Writing Your Resilience: Building Resilience, Embracing Trauma and Healing Through Writing

Send us Fan Mail This week, I’m thrilled to introduce you to a powerful voice in memoir, Hannah Sward, author of Strip . In today’s conversation, Hannah takes us behind the scenes of her writing process—how she wrote her first draft by hand, in one long, unfiltered sentence; how she found the courage to put her full truth on the page; and how she distilled years of experience into a memoir that mo...

Send us Fan Mail Every writer wants to be successful, but sometimes we just get stuck or feel uninspired. Even when things are going well, we can be baffled when our big wins don’t feel more successful. This week, I’ll explore these struggles alongside my guest, Akashic Records master teacher, Amy Robeson. Join us as we bust some of the myths around success, talk about the secrets to raising your...

Send us Fan Mail How do you write about really tough, or even traumatic, life events, in a way that connects with your audience and the truth, without losing yourself? It’s a question so many writers ask me. This week, I’ll answer it with the help of my guest, the multi-talented Natalie Buster—a certified trauma-informed yoga therapist, actress, and writer. Together, we explore how grounding techn...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever dismissed your feelings, discounted your writing wins, or told yourself you should feel differently about your writing projects? If so, you might be gaslighting writing practice. Join me as I discuss what gaslighting is, how it shows up in our writing lives, and most importantly, how you can stop doing it. Episode Highlights:  2:12: Defining Gaslighting  5:42: Reason...

Send us Fan Mail When you get negative feedback from an agent on your writing you can do two things: adapt and improve your writing, or quit. In this episode, I am speaking with Jessica Yen, a Camp Structure graduate, about the recent challenges she faced while dealing with discouraging feedback from a literary agent. Join us as we explore how agents think, what the market may–or may not–be lookin...

Send us Fan Mail What’s holding you hostage or keeping you stuck? In Jessica Buchanan’s case, it initially seemed like the Somali pirates who held her hostage for ninety-three were her biggest problem. But as she completed a powerful exercise during her captivity, she realized the issues she faced were far deeper and ultimately more common than the kidnapping she endured. Join me and author, TedX...

Send us Fan Mail How do you dive into the marrow of an experience we’ll all one day share, yet so many of us struggle to talk about? And how do you write into a topic so widely covered that it feels impossible to say something new? Today, I’m joined by Amy Lin, author of the stunning micro memoir Here After , as we tackle these questions head-on. Together, we’ll explore the raw realities of grief,...

Send us Fan Mail Today, I am grateful. Grateful for my fellow writers, all of you listeners, and for this podcast.  In this episode, I am holding space for those who might be struggling with the Thanksgiving holiday while exploring how gratitude can ground us in the midst of life’s challenges. This episode reflects on: The duality of emotions surrounding holidays, elections, and the uncertainties...

Send us Fan Mail When you hear the phrase hungry author, what does that mean to you? How might a hungry author approach their goals and what might they’re willing to do to achieve them? Join Sourcebook’s nonfiction editor Ariel Curry and ghostwriter Liz Morrow and me as we talk about the mindset writers need to succeed, how to stay hungry while working on your writing projects,, and the surprising...

Send us Fan Mail Is there an age when it’s too late to publish a book, forgive a person, or take a chance on yourself? Not if you’re Mildred Kirschenbaum. With the help of her daughter Gayle, Mildred is a 101-year-old Instagram sensation and debut author who is currently on a book tour. Join us as we discuss the challenges of mother/daughter relationships, how forgiveness turned Gayle and Mildred...

Send us Fan Mail If you’re writing about a medical drama or other high-intensity journey involving another person, how do you write about these events without swallowing your story of transformation? What would you do if your agent’s feedback to you was “more chicken?” That’s exactly what parent advocate Kristin Jarvis Adams’s agent said after reading a draft of her memoir, The Chicken Who Saved U...

Send us Fan Mail November is Worldwide Bereaved Siblings Month, yet most siblings grieve alone. They’re told to be strong for their parents, or they get subtle, and, sometimes not so subtle, cues to move on. Yet  the loss of a sibling is the loss of a lifetime, because it’s a relationship we expect we’ll have for most of our lives. Join me, Alyson Shelton, and Lynn Shattuck as we remember our brot...

Send us Fan Mail Many survivors of sexual abuse and assault silently carry questions about what happened to them. Am I truly a victim? Should I report what happened? If so, what are the steps? How do I disclose this to family members?  Join me and Cheyenne Wilson, sexual assault advocate and author of We Are the Evidence , as we explore the power of breaking the silence around your experience, the...

Send us Fan Mail Join me and Pushcart Nominee, TedX Speaker, and multi-passionate creative, Acamea Deadwiler, as we talk about normalized violence, how our attachment styles can influence the way we approach our memoirs, and the importance of connecting with your inner compass. During our conversation, you’ll also learn what transcendental meditation is and how Acamea used her TM practice while wr...

Send us Fan Mail Join me and Debbie Weiss, author of the memoir Available As Is ,  as we discuss how multiple major losses impact the way we see ourselves and the world, the challenges of dating when you’re over fifty, and the most important thing new writers should consider when starting a book.  Debbie’s Bio: Debbie Weiss is the author of the award-winning memoir “Available As Is: A Midlife Wido...

Send us Fan Mail What would you do if an experience you’d long dreamed of was not only not what it’s cracked up to be, but at times miserable? Would you own up to the challenges or pretend it’s as great as you imagined  Join me and Megan Williams, author of One Bad Mother as we explore the challenges of being vulnerable on the page, the realities of modern motherhood no one wants to talk about, an...

Send us Fan Mail If you have a complicated relationship with someone, how do you write about them? Should you craft a linear memoir that reads more like a journey or write something that mirrors your experience? Join me and Lara Lillibridge, author of Girlish , Mama, Mama, Only Mama , and The Truth of Unringing Phones , as we explore the impact of estrangement on the memoir writing process, how to...

Send us Fan Mail Writing can be a powerful tool for healing, but when writing the tough stuff, it’s easy to get triggered and relive the experiences you’re writing about. If you’re wondering what to do about this, join me and somatic experiencing practitioner Kirby Moore as we explore how the nervous system works and how to care for it and your writing life. Plus Kirby will teach you a powerful to...

Send us Fan Mail Like it or not, our family history shapes who we are. What if lost portions of your history are holding you back? What lengths would you go to recover this history, understand it, and then turn your discoveries into a memoir? Join me and author of the memoir Starry Field, Margaret Juhae Lee, as we explore the impacts of intergenerational trauma on our identity, the challenges of w...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to become a professional writer with a published book? More importantly, what does it take to become a happy writer? Join multi-genre writer and book coach Courtney Maum and me as we discuss writer mental health, the key ingredients in an author brand, what success really means and how you can achieve it, as well as the number one skill all authors need to cultiv...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever worked on a tough story only to hear a voice in your head say maybe you’re not good enough, or maybe this isn't the project for you? How do you know if it’s self-sabotage or a wise part of you that’s trying to get your attention? Join professional writer Donna Moriarty and me as we discuss these voices and how to tell the difference between sabotage and support—...

Send us Fan Mail TW: Mention of Sexual Assault In this episode, you’ll hear from Deborah Svec-Carstens, a writer working on a memoir that details her journey of healing after trauma. In this episode: Writing about trauma and recounting hard memories. Three reasons why we struggle to write about feelings  The impact trauma has on our memories and emotions  Writing speculative scenes  Writing around...

Send us Fan Mail This week, you'll hear from Laila Rall, a writer working on a memoir about her chaotic, bicultural childhood with an unstable mother. We will explore two of the biggest challenges writers of coming-of-age memories grapple with: when does my story really begin and how do I gracefully insert my wisdom into scenes that involve very young narrators? Episode Highlights 2:25 Explor...

Send us Fan Mail This week, you will hear from Laurie Riedman, a memoirist who wrote Diamonds in the Dirt: Stories from a Junkyard Girl, a collection of short pieces that mirror the fractured memories she built while growing up in a world filled with discarded car parts. During our conversation we talk about how to deal with the voice in your head that says what you’re writing isn’t true, and how...

Send us Fan Mail This week, you'll hear from Amanda Creasey, an outdoors writer and novelist, as we explore  the age-old existential question: does what we are working on matter? In this episode, you will hear Amanda vulnerably share the frustration and discouragement many writers face when working on long-term projects and publishing their work. We’ll examine the drivers that keep us going,...