Dawn French on developing resilience through humour

U.K. writer and comedian Dawn French has been a force in England for several decades, best known for her creative partnership with Jennifer Saunders in the French and Saunders sketch show — which inspired Absolutely Fabulous — and her starring role as The Vicar of Dibley.

Now French is wrapping her trademark wit around a life-affirming message with the new novel, According to Yes. The story, which centres on a wisecracking risk taker named Rosie, is a tribute to the importance of humour, no matter how complicated life gets.

French joins Shad to discuss her recipe for resilience, her admiration for naturally cheerful types (of which she is not), and how she overcame her reservations about writing racy scenes. 

WEB EXTRA | Dawn French reads a tweet-sized excerpt of her new book. (Warning: she manages to curse in the 140 character sample.)