Today's room begins in a doorway, with the people who ask if they are in the way before they have taken off their coats. I am, more often than not, one of them.

From there, a hard little word: jealousy, and the ordinary ways it turns up at a family table. The versions of us that other people learned how to love, and why they may keep them. The movies, and the courtesy a life does not offer. Something taught early in recovery, and what craving has to do with the need to be understood. A keeper's rule about walls, lamps and warmth. And a little packing.

A question for you: the next time you feel the urgency to explain yourself, for whom are you doing it?

IN THIS ROOM
0:00 Cold open: the doorway
1:09 The first room: the versions they prefer
5:15 The second room: no alternate ending
8:12 The third room: the hunger beneath it
11:10 The fourth room: the house has a foundation
12:42 The fifth room: evidence that we were there
15:12 The close: a second cup

READ THE ESSAY
https://averylanemaxwell.com/podcast/the-versions-they-prefer/

THE KEEPER'S BOOK
Come In. It's Already Warm. is out on Thanksgiving.
Signed pre-order: https://galena.house/reader/buy/?slug=come-in-preorder
The book and the Kindle edition: https://averylanemaxwell.com/come-in/

MORE FROM THE HOUSE
Every episode and its film: https://averylanemaxwell.com/podcast/
Letters from the Desk: https://averylanemaxwell.com/letters/
Still, by Design.: https://averylanemaxwell.com/still-by-design/

A note from the house: this is a personal podcast. Avery tells these stories as he remembers and understands them, from his own life and perspective. When other people wander into them, he protects what belongs to them.

Come in. There will always be a second cup.

Written and told by Avery Lane Maxwell. Come In. Stories from a Keeper. Galena House Audio.
© 2026 Galena House LLC. All rights reserved.