The Positive Pen ©

In this deeply personal episode of Stories, Soul Work & Substack, host John Rinaldo welcomes back writer, journalist, and storyteller Sarah Oehler for an honest conversation about cancer, creativity, fear, community, and finding the courage to begin again. When Sarah first joined the show nearly a year ago, she was still discovering her voice and place o… This is a public episode. If you'd like to...

Thank you Vonnie G. Clemens Jr. , Sacred Storylines 🎨 , Harriet Corvine , Summer Willan , Debi Hassler-Never Forsaken , and many others for tuning into my live video with Nat Sang ! Join me for my next live video in the app. In this inspiring episode of Stories, Soul Work & Substack, host John Rinaldo welcomes Emma Steel, Joe Nichols, Nat Sang, Linda Meris, and Patricia Grenelle for an engaging c...

Thank you Florence Acosta , The Warden’s Archive , Lynn J. Broderick , Hundred Tomatoes , Danni Levy , and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. From Amish Country to Peru: A Journey of Healing, Self-Discovery, and Hope On this episode of Stories, Soul Work & Substack , I had the privilege of sitting down with writer, healer, and creator Megan Youngm...

Thank you Michelle Renée , Giuliana , Anthony Giovacchini , and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. 💨Ashley Schmitt🫟™️ joins Stories, Soul Work & Substack to share the story behind The Tribal Dream-Stackers , a growing community dedicated to helping writers, creators, and independent voices find confidence, connection, and visibility. Drawing fro...

Thank you Megan Youngmee , Sara da Encarnação , Nat Sang , Denise Olivieri Yagel , and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. Some conversations stay with you long after they end. This was one of them. In this deeply personal episode of Stories, Soul Work & Substack , John Rinaldo sits down with Jess, writer of Letter From the Deep End , for a heartfe...

Explore our featured collection of independent Substack authors for June 2026. Discover inspiring stories, thought-provoking insights, and outstanding books spanning fiction, memoir, personal growth, spirituality, history, and more. Support independent writers, find your next great read, and connect with voices that deserve to be heard. Craig Sefa Karl Tame Danni Levy Belinda Drakes Mind Reset Lif...

Thank you ThickOnine , rhonda doruiter , Anthony Giovacchini , and many others for tuning into my live video! What happens when you stop chasing success and start listening to yourself? In this thoughtful episode of Stories, Soul Work & Substack , John Rinaldo sits down with Camille, writer of The Soft Space , to explore the journey from achievement to authenticity. Speaking from Mallorca, Spain,...

Thank you Chris B. Writes , Florence Acosta , John Thompson , Deanne Ames , Roland Millward , and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. In this episode of Stories, Soul Work & Substack , John Rinaldo sits down with Lynn J. Broderick for a raw and honest conversation about grief, creativity, motherhood, writing, and the emotional rollercoaster of life...

Thank you Megan Youngmee , Deanne Ames , and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. In this deeply personal and emotionally layered episode of Stories, Soul Work & Substack , John Rinaldo sits down with psychologist, author, and trauma survivor Patricia A. Grenell to discuss her memoir We Were a Nice Normal Family — a story that moves beyond appearanc...

Thank you Robert C. Worstell , Deanne Ames , Dr Craige Golding , Franky Dyson , Mary Ann McGee , and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. In this episode of Stories, Soul Work & Substack , John Rinaldo sits down with Mary Baker, a licensed clinical counselor and life coach with over two decades of experience helping people reconnect with themselves....

Thank you Jenny Lynn , Nicola Farnhill , Cit Ananda , Lynette K Dodd , rhonda doruiter , and many others for tuning into my live video with Sandra-Lynne ! In this episode of Stories, Soul Work & Substack , John Rinaldo sits down with Sandra Lynne for a conversation that moves beneath the surface—into the quiet, often unseen work of healing, returning, and becoming whole again. What emerges is not...

Thank you Karl Tame , Vonnie G. Clemens Jr. , Susan J Hilger , Sacred Storylines 🎨 , Harriet Corvine , and many others for tuning into my live video! This wasn’t a podcast about writing. This was a reality check. Today, I sat down and walked through something most indie authors don’t want to admit—writing the book is the easy part. Getting it seen, clicked, and sold… that’s the real work. And if...

First—thank you Ruth Urman , Mary Ann McGee , Dragonheart Jo , Grey Selkie , rhonda doruiter , and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. Today’s conversation with Stone Wolf was not linear. It didn’t follow a script. It moved the way real conversations move—through story, through memory, through instinct. And somewhere in that movement, something dee...

Some conversations inform you. Others slow you down. Today’s episode— Opening the Heart with Tiffany—was the kind that asked for stillness before it offered insight. It didn’t start with advice. It started with presence. There was no rush to get to a point, no urgency to explain or fix anything. Just a quiet unfolding of what it means to live with an open heart in a world that often teaches us to...

The first Writer’s Notes panel wasn’t a performance—it was a conversation. No polished formulas, no “how-to-go-viral” scripts—just four writers, chris kalaboukis , Let’s Get UnStuck , Nat Sang , and John Rinaldo, unpacking what it actually takes to write, stay consistent, and grow on Substack. At its core, the discussion centered on a tension every writer eventually faces: writing growth vs. audie...

There are conversations that stay on the surface—and then there are conversations that ask something of you. Today’s episode with chris kalaboukis was the second kind. It didn’t begin with answers. It began with a question most people avoid: What would your life look like if you actually believed in what you imagine? Chris brought a perspective that sits somewhere between philosophy and lived expe...

Today’s conversation began in a way that felt familiar—and honest. Before Grace Grossmann even joined, there was a pause. Not silence, but space. And in that space, something important surfaced: progress rarely looks perfect while it’s happening. As we waited, John spoke about the movement happening behind the scenes—the kind that doesn’t always show up in polished posts or finished work. There’s...

Today’s conversation with Dr. Deborah Vinall began with something simple: questions from the audience. After our earlier discussion on gaslighting, many readers wanted to understand how these dynamics appear in families—especially with teenagers. Dr. Vinall reminded us that the word gaslighting is often used too loosely today. In its true sense, it is a form of emotional manipulation aimed at maki...

Tonight’s special edition brought Joe Nichols back to the conversation, and it quickly became clear that the road west isn’t really about geography. It’s about the journey a writer takes with himself. Joe spoke openly about the tension many writers feel on Substack—the pressure to perform, to repeat what worked before, and to chase the posts that gained attention. At one point he described looking...

Today’s conversation with Lis reminded us that the most powerful things on Substack are often the quietest ones. Lis did not arrive on the platform chasing numbers, subscribers, or attention. Instead, she created a simple weekly ritual—lifting other writers through her Friday shout-outs. What began as a small act of generosity slowly became something much bigger: a community built on encouragement...

Today’s guest was supposed to join us. Instead, he made the decision to step away from writing — and from the public space altogether. I respect that. There is dignity in knowing when to step back. But there is also something deeply human in that moment that deserves conversation. So today, we talk about silence. Not dramatic silence. Not scandal. Not collapse for attention. But the quiet kind. Th...

In this raw and reflective episode of Stories, Soulwork & Substack , John sits down with Shadow Pursuit for a conversation that moves beyond surface-level storytelling and into the hidden parts of identity — the “shadow” we all carry but rarely confront. This episode explores what happens when we stop running from the darker chapters of our lives and instead allow them to speak. Shadow shares his...

In this deeply personal and powerful episode of Stories, Soulwork & Substack , John sits down with trauma psychologist, author, and EMDR clinician Dr. Deborah Vinall to explore the layered realities of trauma, gaslighting, boundaries, and emotional healing. Drawing from over 20 years of clinical experience — including work with foster youth, trafficking survivors, and mass shooting victims — Debor...

In this heartfelt episode of Stories, Soul Work & Substack, KaZ and John sit down with Josie DiVincenzo for a grounded and inspiring conversation about growth, timing, and learning to flourish exactly where life has planted you. Josie shares her journey of embracing creativity without waiting for perfect conditions. Together, they explore what it means to “bloom where you are”—not as passive accep...

In this candid and deeply resonant episode of Stories, Soulwork & Substack , John Rinaldo and KaZ Akers sit down with Nat Sang to talk about the part of layoffs that rarely gets discussed—the emotional fallout, identity loss, quiet relief, and unexpected clarity that follow once the job title is gone. Nat shares her lived experience of being laid off not once, but twice, after decades in high-leve...