Inner Worlds Outer Spaces: The Working Lives of Others

by Ceridwen Dovey

What does it feel like to be passionate about your daily work? How do people find their way into fascinating, unusually fulfilling careers, even against the odds?

Space lawyers and bibliotherapists; euthanasia activists and women's rugby champions; shark experts and solar power visionaries; a master perfumer and a moon dust maven, among many others. What all of these people have in common is the courage to pursue their dreams and obsessions, no matter how niche or particular, and transform them into their life's work. In the process, they've enacted lasting change in the world around them.

Delving into the working lives of others for publications as diverse as newyorker.com, The Monthly and WIRED, Ceridwen Dovey's inquisitive, thoughtful approach has allowed her to explore fields of knowledge and expertise that are often inaccessible to outsiders. The resulting profiles are a celebration of the extraordinary and meaningful work done by those on paths less travelled.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook

320 pages, Paperback

Published December 3, 2019

About the author

Ceridwen Dovey grew up in South Africa and Australia, studied as an undergraduate at Harvard, and now lives in Sydney. Her first novel, Blood Kin, was translated into fifteen languages and selected for the US National Book Foundation’s prestigious ‘5 Under 35’ award. J.M. Coetzee called it ‘A fable of the arrogance of power beneath whose dreamlike surface swirl currents of complex sensuality.' Her second work of fiction, Only the Animals, will be published by Penguin in 2014 (Australia) and Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 2015 (USA).

Reviews

[Rose Hartley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these profiles of ordinary-but-extraordinary people. The essays are mostly short, easy to read and strangely moving. I found myself getting teary while reading the first one, about two screenwriters who join the crew at Mawson station to research their next project. It reminded me a little of Rebecca Solnit's A Field Guide to Getting Lost.

[K.B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was my mum who first drew my attention to Inner Worlds Outer Spaces, as we browsed an overpriced bookshop in Brisbane. I was intrigued by its premise: a non-fiction collection of tales about other people's careers and work lives. A few months later, I obtained it on audiobook and settled in with a paintbrush in one hand and my phone in the other.

My first pleasant surprise was to find that it was the author herself narrating it: clearly articulated in a crisp mix of South African and Aussie accents, Ceridwen's love of her subject matter shone through. I couldn't help but draw comparisons between us - both authors, born elsewhere but adopted Australia for our own, both obsessed with the strangeness and intrigue of everyday life.

And what tales she had to tell! From bibliotherapists to whistle-blowers, massacre mappers to anti-ageing scientists, it was a diverse exploration of the worlds we will never ourselves traverse. And there's something for everyone - while I personally found the chapter about resolving overcrowding in Sydney schools not to my taste, I was fascinated by the careers of the space lawyer and the olfactory specialist, who was not only brewing specialist perfumes but also creating unique smells such as seal breath for sealife tourist attractions.

An intriguing read for anyone just as nosy about other people's lives as I am. I'd love to see a follow up book from Ceridwen about job experiences through the pandemic - from front line health workers to politicians to businesses that were forced to rapidly adjust their models to the needs of the public.

[Kathryn M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of pieces by Ceridwen Dovey that comprise interviews and think pieces on people who have interesting and variable jobs, and it was great. Some of the jobs were things I had not heard of or imagined could exist, some were things I knew about but didn't think of as interesting before, some made me green with envy (like the writers who got a grant to go live in Antarctica for a season then write fiction based on it, or the bibliotherapists, whose job is matching people to the books they most need to read for their wellbeing and recovery). A really fascinating insight into the working lives of others, and perfect for dipping in and out of.

[Kali Napier · Rating 4 out of 5]

These essays offer a swathe of scientific and social research undertaken by those invested in discovering the hows and whys of the experience of living. And how we might all live better and longer together, on this planet, and elsewhere.

[Kate Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting profiles of interesting people. Perhaps a few new additional profiles could have been added as exclusive content.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fabulous engaging collection of essays. Very easy listening. Each chapter is like a new podcast on another subject.

[Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some gems in there - I found the ones about the perfume maker and the DNA hacking scientist particularly interesting. Others seemed to be in there more to support a political line.