Voice Within: A Storybook by Storytellers

Falling doesn’t always mean failing, sometimes it’s the first honest step towards stability. We welcome you into Voice Within, then step back so Chris James (CJ) Melchizedek can narrate his own powerful piece from edition three, “The Gift of Descent”, a lyrical blend of memoir, mysticism, and hard-won psychological truth. CJ writes from the “autumn” of life, looking at what it means to achieve goa...

A single myth can teach generations who to trust, who to blame, and whose voice gets ignored. Today we challenge that inheritance with an original short story that rewrites the Adam and Eve narrative from the inside out, guided by the questions raised in Elizabeth Lesser’s Cassandra Speaks and a deep love of modern mythmaking. We talk about the rare creative experience writers know well, when a pi...

A quiet invitation at a crowded food court table changed everything.  Four letters, four voices—honest, unpolished, deeply human—about how Tai Chi, shared meals, and a patch of soil at Bexley Uniting Church turned isolation into community. We read four voices that chart the same discovery from different paths: movement can be medicine, and friendship is a practice you do together. You’ll hear how...

A little look into this poem as we slow the world down to share an elegy for Colin, a farrier whose six-week visits shaped more than hooves.  Jessica’s piece sets a quiet, reflective mood over people that have left this world. Colin the farrier as a steady presence over years, left a deep impression on Jessica’s view of the world. With sensory images of horses, tools and routine craft, small appoi...

A taste of salt on the lips, granite underfoot, and a heartbeat that answers the surf. We bring you a richly textured reading of Headland by poet Jessica Klein-Gibaud, a piece that turns a simple shoreline into a mirror for the body and a ledger for time. Through crisp images of dense brown stones, white water sifting through fissures, and wind skimming the surface of the eyes, the poem guides us...

A little taste of four souls on the edge of despair. One magical encounter that changes everything. At Disneyland, where wishes are meant to come true, Rose dons the Mickey Mouse costume one last time before her planned suicide. Behind the iconic mask, she carries the weight of an unwanted pregnancy and a shattered relationship. As she prepares to say goodbye to the world, an unexpected visitor ar...

What happens when we lose our seemingly magical abilities and must journey through the ordinary world to find extraordinary wisdom? This mesmerizing story follows a man who once walked on water but finds himself sinking to the depths where a sea spirit delivers his first lesson—that what he seeks lies within. From that moment, everything changes. Unable to walk on water anymore, he must travel by...

When doctors dismiss your symptoms for seven years despite you knowing something is deeply wrong with your body, what do you do? For Risa, that medical journey led to a life-altering diagnosis of acromegaly – a rare condition caused by a pituitary tumor she affectionately named "Bubba."  The moment an endocrinologist finally validated her experience with four simple words – "you are...

A little taste of Mama Earther finds a young woman she calls "Cockroach No-Breath" near death in a cave and dedicates herself to bringing her back to life. Over two years, through patient nurturing and unconditional love, she helps the traumatised woman—renamed "Sunshine"—recover physically, emotionally and spiritually until nature itself intervenes to restore her will to live....

Subscribe today and support the author's artform of storytelling. Ever tried to open a bank account as a clown? Join us for a whimsical adventure featuring Dorin Hart's tale "A Question of ID" from the Voice Within Anthology. Imagine a bank lobby turned stage, where Petal the clown, with her pink tutu and audacious spirit, leads her jester friends Bluff and Sid in an unforgetta...

Subscribe today and support the author's artform of storytelling.  What if a simple family outing could transform into an epic adventure laden with the magic of nature and profound familial bonds? Join us as we share the enchanting tale of Vim and their journey to a mystical waterfall, as narrated by Lee Rickwood. This isn’t just a birthday celebration; it’s a celebration of love, courage, an...

Subscribe today and support the author's artform of storytelling.   In this episode, we delve into the transformative power of storytelling through a heartfelt reading of "A Letter to My Younger Self" by Helen Lambert. Helen's work beautifully encapsulates the essence of living in the present, encouraging listeners to cast aside the shadows of past regrets and embrace the gift...

What begins as a simple letter to a season unfolds into a profound meditation on life, death, resilience, and renewal in John Shuttleworth's masterfully crafted "Dear Autumn." Narrated by the author himself, this piece transcends mere seasonal observation to capture the bittersweet essence of autumn as it stands on the precipice of winter's approach. Shuttleworth's sensory...

Have you ever noticed something strange from the corner of your eye that vanishes when you try to look at it directly? Most of us dismiss these fleeting glimpses as tricks of light or optical illusions. But what if they're something more? John Shuttleworth's captivating short story "Furies" invites us into a world where those peripheral flickers might actually be living creatur...

Have a taste of this mesmerizing narrative, Chris-James (CJ) Melchizedek channels the voice of an ancient tree spirit delivering a profound love letter to humanity.  What if trees could speak? What ancient wisdom might they share about our forgotten connection to them?  The tree spirit takes us back hundreds of thousands of years to when the first humans encountered trees as "towering streaks...

Have you ever experienced that magical moment when something you've wished for materialises before your eyes?  A little taste of Johnny Lee's enchanting story "Firefly in my Garden" captures exactly this phenomenon through a tale that begins in a backyard sanctuary and culminates in a profound lesson about self-acceptance.  Johnny, both an author featured in Voice Within's...

A taste from the first breath of life, a pattern was established - a newborn girl met with maternal indifference, a mother overwhelmed by her own psychological demons. Through haunting poetic verse, this deeply personal narrative traces the shadow that childhood trauma casts across decades, threatening to engulf the next generation in its darkness. When the narrator becomes a mother herself, she f...

A taste of Rachel Faith's powerful story "A Good Egg" takes us on a journey that shatters expectations and reveals the transformative potential of conscious awareness. This story leaves you asking, what happens when gratitude meets mindfulness in a relationship teetering on destruction?  We meet Sasha, trapped in a cycle of abuse with her partner Alex. The tension is palpable from t...

Finding joy during difficult times might seem impossible, but this episode offers a gentle reminder of our power to choose positivity regardless of external circumstances. Through Nick Vale's beautifully crafted piece from Affirmations Publishing House, we explore practical wisdom for maintaining inner light when the world feels dark. Even peaceful communities haven't been immune to the...

CJ Melchizedek illuminates the dance between creative rebellion and structured storytelling, sharing how his journey as a multidimensional fiction writer evolved through self-published novels, collaborative graphic novels, and experimental narrative forms. Come join Lee Rickwood who interviews CJ on his own journey in being a published author. • Writing the novel "Olivius" (2010) which c...

Have you ever found yourself in deep conversation with the voice inside your head? Simona Rosa takes us on a mesmerizing journey through her 2019 poem "The Internalist," created during a period of profound solitude in Bellingen, New South Wales. Written before motherhood transformed her life, this poem emerged from four years of being single and traveling alone—a time when Simona discove...

The transformative power of words takes center stage as Rachel Faith opens her heart about writing as a pathway to healing and self-discovery. With remarkable candor, she reveals how putting pen to paper became her salvation during difficult chapters of her life, particularly in breaking cycles of trauma between generations. Rachel's journey through Buddhist meditation and mindfulness practic...

A poem to ignite the feminine and masculine within us and around us all. As we cozy up with a warm cup of tea, we uncover the heartfelt inspiration behind "Dear Sister, Dear Brother," a piece that speaks to the core of self-belief and empowerment. We navigate the societal pressures of being a woman, and a man. We acknowledge the inherent strength, beauty, and challenges faced by women, w...

Have you ever imagined a world where childhood fantasies merge with storytelling's transformative power? Join us on a heartwarming journey as we sit down with Lee Rickwood, contributing author to "Voice Within," who shares her mesmerizing tales inspired by the whimsical wonder of waterfalls. Together, we dive into her captivating story, "Happy, Happy 11th," celebrating the...

What happens when a discarded book in the streets of Kenya changes the course of a life? Join us as we share the transformative journey of Somali poet and writer Hani Abdel, whose encounter with Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist" ignited a relentless pursuit of freedom and self-discovery. Hani's story weaves through the perilous escape from an arranged marriage, the trials of navig...