The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis Podcast

Episode Title: Julia Fehrenbacher's Rays of Kindness: Poetry on Imagining Kindness as the Water We Drink, the Air We Breathe, and the River Through Everything Episode Description: In this episode of Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis shares Julia Fehrenbacher's visionary poem that invites us to reimagine kindness not as occasional gesture but as the fundamental element of existence. Through...

SHOW NOTES: Episode Title: The Stage I Never Planned to Take: Writing as a Path to Courage and Resistance Episode Description: In this timely and deeply personal episode, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis offers both a writing practice and a story of unexpected courage — one that reminds us we have more bravery inside us than we may realize. Recording on the morning of the third No...

Episode Title: Rob Brezsny's Blessing: Poetry for Sustaining Hope, Cooking Meals, and Building Community as Democracy Collapses Episode Description: In this episode of Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis shares Rob Brezsny's powerful blessing that honors the everyday acts of resistance, care, and community-building that sustain us through political collapse. Through carefully selected imager...

Podcast Show Notes Episode Title: When Ambition Loosens Its Grip: On Aging, Endings, and the Change That Finally Found Me Episode Description: What happens when the drive that has defined your entire creative life begins to shift — not through loss, but through something quieter and more surprising? In this deeply personal episode of The Writer's Journey , acclaimed author and writing teacher Laur...

Episode Title: Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise" - A Celebration of Unbreakable Resilience Episode Description: In this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis shares one of Maya Angelou's most powerful poems, "Still I Rise." Laura pairs this triumphant piece with peaceful imagery to offer listeners a moment of inspiration and nervous system regulation. Drawin...

PODCAST SHOW NOTES Episode Title: Embracing a Different Camino: Six Months of Illness, a Saturday Hike, and a September Dream Episode Description: In this deeply personal episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed teacher and author Laura Davis shares her return to hiking after six months of illness during breast cancer treatment. Midway through radiation, Laura laced up her hiking boots and heade...

Episode Title: Oksana Maksymchuk's Arguments for Peace: Poetry on Denial, Cognitive Dissonance, and Living Through War Episode Description: In this episode of Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis shares Ukrainian poet Oksana Maksymchuk's haunting poem that captures the psychological reality of denial as ordinary life continues against a backdrop of impending war. Through carefully selected im...

Episode Title: Fear Isn't a Stop Sign—It's a Doorway: Graseilah Coolidge on How Forest Immersion Could Build World Peace Episode Description: In this inspiring episode of The Writer's Journey, host Laura Davis highlights the groundbreaking work of Graseilah Coolidge, a former intelligence analyst turned forest immersion guide who believes that the path to world peace begins in the quiet embrace of...

Episode Title: James Crews' "Interwoven": A Meditation on Grief and Joy Episode Description: In this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares acclaimed poet James Crews' "Interwoven," a profound meditation on how grief and joy arrive together in our lives. Through poetry paired with peaceful imagery, Laura offers listeners a moment of reflection for both heart and nervous system. W...

Episode Title: When Your Body Finally Speaks: A Story of Healing and Learning to Listen at 69 Episode Description: In this deeply vulnerable episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed memoir writing teacher Laura Davis shares an extraordinary letter—written from her body to her mind. After months of health challenges including breast cancer and diverticulitis, Laura gave her body a voice, and what...

Episode Title: Alison Luterman's "The Great Rift Valley, Kenya" – A Midweek Pause for Peace Episode Description: In this Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis pairs Alison Luterman's contemplative poem "The Great Rift Valley, Kenya" with breathtaking safari photography from Tanzania's Great Rift Valley. This episode offers listeners a moment of reflection on our human journey, our connection t...

A Photo a Day Keeps Despair at Bay: The Power of a 100-Day Creative Challenge Episode Description: In this episode of The Writer's Journey , acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis shares the story of her 100-day photography challenge—a daily creative practice that has become a surprising source of joy, presence, and connection. Laura explores how committing to one tiny beautiful thing ea...

Episode Title: Carolyn Forché's On Living in the Hour of Cities Under Siege: Poetry of Witness, Resistance, and Standing Against Injustice Episode Description: In this episode of Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis shares Carolyn Forché's powerful and urgent poem that addresses immigration enforcement, state violence, and community resistance. Through carefully selected imagery paired with t...

Episode Title: When Cancer Becomes the Easy Part: Notes from My Healing Path Episode Description: In this candid episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed memoir writing teacher Laura Davis shares her experience with a second breast cancer diagnosis eighteen years after her first. Laura reflects on the relief of not needing chemotherapy this time, her complicated history with endocrine therapy, t...

Episode Title: Ollie Schminkey's Land of 10,000 Lakes: Poetry on Minnesota, Police Violence, Immigration Enforcement, and Community Resistance Episode Description: In this episode of Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis shares Ollie Schminkey's powerful poem that weaves together images of Minnesota's natural beauty and neighborly warmth with the harsh realities of police brutality, ICE raids,...

Episode Title: The Body That Chose Life: An Ode to My Faithful Companion of 69 Years Episode Description: In this deeply personal episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed memoir teacher Laura Davis shares a transformative writing prompt inspired by poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer's "Letter to Myself at Twenty-One." Laura guides listeners through the process of writing an ode—a love song—to their...

EPISODE TITLE Pause for Peace: How by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer EPISODE DESCRIPTION In this Midweek Pause for Peace, Laura Davis shares a powerful poem that arrived in her inbox and immediately touched her heart. "How" by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer asks the essential question: What is the heart to do when facing brutality? The poem's haunting refrain, "How do we go on?" invites listeners into a spa...

Episode Title: A Different Kind of Anorexia: How Diverticulitis Changed My Relationship with Food Episode Description: In this deeply personal episode, acclaimed memoir teacher Laura Davis shares her unexpected health journey through recurring diverticulitis and the profound way it has transformed her lifelong love of food into fear and isolation. With characteristic honesty and vulnerability, Lau...

Episode Title: Naomi Shihab Nye's "Gate A-4" – A Poem About Human Connection Across Cultures Episode Description: In this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares Naomi Shihab Nye's beloved poem "Gate A-4," a touching true story set in an airport terminal that demonstrates how simple acts of kindness can bridge cultural divides. Through this powerful narrative poem, Laura offers li...

Episode Title: The Body Budget: When Rest Becomes the Most Important Work Episode Description: In this deeply personal episode, acclaimed memoirist and writing teacher Laura Davis shares her journey of learning to honor what her student calls "the body budget"—the finite amount of energy available each day and the necessity of respecting those limits. Drawing on her experiences with breast cancer...

Episode Title Pause for Peace: Carolyn Brigit Flynn's "My Pledge of Allegiance" – Honoring Our Deepest Allegiances Episode Description In this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares writing teacher and poet Carolyn Brigit Flynn's profound poem "My Pledge of Allegiance," a beautiful meditation on pledging ourselves to Earth, sky, elements, and the sacred web connecting all life. L...

PODCAST SHOW NOTES Episode Title The Face in the Mirror: On Aging, DNA, and Unexpected Inheritances Episode Description In this deeply personal episode, acclaimed memoirist and writing teacher Laura Davis shares a letter to her late father written forty years after their correspondence ended. When Laura catches her reflection in the mirror after breast cancer surgery and recent health challenges,...

Episode Title Pause for Peace: Pat Schneider's "Is There an Angel in the House" – Finding Shelter in Vulnerability Episode Description In this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares beloved poet and teacher Pat Schneider's heartfelt poem "Is There an Angel in the House," a tender exploration of vulnerability, the courage to ask for help, and the shelter we all need when we're bru...

Episode Title: The Hippie Dad Who Never Stopped Writing: How Letters Can Keep Love Alive After Abandonment Episode Description: In this deeply personal episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed memoirist Laura Davis shares a moving story from her own life about her father—the free-spirited man who left when she was 13 and never came back, but whose handwritten letters sustained their connection a...

Episode Title: Pause for Peace: Julia Fehrenbacher's "The Most Important Thing" – Making a Home Inside Yourself Episode Description In this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares poet Julia Fehrenbacher's deeply moving poem "The Most Important Thing," an invitation to create a shelter of kindness within ourselves, where everything is forgiven and allowed. Laura pairs this nurturi...