The Deadwives Club.
And annoyingly, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Because surely there are loads of us?
The women who say “one more chapter” and suddenly it’s 2am.
The women listening to audiobooks while driving, cleaning, walking the dog, cooking dinner or doing literally anything that allows us to squeeze another chapter in.
The women who have developed completely reasonable and proportionate emotional attachments to men who do not exist.
Especially the morally questionable ones.
You know who you are.
So what exactly IS The Deadwives Club?
This is where things get fun.
I love books.
I love audiobooks.
I love making things.
And I love that feeling you get when, for a little while, your brain gets to be somewhere else entirely.
So I wanted to put all of those things in one room.
Imagine walking into a cosy space filled with candles, books, craft tables, drinks and other women.
You get comfortable.
You put your headphones on.
And together, we press play.
🎧
Everyone listens to the same audiobook while getting stuck into that session’s creative project.
You might be beading, painting, printing or making something completely different.
And you do not need to be crafty.
This isn’t about making something Pinterest-perfect.
It’s about having something lovely to do with your hands while your mind disappears somewhere else.
And no, this isn’t a traditional book club.
There is no homework.
Nobody is going to ask whether you’ve finished the book.
Nobody is going to make you explain what you thought the author was trying to communicate through the recurring symbolism of a tree.
And there will be absolutely no judgement if your literary analysis consists mainly of:
“Oh my GOD.”
“He did NOT.”
or
“I’m sorry, but I would.”
In fact, you’ll probably fit in beautifully.
We’ll stop between chapters. You can grab a drink, make a cup of tea, chat about what we’ve just heard, admire what everyone is making and discuss whichever fictional character has inevitably become the room’s latest obsession.
Then the headphones go back on…
…and off we disappear again.
Come on your own. Seriously.
This bit matters.
You do not need to arrive with somebody.
I know walking into something new on your own can feel intimidating, especially when everyone else might already know each other.
But Deadwives isn’t supposed to feel like that.
You don’t have to be the loudest person in the room.
You don’t have to make conversation constantly.
You don’t have to be brilliant at meeting new people.
That’s partly the beauty of the headphones.
Chat when you want to. Disappear into the story when you don’t.
Both are completely acceptable.
What will we be listening to?
Well…
If you’re looking for an evening dedicated exclusively to sensible protagonists making excellent life choices, this may not be the club for you.
😂
Expect romance, romantasy, fantasy, dark romance, brilliant banter, tension, yearning, spice, characters you’ll become far too attached to and the occasional morally questionable fictional man.
Especially if there’s a fantastic audiobook narration involved.
I want us to discover authors, narrators and stories together — including books we might never have picked up otherwise.
And I’m hoping we’ll have a lot of fun doing it.
But I want Deadwives to become more than that.
I don’t want to decide what this club should become entirely on my own.
I want the women who actually come along to help shape it.
Tell me what you want to listen to.
Tell me what you’d love to make.
Tell me where you’d like us to hold sessions.
Tell me which authors you’re obsessed with.
Tell me the completely fictional man you would defend despite the overwhelming evidence against him.
I want to hear all of it.
Because ultimately, I want The Deadwives Club to become somewhere women can come for a few hours and just…
switch off.
From work.
From responsibilities.
From the washing pile.
From everybody needing something.
From real life.
Put your headphones on.
Make something.
Laugh.
Have a drink.
Meet someone new.
Or don’t talk to anybody for an hour because something VERY IMPORTANT is happening in chapter twelve.
That’s fine too.
So… welcome to the club. 🖤
If you’ve ever stayed awake far too late because you needed to know what happened next…
If you’ve ever driven the long way home because you weren’t ready to turn your audiobook off…
If you’ve ever had to remind yourself that the man you’re currently furious with isn’t actually real…
I think you might already be one of us.
You just didn’t know we had a name yet.
Welcome to The Deadwives Club.
Headphones on.
Hands busy.
Real world off.
Stories • Creativity • Escape.
Rachel x 🖤