Mikey Bell in Conversation with Emily Garside - Cardiff

Join us in welcoming Mikey Bell to Waterstones Cardiff to talk with Emily Garside about his new memoir, How An Egg Saved My Life.
The story of trying to get life right even when things feels a little bit wrong, How an Egg Changed My Life is a tender, funny blend of memoir, cookbook and nostalgic observation on what it takes to feel fulfilled.
From growing up as a gay teenager in the Welsh valleys to trying to find his own space in the city, Mikey Bell builds a life that looks good on paper – but a curious sense of dissatisfaction lingers, which makes even the best achievement feel incomplete. With honesty and wit, Mikey’s story captures the disappointment and struggle of discovering that life rarely unfolds as you expected.
During an existential panic, Mikey takes a trip to Italy, cooking and eating his way toward clarity – and along the way examines identity, expectations, success and what it means to find fulfilment. With reaffirming recipes that turn everyday food into a lens for joy, How an Egg Changed My Life reminds us that we can always find a new appetite for life, but only when we learn to define what truly keeps us full.
Mikey Bell is a writer and former food columnist for Voice and Buzz magazines. His writing and recipes have been featured widely, including the Western Mail, Vegan Food & Living, Blasus, Halen Môn, Eating Out Wales, and as Nigella Lawson’s Post of the Week. A fluent Welsh speaker, Mikey lives in Cardiff with his partner and their two French Bulldogs, Waffle and Rico. How an Egg Changed My Life is his first book.
Emily Garside is a writer and professional nerd based in Cardiff. She has a PhD in theatrical responses to the AIDS crisis and is a leading expert on LGBTQ+ theatre. Since leaving academia, she has taught at Bishopsgate Institute and works as a freelance speaker/educator. A regular contributor to The Queer Review, as well as her own newsletter The Nerdy Notebook, she also has written for DIVA, The Stage, BBC Wales, American Theatre, Nation Cymru and Matinee Radio. She is the presenter and producer of two BBC Radio Wales documentaries on Queer history, and she loves speaking on nerdy podcasts. She has published six non-fiction books, including ‘Angels in America at the British National Theatre’ in 2022 (McFarland), ‘Seasons of Love; Why Rent Matters’ (Applause) ‘Gay Aliens and Queer Folks; How Russell T Davies Changed TV (Calon) and Rainbow Wales: Queer Icons Past and Present (Calon). As a passionate queer nerd, her non-fiction is about capturing the ‘hidden histories’ and queer cultural stories that we might have missed. When not doing all of that, she writes programme essays for The Cardiff Devils ice hockey team, and also is a distinctly mediocre ice dancer.

Refreshments will be provided! Please note that our events space is on the first floor, accessible via stairs or lift. Do contact us if you have any access questions.
Doors open at 18:30. Latecomers will be admitted until 19:15.