Going Off Script: Wayne Scott on Marriage, Memoir, and Making Your Own Map
“Your marriage can be anything you want it to be—you don’t have to just follow a supplied script.” — Wayne Scott
In this deeply honest and thought-provoking episode of Uncorking a Story, writer and psychotherapist Wayne Scott opens up about the emotional terrain behind his memoir The Maps They Gave Us. We dive into his decades-long marriage, navigating a mixed-orientation relationship, and redefining monogamy. With vulnerability, humor, and insight, Wayne shares how creative adaptation—not rigid roles—can help relationships thrive. Plus, we talk writing, rejection, and why the maps we’re handed may be out of date.
Memoir as healing and artistic integration Navigating a mixed-orientation, non-monogamous marriage The importance of honest communication and chosen community Parenting through transformation and staying present Questioning the “script” of heteronormative marriage Advice for aspiring memoirists (and why publishing isn’t everything Finding joy and identity in both psychotherapy and storytelling
Buy: The Maps they Gave Us
More conversations
From Newsroom to Novelist
Former Wall Street Journal deputy editor-in-chief Neal Lipschutz on turning to fiction full-time after retirement, being edited after decades as an editor, and his new Scott Morgan suspense novel, Long Arm of the Past.
Listen →
The Answer 500 Authors Keep Giving
For the 500th episode, Mike Carlon turns the mic on himself: where writing careers begin, why there are no overnight successes, grief, and the 3 a.m. download that became The Waiting Room.
Listen →
Bouncing Back
Ellen Holtzman on her award-winning debut Bouncing Back, teaching herself to write, why you can't tell the story while you're still in the wound, and how women lose and find themselves in marriage and divorce.
Listen →