AGNETA SJÖDIN TALKS DREAM DIARY

Behind the Coastline

You are reading an independently published interview-series published and carefully curated by Swedish pop-culture journalist Daniel John. Ever since its start in 2015, the core curiosity remains the same, surfing the creative currents of music, film, fashion and everything else on the pop-radar, catching the waves of culture as creative

Culture Coast TalksDaniel John

Being famous, living life single, a shifting television career, Me Too, and diary writing as a kind of therapy, it’s easy to find autobiographical elements in this book. How much do you generally draw from your own life?

Hard to say, but in a way everything comes from me since I am the author, so naturally, my experiences and feelings from life shine through, the book is inspired by my life and my personality, and then I have turned the dial a bit to bring in more drama. But yes, there are certainly quite a few points of connection. I’ve drawn inspiration from my own life.

So who is "Helena" in 'Dream Diary'?

The reader follows Helena, a woman standing at a crossroads. The single life has stagnated, and her TV career is under threat as job opportunities begin to dry up, and the industry is shaken by the Me-Too scandal. Her daughter Moa has moved out, leaving Helena in an increasingly quiet apartment. Her close friends are there for long lunches and support her through thick and thin. Exercise lifts her from her darkest thoughts but she can’t push away the growing frustration she feels inside. What truly matters? What is she supposed to do with the rest of her life? Is there even such a thing as “the rest of your life” when you’re approaching fifty or are your glory days already behind you? When Helena starts writing down her dreams in a dream diary a door opens toward a more positive path and slowly but surely a spark of hope is rekindled within her.

The Me-Too movement in Sweden gained traction quite recently. How is it already in the book?

I had already started the book when Me-Too began rolling out. I had to go back and make certain changes and adjustments, it was impossible to leave it out.

Have you found any answers to that question of what you want to do with the rest of your life, what truly do matter after fifty?

I will continue writing, continue my work as an author. Experience and see as much of the world as I can. Simply keep walking the path I'm now on.

It was the early 1990s when you first broke through on TV, as the host of 'Luck in Love'. Could the then twenty-three-year-old you have imagined this life that followed and, not least, this career as an author?

No, most definitely not. If someone had told me back then that I'd eventually build a career as a writer, it would not have seemed very likely. I more so dreamed of becoming an actress, that dream still lives within me. Becoming an author never crossed my mind. But apparently, there are a lot of stories inside me that want to come out.

What did the family’s moving from Hudiksvall to Stockholm mean for those dreams?

It was actually me who moved to Stockholm when I was about seventeen, not the whole family! Coming to a bigger city naturally meant greater opportunities.

How did you end up on TV?

I worked as a lighting technician at a production company in Gothenburg, MTV in Jonsered. They were looking for hosts for TV4’s new dating–show 'Luck in Love', and I was asked, and that is how it all started.

What led to and made you want to start writing your first book?

I got an idea, and simply found a collaboration with Bazar Publishing. The first book was an interview book, 'Turning Points'. After that came my first novel, 'A Woman’s Journey'.

Working in TV and writing whether its fiction or non fiction, are very different roles. One calls for being outward and engaging with others, the other for turning inward and listening to yourself?

I enjoy living in both worlds. I find a balance between them, the extroverted and the introverted feed and nurture one another. Writing gives me a way to express something that can move and affect others, to share something that lives inside me, something I feel is important to pass on to those who wish to read it.

Which authors have had the biggest influence on you?

Tolkien’s works meant a lot to me during my teenage years. Authors like Stephen King, Marianne Fredriksson, and Paulo Coelho are others I’ve read with great appreciation. The author who has probably inspired me the most is Paulo Coelho.

How do you hope 'Dream Diary' will influence people?

That they become more aware of their innermost dreams, that they dare to embrace and live within those dreams. That they find focus on what truly matters in life, and, as best they can, strive toward it. Everything that has mattered to me, that has helped me feel good and rise again, that’s what I want to share in my books.