The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis Podcast

  Episode Title: The Portal in the Wound: Finding Spaciousness When My Body Narrows the Path Episode Description: In this deeply personal episode, acclaimed memoirist and writing teacher Laura Davis shares a profound exploration of living and writing through her second breast cancer diagnosis, eighteen years after her first. Laura unpacks a single intuitive sentence that arrived unbidden—"My life...

Episode Title: Pause for Peace: Nikita Gill's "Reasons to Live Through the Apocalypse" – Celebrating What We Love and Cherish Episode Description: In this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares British-Indian poet Nikita Gill's heartfelt poem "Reasons to Live Through the Apocalypse," a beautiful invitation to name the things we still love, savor, and cherish in this world. Laura...

COMPLETE PODCAST SHOW NOTES Episode Title: Things I Didn't Know I Loved: How Focusing on Small Pleasures Helps Writers Navigate Challenging Times Episode Description: In this episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis explores a transformative writing prompt that helps writers find grounding during times of fear and uncertainty. Drawing from master teacher De...

Episode Title Pause for Peace: Dawna Markova's "I Will Not Die an Unlived Life" – A Declaration of Living Fully Episode Description In this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares author and psychotherapist Dawna Markova's transformative poem "I Will Not Die an Unlived Life," a powerful declaration about choosing to inhabit our days fully and risk our significance. Laura pairs thi...

EPISODE TITLE : Crossing the Border into Aging: When Identity Unravels and the Body Speaks Up EPISODE DESCRIPTION : In this episode, Laura Davis explores the transformative passage into aging as a border crossing—a threshold where long-held identities begin to unravel and the body demands attention in new ways. Inspired by a writing prompt from Pádraig Ó Tuama, Laura shares her own experience of w...

Episode Title Pause for Peace: Aftermath - A Poem of Hope and Collective Healing Episode Description In this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, Laura Davis shares "Aftermath" by Charleston poet Paula Gordon Lepp. This powerful poem invites listeners to imagine what comes after the crumbling of empires. What Laura Covers in This Episode How shifting focus beyond daily crises can help us envision poss...

Episode Title: The Sanctuary of Three Empty Weeks: Facing Cancer, Solstice, and the Unfamiliar Territory of Doing Nothing Episode Description: In this deeply personal episode, acclaimed memoirist and writing teacher Laura Davis shares a vulnerable winter solstice meditation written just days before her cancer surgery. Drawing from a writing prompt by her teacher Carolyn Brigit Flynn, Laura explore...

Episode Title Pause for Peace: Elizabeth Carlson's "Imperfection" – A Love Song to Our Messy, Beautiful Selves Episode Description In this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares poet Elizabeth Carlson's joyful poem "Imperfection," a celebration of all the ways we fall delightfully short of perfect—and why that's exactly as it should be. Laura pairs this lighthearted poem with pea...

Episode Title The Crawl Space Under the Stairs: A Multi-Generational Search for Answers Episode Description In this engaging episode, Laura Davis shares a story that begins with a simple need—tracking down old medical records—and transforms into a multi-generational detective story. Laura takes listeners on an adventure into the cramped crawl space beneath her home office stairs, where decades of...

Episode Description In this moving Midweek Pause for Peace, Laura Davis shares "V'ahavta," a stunning poem by author and activist Aurora Levins Morales that reimagines an ancient Jewish prayer for our current moment. Aurora's work reminds us that resistance isn't only about opposing what we hate—it's also about knowing and proclaiming what we love. The "V'ahavta" is a Jewish prayer that means "and...

PODCAST SHOW NOTES Episode Title Waiting with Grace: Living Fully Through Cancer, Uncertainty & Life's Unknowns Episode Description In this deeply personal episode of The Writer's Journey, Laura Davis shares a raw and beautifully crafted essay about waiting—for medical results, surgery dates, genetic testing outcomes, and answers that may never come. With her signature honesty and literary precisi...

PODCAST SHOW NOTES Episode Title:  How to Be a Good Citizen: Practicing Magnetic Peace in Troubled Times Episode Description: In this midweek episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis shares a poem that inspired her: "Nothing More, Nothing Less" by Kim Stafford, Oregon's ninth Poet Laureate and son of legendary poet William Stafford. Part of Laura's weekly M...

Episode Title: Dear Cancer: A Letter of Appreciation - Finding Gratitude 19 Years Later Episode Description: In this deeply moving episode, Laura Davis shares a letter she wrote to cancer—not a letter of anger or defeat, but one of unexpected appreciation. Nineteen years after her initial diagnosis, Laura reflects on how cancer transformed her life and her understanding of what truly matters. Laur...

Episode Title: Poetry for Peace: I Can't Help But Love This World as I Know It Is Dying Episode Description: Each week, in her midweek Pause for Peace, acclaimed writing teacher Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our dang...

Episode Title: What's On Your Bedside Table? Using Objects to Reveal Character and Truth in Memoir Episode Description: In this candid and insightful episode, acclaimed memoirist Laura Davis shares a deeply personal meditation on aging while demonstrating one of the most powerful tools in a writer's toolkit: using objects to reveal character. Laura explores how the items on her bedside table—from...

Midweek Pause for Peace: Finding Hope in Brokenness Through Donna Ashworth's Powerful Verse Episode Description: In this Midweek Pause for Peace, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis shares "Perhaps, this world is broken," a deeply moving poem by Sunday Times bestselling Scottish poet Donna Ashworth. Laura explores how human connection becomes our most essential resource during challen...

PODCAST SHOW NOTES Episode Title: News Anxiety Relief: Stop Doomscrolling and Listen to the Birds Episode Description: In this essential midweek episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed memoirist and writing teacher Laura Davis addresses one of the most pressing challenges writers face today: news anxiety and information overload. Media fatigue and information overload have become widespread pro...

Episode Title: When Your Body Speaks and You Have to Listen: Navigating Aging, Illness, and Uncertain Futures Episode Description: In this deeply personal and reflective episode, acclaimed memoirist and writing teacher Laura Davis shares her meditation on aging, physical limitations, and the courage required to face an uncertain future. While recovering from diverticulitis, Laura examines what it...

Episode Title: Ancestral Wisdom for Writers: We Were Made for These Times Episode Description: Award-winning author and writing teacher Laura Davis offers a midweek meditation for writers and creatives seeking peace during uncertain times. In this brief but powerful episode, Laura shares the empowering song "We Were Made for These Times" by Jewish musicians Arielle Rivera Korman and R'Noam Lerman....

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: "Poetry for Peace: Embracing Light and Dark with Linda Pastan" Episode Description: Join host Laura Davis for this week's Midweek Pause for Peace, featuring Linda Pastan's profound poem "Why Are Your Poems So Dark?" Laura reflects on living between light and shadow, especially when darkness feels frightening, yet remains essential to our human experience. This calming episode pairs...

Episode Title: REFUGE Anthology Open for Submissions: Writers and Artists Respond to Turbulent Times Episode Description: In this episode, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis shares a compelling submission opportunity from her student Cathy Krizik, an award-winning magazine designer and graphic artist. Laura discusses the REFUGE anthology—a full-color, beautifully designed collection...

Episode Title: “Finding Light in Dark Times: Chelan Harkin's Call to Rise" Episode Description: Join host Laura Davis for this week's Midweek Pause for Peace, featuring mystic poet Chelan Harkin's powerful untitled poem about finding inner light during crisis. After a difficult week in America, Laura shares this reminder of the indomitable strength we carry within, regardless of external circumsta...

PODCAST SHOW NOTES Episode Title : Writing Prompts: 3 Time-Travel Exercises to Discover Your Past, Present & Future Self Episode Description: In this transformative episode, acclaimed memoir teacher Laura Davis reveals three life-changing writing prompts that unlock profound self-discovery. With over 35 years of teaching experience and as the award-winning author of "The Burning Light of Two Stars...

PODCAST SHOW NOTES Episode Title: Going Home the Longest Way Around: Finding Peace Through Pat Schneider's Poetry Episode Description: In this moving episode of her Midweek Pause for Peace series, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis shares Pat Schneider's profound poem "Going Home the Longest Way Around." Laura reflects on Schneider's dedication to making writing accessible outside tr...