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

About this episode: In this final summer rewind episode, I revisit my highly popular episode with writer, writing instructor, and publisher Jennifer Selig. In it, we discussed how memoir writing can be a powerful tool for healing and self-discovery. Learn how Jennifer’s unique blend of depth psychology and storytelling offers a fresh perspective on the writing process, and find out how her alchemical stages of change and equations for transformation can help you navigate the emotional terrain of your memoir.

Episode Highlights

4:30: Depth Psychology and the Writing Cure
12:15: Understanding Archetypes
17:28: The Three Stages of Transformation
25:30 The Four Equations of Transformation
29:00 The Issue of Catharsis
34:00 The Power of Attention

Resources for this Episode:

”Nobody Sees a Flower, Really, It Is So Small”: Extolling the Ethic of Attention” by Jennifer Leigh Selig
“A Question of Catharsis” by Debra Gwartney

Jennifer’s Bio: Jennifer Leigh Selig is an LBGTQ+ teacher, international speaker, book publisher, and author whose writing and teaching career spans four decades. She’s the author of dozens of newspaper articles, book reviews, essays, journal articles, short stories, screenplays, and books, including the Nautilus Gold award-winning book Deep Creativity: Seven Ways to Spark Your Creative Spirit, and her latest book, Deep Memoir: An Archetypal Approach to Deepen Your Story and Broaden Its Appeal.

Connect with Jennifer:

Website: www.jenniferleighselig.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.selig.1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferselig/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferleighselig/

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Summer Rewind: Writing Rituals: Staying Grounded While Being Vulnerable with Natalie Buster

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 04:00:00 -0400

About this episode: In this summer rewind episode, I revisit my conversation with yoga therapist and certified death doula Natalie Buster as we grapple with this question: 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. Natalie's answers are ones every writer and creative needs to remain open hearted and true to their art and who they are.

Episode Highlights

2:28 What Is a Trauma-Informed Yoga Instructor?
7:18 Opening the Shop Step One: Grounding
12:07 Opening the Shop Step Two: Breathwork
16:27 Opening the Shop Step Three: Moving Your Body
21:43 The Importance of Play
25:42 Opening the Shop Step Four: The Power of Affirmations
29:11 What Death Teaches Us About Storytelling
35:42 Natalie’s Best Writing Advice
37:10 Closing the Shop

Resources for this Episode:

Natalie’s Bio: Natalie is a yoga therapist, an end-of-life navigator, a certified death doula, a grief reliever, an actor, a podcaster, a writer, and a mentor with a deep desire to help people. As a professional actor in New York City, Natalie first discovered yoga as a way to practice self-care in an incredibly demanding profession. After dealing with personal loss, Natalie found comfort in the world of yoga therapy and has since made it her life's mission to help people find relief and love. Natalie specializes in working with people at the end of life, people experiencing grief, and loss, and performers looking to practice self-care. She is currently serving as the executive director of Abode, an end-of-life home that offers contemplative care for the dying.

Connect with Natalie:

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Summer Rewind: Writing about Intergenerational Trauma with Margaret Lee

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 04:00:00 -0400

About this episode: In this summer rewind episode, I revisit my conversation with Margaret Lee, author of the highly acclaimed memoir Starry Field. In it we explore the impacts of intergenerational trauma on our identity, the challenges of writing a researched memoir, staying motivated over the long haul, and the problem of getting an agent too soon. Since recording this episode, Starry Field has been named a best book of 2024 by the San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Independent Review of Books and Largehearted Boy. It was also the winner of the Discovery Prize for Nonfiction by the Writers’ League of Texas.

Episode Highlights

4:00 Why Explore the Past?
7:00 The Impact of Intergenerational Trauma
9:00 The Role of Stories in Identity Formation
15:00 Maintaining Your Momentum Over the Long Haul
20:00 Getting an Agent Too Soon
22:00 Structuring a Researched Memoir
26:00 The Miracle of the Memoir Process
29:00 Turning Yourself into a Character
35:00 Understanding Situation versus Story

Resources for this Episode:

Starry Field with Margaret Juhae Lee and Grace M. Cho Interview for the Korea Society

Margaret’s Bio: Margaret Juhae Lee is an Oakland-based writer and a former literary editor of The Nation magazine. She has been the recipient of a Bunting Fellowship from Harvard University and a Korean Studies Fellowship from the Korean Foundation. She is also a Tin House alum and has been awarded residencies at the Mesa Refuge, Anderson Center, and Mineral School. In 2020, she was named “Person of the Year” by the Sangcheol Cultural Welfare Foundation in Kongju, South Korea, for her work in honoring her grandfather, Patriot Lee Chul Ha. Her articles, reviews, and interviews have been published in The Nation, Newsday, Elle, ARTnews, The Advocate, The Rumpus and Writer's Digest.

Connect with Margaret:

Website: www.margaretjuhaelee.com
Instagram: @mjuhae
Twitter: @margaretjuhae
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-juhae-lee-2b95905/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Summer Rewind: When Agents Say No with Jessica Yen

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 04:00:00 -0400

About this episode: In this summer rewind episode, I revisit my conversation with Jessica Yen, an alumni of my Camp Structure program and now a coach about the 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 looking for, and how to regain your power when difficult feedback knocks you down.

Episode Highlights

5:41: The Agent Mindset
10:55: Are We Ready for COVID Stories?
13:12: The Demand for Parenting Books
15:10: Finding Your Book’s Essential Question
24:10: Taking Your Power Back
27:15: A New Take on Writer’s Block

Resources for this Episode:

Categorically So by Jessica Yen
Beauty by Jessica Yen (nominated for a Pushcart Prize)
How I Went From “Big 5 or Die!” to Ecstatic Self-Published Author by Denise Massar
Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops by Allison Hong-Merrill
What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The True Meaning of Success and The Multiple Paths to Publish Your Book with Courtney Maum
Recovering from Cults and Religious Trauma Through Writing with Tia Levings
How to Stop Gaslighting Yourself with Ingrid Clayton

Jessica’s Bio: Jessica Yen is a Chinese American author who explores the intersection of memory, family, culture, language, identity, and history. Her work has been supported by an Oregon Literary Fellowship, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Caldera Arts, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, and Voices of Our Nations Arts. She is a twice-Pushcart Prize nominated essayist whose work has appeared or is forthcoming in Fourth Genre, The Masters Review, Oregon Humanities, and Best American Travel Writing, among others. She is currently working on a memoir. By day, she writes grants and edits academic manuscripts for non-profits, university departments and scholars, and clinics who seek to address health inequities and works as a wellness coach. You can find her online at www.jessicayen.com.

Connect with Jessica:

Website: www.jessicayen.com

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Summer Rewind: Crafting Stories that Ignite the Soul with Sue William Silverman

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 04:00:00 -0400

About this episode: In this summer rewind episode, I revisit my conversation with the amazing Sue William Silverman about her craft book Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul. In it, we talk about the power of creative nonfiction, how to use metaphor, masks, and language to harness its power, and how this work can lead to personal growth.

Episode Highlights

4:00 Why We Write Creative Nonfiction
8:00 Metaphors in Creative Nonfiction Writing
24:00 Using Masks to Externalize the Narrator and Connect with Their Voice
30:00 Writing, Creativity, and Emotional Truth
36:00 Creative Nonfiction Writing and Personal Growth
42:00 Writing, Memoir, and Essay Collections.
48:00 Writing, Resilience, and Self-Expression

Resources for this Episode:

Sue’s Bio: Sue William Silverman is an award-winning author of nine works of nonfiction and poetry. Her new book, "Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader," is a collection of flash essays. Her book on the craft of writing, "Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul," won the 2024 IPPY Silver Award. Her memoir-in-essays collection, "How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences," won the gold star in Foreword Reviews INDIE Book of the Year Award. Other works include "Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction," made into a Lifetime TV movie; "Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You," which won the AWP Award; and "The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew." She’s co-chair of the MFA in Writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her media appearances include The View, Anderson Cooper-360, and PBS Books.

Connect with Sue:

Website: www.SueWilliamSilverman.com
Facebook: @SueWilliamSilverman
Insta: @suewilliamsilverman

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Summer Rewind: The Art of Intimacy Summer Rewind: Crafting Connection in Memoir and Essay with Lilly Dancyger

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 04:00:00 -0400

Join me and editor extraordinaire Lilly Dancyger for this summer rewind episode where we discuss her latest book, First Love, an intimate, electric collection of essays on friendship, identity, and what it means to grow into yourself in community. During our conversation, Lilly shares her sharp insights on the craft of memoir, why she bristles at the idea of writing as catharsis, and how she pushes back against the dead girl trope by keeping her cousin Sabina fully alive on the page. If you’ve ever wondered how to turn memory into art without falling into the trap of polishing your pain, this one’s for you.

Episode Highlights

3:36: The Problem of Connecting Memoir with Catharsis
10:12: Essays as a Space for Play and Variation
13:04: Showing Intimacy on the Page
21:12: Zooming In and Zooming Out
27:00: Pushing Against the Dead Girl Trope
33:44: Strategies for Cleansing Your Creative Palette

Resources for this Episode:

“Canceling My Book Deal Was the Best Career Move I’ve Ever Made” by Lilly Dancyger
“Why Your Memoir Won’t Sell” by Jane Friedman
More Than True Crime with Sarah Perry
Sign up for Find and Sharpen Your Memoir’s Voice
Get Your Free Human Design Report
Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Lilly’s Bio: Lilly Dancyger is the author of First Love: Essays on Friendship, and Negative Space. Her work has been published by The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Playboy, and Rolling Stone, among others, and she writes the Substack newsletter The Word Cave. Dancyger lives in New York City, and teaches creative nonfiction in the MFA programs at Columbia University and Randolph College.

Connect with Lilly:

Website: https://www.lillydancyger.com/
Substack: https://substack.com/@lillydancyger
Blue Sky: @lillydancyger.bsky.social
Instagram: @lillydancyger on instagram

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/
Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Summer Rewind: How to Protect Your Writing Time, Energy, and Creative Worth with Carolyn Fallert

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

About this Episode: Have you ever felt like your creativity isn’t enough or that your artistic endeavors are secondary to everything on your to-do list? Have you tried all the strategies only to find yourself struggling with this yet again? Join me and my client, Carolyn Fallert, in this summer rewind episode, as we explore the impact of familial and cultural socializations and how strategies aren’t enough. You need to understand yourself. Get ready to discover the importance of understanding your unique operating system and how it should determine the strategies you use.

Resources for this Episode:

Episode Highlights

1:40 The Number One Trick for Getting Unstuck
6:40 Protecting Time and Your Creative Energy
7:31 Understanding Your Nature
17:20 Overcoming Your Conditioning
22:50 Identifying Your Why

Carolyn’s Bio: Carolyn Fallert is a trauma-informed, feminist self-defense coach who shares everyday practices for moving through fear, standing in our powers, and finding safety within through her substack and in-person self-defense trainings. Her essays have been published in Spank the Carp and Points in Case. Prior to dedicating herself to writing and self-defense, she consulted for Fortune 500 companies and the Gates Foundation. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MPA-ID (Master of Public Administration in International Development) from Harvard Kennedy School. She’s writing a memoir about learning self-defense as a survivor of sexual assault.

Connect with Carolyn

Instagram: @carolynfallert
Substack: https://yourpowers.substack.com/

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/
Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Summer Rewind: The Fawning Trauma Response: Ingrid Clayton on Healing People-Pleasing and Codependency

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

Have you been told you’re a people pleaser or found yourself saying yes when you meant no, without even thinking about it? Have a friend who struggles to express their feelings or share their preferences? If so, you might have encountered the fawning trauma response. Join me and Ingrid Clayton, author of Fawning the memoir Believing me, for this summer rewind episode where we unpack the misconceptions regarding this trauma response, share our experience strength and hope, and show you how to join the unfawning revolution she’s spearheading with her new book.

Episode Highlights

1:30: The Fawning Trauma Response
5:51: The Problem of Co-dependence
10:04: Complex Trauma’s Impact on Our Nervous Systems
12:50: Fawning’s Influence on Writing
22:29: The Energetic Signature of Your Book
28:45: The Unfawning Process
43:45: The Role of Tears

Resources for this Episode:

What is the Fawning Trauma Response by Ingrid Clayton
How to Stop Gaslighting Yourself with Ingrid Clayton
Believing Me by Ingrid Clayton
Get Your Free Human Design Report
Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Ingrid’s Bio: Ingrid Clayton is a licensed clinical psychologist with a Master’s degree in transpersonal psychology and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. She has maintained a thriving private practice in Los Angeles for over seventeen years, supporting individuals in healing trauma, reclaiming agency, and reconnecting to their authentic selves. She's the author of Fawning and Believing Me. Her work has been featured in Oprah Daily, The New York Times, Women’s Health, and Forbes, and she has appeared on podcasts and programs including 10% Happier with Dan Harris, Girls Gotta Eat, and NPR’s On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti. Her latest book, Fawning, addresses an often-overlooked piece of the fight-flight-freeze reaction to trauma—explaining what it is, why it happens, and how to help survivors regain their voice and sense of self.

Connect with Ingrid:

Website: https://www.ingridclayton.com/
Instagram and YouTube: @IngridClaytonPhD
Get a free copy of her PDF on the fawning response: https://www.ingridclayton.com/fawningtraumaresponse

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Summer Rewind: Exploring The Loneliness Epidemic with Athena Dixon

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

How do you define loneliness? How did the pandemic impact the way that you define and experienced it? What does success look like for you? What is one positive association you have with being alone? These are just a few of the questions Athena and I explore in this summer rewind episode that tackles the multiple facets of loneliness, how to decide what is for you and what is for the public, and how to create your own definition of success.

Episode Highlights

4:00 The Problem of Loneliness
8:00 Establishing Intimacy Between Reader and Writer
11:00 The Skills of Being Honest
16:00 Finding the Vessel for Your Story
20:00 Defining Success for Yourself
27:00 Digital Loneliness
35:49 Intentional Isolation
42:00 Loneliness and Hyper-independence

Resources for this Episode:

Cherry Picking Pleasure by Athena Dixon (part of her column in Open Secrets Magazine)
The Incredible Shrinking Woman by Athena Dixon
Get Your Free Human Design Report
Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Athena’s Bio: Born and raised in Northeast Ohio, Athena Dixon is an essayist and editor. She is the author of The Loneliness Files (Tin House), The Incredible Shrinking Woman (Split/Lip Press) and No God In This Room (Argus House Press). Her work also appears in The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic (Haymarket Books) and Getting to the Truth: The Practice and Craft of Creative Nonfiction (Hippocampus Book). She writes the monthly column Radical Pleasure for Open Secrets Magazine. Athena is an alumni of V.O.N.A., Callaloo, and Tin House and has received a prose fellowship from The Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing and a Second Book Residency from Tin House. She serves as the Nonfiction Editor for Split/Lip Press and a Consulting Editor for Fourth Genre Magazine.

Connect with Athena

Website: https://athenadixon.com/
Instagram: @the_muse_paper
Facebook: @AthenaDevonDixon

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Summer Rewind: The True Meaning of Success and The Multiple Paths to Publishing Your Book with Courtney Maum

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

In this summer rewind episode, we revisit my conversation with Courtney Maum, author of Alan Opts Out, Before and After the Book Deal, and The Year of Horses. During our chat, 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 cultivate.

Episode Highlights

3:00 The Importance of Protecting Your Mental Health
6:45 The True Measure of Success
15:00 Understanding Your Yesses and Nos
19:50 Building Brand Assets for Your Author Platform
28:50 Navigating the Realities of the Publishing Industry
42:00 The Impact of Health Challenges on Our Identity
60:00 Having Faith in Yourself

Resources for this Episode:

Courtney’s Bio: Courtney is the author of six books, including ALAN OPTS OUT, the groundbreaking publishing guide that Vanity Fair recently named one of the ten best books for writers, BEFORE AND AFTER THE BOOK DEAL and the memoir THE YEAR OF THE HORSES, chosen by The Today Show as the best read for mental health awareness. A writing coach, director of the writing workshop “Turning Points,” and educator, Courtney's mission is to help people hold on to the joy of art-making in a culture obsessed with turning artists into brands. Passionate about literary citizenship, Courtney sits on the advisory councils of The Authors Guild and The Rumpus and runs a bestselling Substack on publishing conundrums. You can sign up for her weekly newsletter and online masterclasses at CourtneyMaum.com

Connect with Courntey:
Website: courtneymaum.com
Substack:https://substack.com/@courtneymaum
Instagram: @cbmaum

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Summer Rewind: Writing to Heal with Laura Davis

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

In this summer rewind episode, we revisit my conversation with writing instructor and author of The Courage to Heal, Laura Davis. During this episode, Laura and I discuss the healing power of writing, the difference between writing to heal and writing for a public audience, and the challenges Laura faced while writing her memoir, The Burning Light of Two Stars.

Episode Highlights

8:25 Dealing with the Emotional Rigors of Memoir Writing
12:45: Writing to Heal
21:00 Writing for Yourself versus an Audience
34:45 Beginning Your Book
46:50 Structuring Your Book and Including Primary Resources

Resources for this Episode:

Laura’s Bio: Laura Davis is the author of The Burning Light of Two Stars, The Courage to Heal, and five other groundbreaking books. In addition to writing books that inspire, the work of Laura’s heart is to teach. For more than twenty-five years, she’s helped people find their voices, tell their stories, and hone their craft. Laura has been published in Publisher's Weekly, Writer's Digest, CrimeReads, Brevity, and The New York Times, featured in Los Angeles Review of Books, and on QWERTY, Write-Minded, The Only One in the Room, and dozens of other podcasts. She's a featured speaker for The National Association of Memoir Writers and a popular teacher at The San Miguel Writers’ Conference and at Esalen in Big Sur. Learn about her workshops, classes, and international retreats, and read the first five chapters of her memoir at www.lauradavis.net.

Connect with Laura

Website: www.lauradavis.net
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurasaridavis
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewritersjourney

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Summer Rewind: The Loneliness of Sibling Loss with Alyson Shelton and Lynn Shattuck

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 01:00:00 -0400

About this episode:I am currently on break so I can focus on my writing and some much-needed rest. Until I return with new episodes on September seventeenth, I’ve curated a summer rewind series of fan favorites. This week’s episode with Lynn Shattuck and Alyson Shelton was recorded in October 2024 Back then, the Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope anthology was a dream they were working to fulfill. This month, the book celebrated its first birthday. The wisdom in this episode, which fueled the publication of this book, is as timely as ever.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Buy The Loss of a Lifetime
There’s No Escape by Alyson Shelton
What I Want You to Say When I’m Grieving by Lynn Shattuck:
My 20-Year-Old Brother Died By Suicide. Here's Why I Almost Joined Him by Lisa Cooper Ellison
Lynn’s Where I’m From Poem
Lisa’s Where I’m From Poem
Alyson’s Where I’m From Poem
Get Your Free Human Design Report
Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Episode Highlights:

3:23 Silent, Unacknowledged Grief
7:45: The Impact of the Hierarchy of Grief
12:23 The Benefits of Writing about Sibling Loss
18:31: Grieving and Writing in Community
23:49 Building the Sibling Loss Anthology
32:48 Getting to Know Alyson and Lynn
35:23 Lynn and Alyson’s Best Writing Advice

Alyson’s Bio: ALYSON SHELTON is an award winning screenwriter and essayist. Her writing is widely published at outlets including The New York Times, Ms. and The Rumpus. She’s deeply proud of her collaborations with other female creatives, most notably, the comic, Reburn and the films, To Hold The Night and Eve of Understanding. She’s anthologized in Comics Lit Vol. 1 (Accomplishing Innovation Press), No Contact: Writers on Estrangement (Catapult), Root Cause: Stories of Health, Harm and Reclaiming Our Humanity (Editor: Jeannine Ouellette) and The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope (Contributor and Co-Editor). She’s best known for her Instagram Live series inspired by George Ella Lyon’s poem, Where I’m From which celebrated episode 200 in summer 2025 and its partner podcast, Where I'm From. The poem also provides the spine for her memoir in progress.

Lynn’s Bio: Lynn Shattuck writes on topics like grief, parenting, and mental health. She was a columnist at Elephant Journal for ten years, where several of her essays on the topic of grief and sibling loss, and parenting went viral.Lynn co-founded the website lossofalifetime.com, a hub of resources and community for those who’ve experienced sibling loss. She co-edited the essay collection, The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, which was released in June 2025.

Connect with Lynn

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064888772287
Substack: https://lynnshattuck.substack.com/

Connect with Alyson

Website: www.alysonshelton.com
Instagram: @byalysonshelton
Where I’m From poem project: https://www.alysonshelton.com/where-im-from.html#/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Byalysonshelton

Connect with the Loss of a Lifetime Sibling Loss Group

Website: https://www.lossofalifetime.com/
Instagram: @lossofalifetime

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Linger in the Uncertainty: Jill Christman on Writing Through Grief and Loss

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 04:00:00 -0400

What do we carry with us from the people we love and lose, and how do we make a choice from the center of our grief? This week, I'm wrestling with these questions alongside memoirist Jill Christman, whose new book The Heart Folds Early is a fierce and tender exploration of the decision to end a pregnancy after a devastating diagnosis. Jill and I talk about how grief from an earlier loss shaped her path toward this choice, the craft of handling time and signposting in memoir, and why she believes memoir is an act of extraction, not accumulation.

Episode Highlights

05:31 Serial Memoir Method
14:32 Writing To Many Audiences
28:10 Making The Hard Decision
33:49 Opposite World Exercise
34:43 Disrupting Dark Spirals
35:38 Finding Levity in Pain

Resources for this Episode:

Jill’s Bio: Jill Christman is the author of The Heart Folds Early: A Memoir (released March 2026 from the University of Nebraska Press). Christman’s other books include If This Were Fiction: A Love Story in Essays (2023 Foreword INDIES Silver Winner), Darkroom: A Family Exposure (winner of AWP Prize for CNF), and Borrowed Babies: Apprenticing for Motherhood. Her essays have appeared in many anthologies and in magazines such as Brevity, Creative Nonfiction, Fourth Genre, Iron Horse Literary Review, Longreads, and O, The Oprah Magazine. A 2020 NEA Literature Fellow, she teaches at Ball State University and serves as co-editor of River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative and Beautiful Things (a weekly online magazine of micro nonfiction). Visit her at jillchristman.com.

Connect with Jill

Website: Jillchristman.com
Bluesky: @jillchristman.bsky.social
Instagram: @Jillchristmanwriter

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing as the Language of Emotions: Lindz McLeod on Storytelling, Empathy, and Our Shared Humanity

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 04:00:00 -0400

What if understanding your characters (and your readers) came down to something as simple as a cup of coffee? In this episode, I sit down with author, writing coach, and rule-breaking storyteller Lindz McLeod to explore writing voice, character motivation, and the iceberg principle that makes stories hauntingly unforgettable. Lindz shares the simple but revelatory "coffee question" that unlocks who your characters really are, why the stories that move us most are the ones brave enough to leave things unsaid, and how writing — no matter the genre — is ultimately the language of emotions that connects us to our shared humanity.

Episode Highlights

07:04 Romance, Motivation, and Self Love
16:27 Voice Icebergs and Craft Ambition
31:39 Building a Craft Anthology
34:22 Icarus on a Farm
41:28 Collaboration and Closing Advice

Resources for this Episode:

Lindz’s Bio: Lindz McLeod (she/they) is a queer Scottish writer whose short work has been published by Apex, Catapult, DIVA, Nightmare, and many more. Her longer work includes the award-winning short story collection TURDUCKEN, as well as books including THE UNLIKELY PURSUIT OF MARY BENNET, THE MISEDUCATION OF CAROLINE BINGLEY, and craft anthology AN HONOUR AND A PRIVILEGE. Her work has been taught in schools and universities, turned into avant-garde opera and animation, and optioned for television. She is currently in her final year of a PhD in Creative Writing. You can find Lindz waxing lyrical about books, cats, and her film podcast, Cinema Worms, on Bluesky at @lindzmcleod, Instagram @lindz.mcleod, and examples of her work can be found on www.lindzmcleod.co.uk

Connect with Lindz:

Website: https://lindzmcleod.co.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindz.mcleod/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lindsey.mcleod.90

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Are You Writing for Others or Yourself? How to Break Free From People-Pleasing as a Writer

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 01:00:00 -0400

About this episode: Have you ever said yes to something that felt like destiny, only to realize later it took you further from your goals? In this episode, I share a personal story about a writing group experience that taught me one of the most important lessons of my creative life: the difference between people-pleasing and truly following your gut. I break down what people-pleasing actually is, why we do it, and how it shows up in our writing and our lives in ways we don't always recognize, including through the fawning trauma response. Plus, I share the Achilles’ heel question that gets writers into more trouble than almost anything else. If you've ever said yes to something that felt like destiny only to find it took you further from your goals, this episode is for you.

Resources for this Episode:

The Fawning Trauma Response with Ingrid Clayton
Fawning by Ingrid Clayton
The Gifts of Adversity by Norman Rosenthal
Get Your Free Human Design Report
Register for Build Better Memoir Scenes
Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Episode Highlights

03:19 Defining People Pleasing
06:46 Fawning Trauma Response
12:34 How It Shows Up Writing
15:58 Get Clear What You Want
18:52 You Should Write Book Trap
27:30 Wrap Up And Journal Prompt

Lisa’s Bio: Lisa Cooper Ellison is an author, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of the Writing Your Resilience podcast. Working at the powerful intersection of storytelling and healing, she blends her writing expertise, clinical training, and soul-centered practices—including Akashic Records work and Human Design—to help writers turn their hardest experiences into art. Her essays—on sibling loss, grief, trauma healing, and the craft of writing—have appeared in The New York Times, HuffPost, and The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, among others.

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing, Healing, and Psychedelic Therapy: How Psilocybin, Set and Setting, and Integration Support Creative Resilience with Stacey Simmons

Thu, 28 May 2026 01:00:00 -0400

About this episode:

With a recent executive order expediting the review of psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, psychedelic therapy is moving from the fringes into the national conversation — and this week's episode couldn't be more timely. Whether you're curious about what psychedelic therapy is, how it works, or whether it's right for you, licensed marriage and family therapist, and certified psychedelic therapist Stacey Simmons is here to answer those questions and more. Even if you never plan to partake, you won't want to miss the practical takeaways Stacey shares that anyone can apply to their own healing journey.

Resources for this Episode:

Can You Trust Your Memories with Stacey Simmons
What If You’re Not Meant to Be the Hero with Stacey Simmons
The Queen’s Path by Stacey Simmons
Mushroom Pharmacy: A Practical Guide to Psychedelic Mushrooms by Stacey Simmons
What Is Holotropic Breathwork
Serotonin Syndrome
The Billionaire, The Psychedelics, and the Best-Selling Memoir
Get Your Free Human Design Report
Register for Build Better Memoir Scenes
Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Episode Highlights

03:08 Mushroom Pharmacy Origins
07:41 Psilocybin Set and Setting
29:46 Integration That Sticks
36:12 Who Should Avoid Psychedelics
41:46 Memory Truth And Closing

Stacey’s Bio: Stacey Simmons is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Psychedelic Therapist. She is a clinical supervisor at Hope Therapy Center in Burbank, California. Her practice focuses on creative professionals, where she works primarily with writers, directors, actors, and musicians. Her research focuses on creativity, archetypes, psychedelic psychotherapy, neuroscience and consciousness research. She is a volunteer researcher with the Semel Institute of Neuroscience at UCLA, as well as a researcher with the Trance Science Research Institute in Paris, France. She holds a PhD from the University of New Orleans, and a Masters degree from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California.

Connect with Stacey:

Website: https://staceysimmonsphd.com/
Facebook: @staceysimmonsphd
Instagram: @staceysimmonsphd
TikTok: @staceysimmonsphd

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Author Platform Strategy: Why Less Effort Gets Better Results with Human Design

Thu, 21 May 2026 04:00:00 -0400

Building an author platform can feel overwhelming, especially when you're doing it alone, on a budget, and wondering if any of it is actually working. In this episode, I sit down with author and adoptee advocate Patricia Knight Meyer to explore a Human Design approach to platform-building that’s rooted in intuition, authentic connection, and knowing where to focus your energy. If you've ever felt like you're grinding away at your platform with nothing to show for it, this one's for you.

Episode Highlights

05:42 The Hidden Reality of Being an Adoptee
15:54 The Pressure to Build a Platform (and What It Cost Her)
21:16 The Human Design Reading Neither of Us Expected
30:55 Saying Yes Before Feeling Ready
41:03 Why Forcing Visibility Was Never the Answer

Resources for this Episode:

Patricia’s Bio: Patricia Knight Meyer is a journalist, adoption reform advocate, and Baby Scoop Era adoptee. Born in 1970 and trafficked on the black market via a shady attorney who later extorted her parents with the threat of taking her back, she obtained her first legal birth certificate at age 47—a journey she chronicles in her memoir WONDERLAND: Memoir of a Black-Market Baby (Unsolicited Press, November 2026). She founded the adoption blog My Adopted Life and YAYDNA Genetic Greeting Cards, serves on the board of the National Association of Adoptees and Parents (NAAP), hosts the 3rd Friday NAAP Happy Hour, is a sought-after speaker on adoption reform and adoptee rights, and leads memoir writing workshops.

Connect with Patricia:

Instagram: @somebodys_baby and @patriciaknightmeyer
Facebook: @patriciaknightmeyer and @wonderlandthememoir
TikTok: @myadoptedlife
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/myadoptedlife.bsky.social
Substack: https://substack.com/@myadoptedlife
Medium: https://medium.com/@myadoptedlife

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Author Platform Myths Debunked: How to Reach Readers Without Burning Out | Writing Resilience

Thu, 14 May 2026 04:00:00 -0400

Author platform doesn't have to mean performing for an algorithm or chasing followers who don't care about your work. In this episode, I break down what an author platform actually is, why the "magic formula" myth keeps so many writers stuck, and how to build a platform that grows alongside your nervous system–not against it. If you've ever felt like the standard advice just isn't made for you, I want you to know — you're right. There is a way that’s better for you.

Episode Highlights:

06:03 The Biggest Author Platform Myths
10:03 What Does “Enough” Actually Look Like?
13:01 Why Engagement Matters More Than Followers
25:26 The Truth About Going Viral
30:36 Building an Author Platform Without Burning Out

Resources for this Episode:

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Building a Writing Career from Trauma: Book Launches, Platform Growth & Healing with Tia Levings

Thu, 07 May 2026 04:00:00 -0400

What does it really take to build a writing career out of your hardest story and stay whole while doing it? In this episode, I sit down with author Tia Levings, whose memoir A Well-Trained Wife has become an increasingly timely reckoning with religious trauma, patriarchy, and survival. With her second book I Belong to Me just hitting shelves, Tia pulls back the curtain on navigating back-to-back book launches, genre-hopping with intention, and growing a 110,000-follower platform without burning out or exploiting your own pain. If you've ever wondered how to turn a cooked story into a sustainable career, this conversation is for you.

Episode Highlights:

05:23 When Your Story Becomes the Work
13:11 The Cost of Visibility and Finding Regulation
24:25 Where Memoir and Self-Help Meet
35:12 Doing the Work Without Getting Stuck in It

Resources for this Episode:

Tia’s Bio: Tia Levings is The New York Times Bestselling author of A Well-Trained Wife, her memoir of escape from Christian Patriarchy. She writes about the realities of religious trauma, evangelical patriarchy, and the Trad wife life, decoding the fundamentalist influences in our news and culture. Her work and quotes have appeared in Teen Vogue, Salon, Newsweek, and the HuffingtonPost. She also appeared in the hit Amazon docu-series, Shiny Happy People. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, she is mom to four incredible adults and likes to travel, hike, paint, and daydream. Find her on social media @TiaLevingsWriter. Her second book, I Belong to Me, releases May 5, 2026.

Connect with Tia:

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Why Writers Struggle to Find Flow — and the Simple Practices That Bring It Back

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 01:00:00 -0400

What does it really take to get into a state of creative flow and what pulls us out of it? In this Editor's Round Table episode, I’m joined by fellow editors Sarah Chauncey and Lynn Shattuck to explore the Law of Increasing Flow: a framework built on presence, strategic rest, and stopping before you hit empty. Together we dig into the problem of tech distraction, the power of the subconscious mind, and why percolation–not pushing–is where so much of the real writing happens. If you've ever wondered why flow feels so elusive, this episode will leave you with both the insight and the practical tools to invite more of it into your life.

Resources for this Episode:

“The Critic, Cookies and a (Cautionary) Colonoscopy” by Lynn Shattuck
“To Write More, Better and Faster, Do This One Thing” by Sarah Chauncey
Creative Intuition: The Skill That Makes Life and Work Easier
It’s not Your Money by Tosha Silver
The Walk for Peace
Get Your Free Human Design Report
Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Episode Highlights

4:54 Constricted Writing Stories
6:19 Law Of Increasing Flow
8:46 Productivity Versus Creativity
23:35 Nervous System Practices

Connect with Lynn:

Website: www.lossofalifetime.com
Website: www.lynnlshattuck.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064888772287
Instagram: @lynn_shattuck

Connect with Sarah:

Substack: https://sarahchauncey.substack.com/
Counterintuitive Guide: https://counterintuitiveguide.substack.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahkchauncey/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarah.k.chauncey

Lynn Shattuck writes on topics like grief, parenting, and mental health. She was a columnist at Elephant Journal for ten years, where several of her essays on the topic of grief and sibling loss, and parenting went viral. Lynn co-founded the website lossofalifetime.com, a hub of resources and community for those who’ve experienced sibling loss. She co-edited the essay collection, The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, which was released in June 2025.

Sarah Chauncey is a nonfiction writer, developmental editor, and writing coach. Over her decades of experience, she’s written more than 100 articles for a variety of outlets, including Writer's Digest, Jane Friedman, Tiny Buddha, Lion’s Roar, and Modern Loss. Sarah is the author of P.S. I Love You More Than Tuna, the first gift book for adults grieving the loss of a pet. She also writes the Substacks “Resonant Storytelling” for writers and “The Counterintuitive Guide to Life,” about developing inner skills for a shifting planet.

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

How to Stop Controlling Outcomes and Start Surrendering: Tools for Writers and Creatives

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0400

About this episode: Have you ever come to a point in your life where giving up was the way forward? If so, how was that different from defeat? In this episode, I unpack what healthy surrender really means, how it can actually strengthen rather than diminish your sovereignty, and how to practice it in both the big and small moments of your life. If the word "surrender" has ever felt triggering or like defeat, this episode will change the way you see it.

Resources for this Episode:

Episode Highlights

00:00 Surrender Is Not Giving Up
01:58 What It Really Means to Surrender
17:10 A Daily Practice of Letting Go
23:46 Holding Boundaries with Compassion

Lisa’s Bio: Lisa Cooper Ellison is an author, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of the Writing Your Resilience podcast. Working at the powerful intersection of storytelling and healing, she blends her writing expertise, clinical training, and soul-centered practices—including Akashic Records work and Human Design—to help writers turn their hardest experiences into art. Her essays—on sibling loss, grief, trauma healing, and the craft of writing—have appeared in The New York Times, HuffPost, and The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, among others.

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

How to Discover Your True Writing Voice with Jeannine Ouellette

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0400

About this episode: This week, I’m joined by Jeannine Ouellette, author of The Part that Burns and a writing instructor whose deepest passion is using writing to connect us with our humanity. She sees the craft of writing as so much more than the words on the page, and I couldn’t agree more. We talk about how writing is a practice that helps you show up more fully in your own life, and how you can do this by finding your writing voice, writing close to the lived experience, and exploring from a place of discomfort. And you won’t want to miss our conversation about our shared obsession with a particular punctuation mark that we are absolutely claiming regardless of what anyone else thinks.

Resources for this Episode:

Voice First: A Writer’s Manifesto by Sonya Huber
Acetylene Torch Songs by Sue William Silverman
Innocence & Experience: Voice in Creative Nonfiction by Sue William Silverman
Finding Your Voice and Crafting Stories that Ignite the Soul with Sue William Silverman
Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma
“The Fourth State of Matter” by Jo Ann Beard
Get Your Free Human Design Report
Register for Find and Refine Your Memoir’s Narrative Arc
Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Episode Highlights

00:00 The Question That Opens Everything
04:33 On Voice (and Finding Yours)
15:27 Writing as a Living Practice
29:33 The Quiet Work of Finding Joy Again
32:57 Craft as a Way of Being

Jeannine’s Bio: Jeannine Ouellette’s lyric memoir, The Part That Burns, was a Kirkus Best Indie Book and a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award in Women’s Literature. Her other books include Mama Moon and The Good Caregiver with Robert Kane, M.D. Her essays and short fiction have appeared widely in journals and anthologies, including Narrative, North American Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, Masters Review and more. Her bestselling Substack, Writing in the Dark, explores writing as a metaphor for life and attention as a pathway to becoming. She teaches writing at the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop and the University of Minnesota and her craft book, One Word at a Time: A Creative Practice for Transforming Your Writing and Your Life, is forthcoming from Penguin.

Connect with Jeannine:

Substack: https://writinginthedark.substack.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeannine.ouellette.7
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msjeannineouellette/?hl=en

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Silenced No More: How to Write the Story You've Been Afraid to Tell with Meagan Justus

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 01:00:00 -0400

In this Ask Me Anything session, writer and advocate Meagan Justus brings two questions that so many writers are quietly wrestling with. 1st: when you keep circling the core of your story without being able to reach it, do you shape what you have or keep writing until you get there? And 2nd: when your story involves people or institutions with power, how do you protect yourself while still telling the truth?

Together, we dig into why writers circle their stories, how changing names doesn't protect you legally, what the vetting process actually looks like, and what the unfolding controversy around Amy Griffin's memoir The Tell can teach us about the publishing process.

Resources:

The "but/therefore" principle
The Queen’s Path
The Beat Sheet
Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn
Some Ether by Nick Flynn
The Ticking Is the Bomb by Nick Flynn
The Liar's Club by Mary Karr
Cherry by Mary Karr
Lit by Mary Karr
https://authorsguild.org/
How Can I Avoid Lawsuits When Writing Memoir?
Legal Vetting for Manuscripts to Manage Risk
The Billionaire, The Psychedelics, and the Bestselling Memoir by Katherine Rosman & Elisabeth Egan
Lawsuit Accuses Writer of Using Classmate’s Story in Best-Selling Memoir by Katherine Rosman & Elisabeth Egan
Examples of Hermit Crab Essays
Get Your Free Human Design Report
Find and Refine Your Memoir’s Narrative Arc
Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Connect with Meagan:

https://www.creativelyvisible.com/
https://substack.com/@creativelyvisible

Meagan Justus is a writer and advocate exploring the messy middle of chronic illness, disability, and trauma. Through essays and storytelling, she works to make invisible struggles visible and a little less lonely. Her writing blends honesty, humor, and the occasional chocolate metaphor to explore resilience, self-advocacy, and the stories we discover while living through life’s hardest chapters.

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Healing Your Ancestral Trauma: How Family Constellations Work Can Free You from Stories That Aren't Yours with Tania Gonzalez-Ortega

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 01:00:00 -0400

What if the stories we tell about ourselves aren't really ours, and what if we could finally trace them back to where they began? This is something I’ve been asking myself for years, and today I’m excited to share a few ways you can answer those questions for yourself through Family Constellations work. This week’s guest, Tania Gonzalez-Ortega, is a Family Constellations practitioner with twenty-five years of experience in energy work. During our conversation, we explore the benefits and challenges of the dark night of the soul, how some of what we experience during the dark night isn’t ours, and how we can work with those connections in ways that allow us to live our fullest, most empowered lives.

Episode Highlights

07:31 The Lessons Inside the Dark Night
11:37 The Trauma That Was Never Yours
17:16 What Happens in a Constellation Session
22:43 When Writing Becomes Healing
28:25 The Ripple Effect of Healing Your Lineage

Resources from this Episode:

Story Alchemy with Lisa Cooper Ellison on the New Earth Consciousness Podcast
Waldorf Education Model
What is Family Constellations Therapy
The Dark Night of the Soul, poem by St. John of the Cross
Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross
Get Your Free Human Design Report
Sign up for Find and Refine Your Memoir’s Narrative Arc
Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Tania’s Bio: Tania Gonzalez-Ortega has been practicing energy work for over 25 years. Her background spans ancestral healing, nervous system regulation, and deep emotional integration. She’s studied in India and the United States and guided hundreds of clients through profound personal transformation. Tania is also a financial educator who helps women and families build real wealth in a balanced, ethical way. Her work bridges two worlds most people keep separate: Inner transformation and financial structure. Yet true sovereignty requires both. She lives in the mountains of Washington State with her husband and son on 64 acres of land that constantly reminds her that stability and growth can coexist.

Connect with Tania:

Facebook: facebook.com/taniamama
Instagram: instagram.com/@newearthconsciousness
YouTube: youtube.com/@newearthconsciousness

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Human Design for Writers: How Understanding Your Design Unlocks Resilience, Creativity, and Deeper Healing with with Jessica Eure

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 01:00:00 -0400

What if the key to unlocking your creativity wasn't about doing more but about finally understanding who you are? In this episode, trauma therapist Jessica Eure and I explore how Human Design is transforming the way we work, create, and heal. From decoding your body graph to learning why you say yes when you mean no, this conversation is a masterclass in radical self-acceptance. Whether you are a trauma survivor trying to reclaim your creative life or a writer searching for more energy and focus, this episode will give you a new map for understanding yourself as well as the practical tools to use it.

Episode Highlights

00:00 Why Human Design Isn’t What You Think
05:10 The Moment You Start Trusting Yourself Again
16:45 Where You’re Still Operating from Conditioning
21:52 How Human Design Changes Your Relationships

Resources for this Episode:

Connect with Jessica:

Websites:

Email: jessica@virginianeurofeedback.com

Jessica’s Bio: Jessica Eure is a mental health counselor and educator working at the intersection of nervous system repair and consciousness. She is the co-founder of Virginia Center for Neurofeedback, where she integrates QEEG-guided neurofeedback and trauma-informed psychotherapeutic approaches to support regulation, resilience, and deep healing. Alongside her clinical work, Jessica has spent 25+ years studying reiki, chakra systems, tarot, astrology, contemplative traditions, and more recently, Human Design, weaving these frameworks into her understanding of identity, purpose, and personal transformation.

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Find Your Life's Purpose One Feeling at a Time: A Human Design Approach to Alignment

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 01:00:00 -0400

Resources for this Episode:

Do you feel aligned, or are you burning out? It’s a question we must ask ourselves repeatedly during the year of the fire horse. In today’s episode I share the simple Human Design tool you already have at your disposal that can help you stay in alignment as you live your life’s purpose whether you’re wrestling with the big issues or daily decisions.

Episode Highlights

02:00 The “Am I On Track?” Question
04:30 Why Alignment Prevents Burnout
06:30 Using Emotions as Your Compass
11:00 My People-Pleasing Pattern (Real Story)
19:10 Satisfaction vs. Excitement (What Actually Matters)

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

How I Escaped Iran & Wrote My Way to Freedom | My Name Means Fire Author Atash Yaghmaian

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 01:00:00 -0400

What if the condition that made your life unmanageable was also the source of your greatest gifts? In this episode, I sit down with Atash Yaghmaian, a therapist, activist, and author of My Name Means Fire, to explore how writing became the bridge between her many parts, her trauma, and ultimately her freedom. Atash lives with dissociative identity disorder (DID), and shares what that means: not as something to be feared, but as a brilliant survival mechanism that carried her through war, revolution, and abuse in her native Iran. We explore the power of writing from your parts, how reading can be an act of solidarity, and why inner harmony makes you a better human, writer, and friend to the world.

Episode Chapters

03:02 Coming Out With Dissociative Identity Disorder
11:10 Writing a Memoir With Multiple Voices
21:25 From the Iranian Revolution to Finding Freedom
37:09 Healing the Inner Child Through Writing
42:14 DID as Protection, Healing, and Activism

Resources for this Episode:

Atash’s Bio: Atash Yaghmaian is the author of “My Name Means Fire.” She is a writer and a psychotherapist whose stories and articles about mental health and Iran have appeared in LitHub, Ms. Magazine, The New York Daily News, The Mighty, and Thrive Global, among others. Born in Tehran, Atash migrated to the United States alone at the age of 19, fleeing war, trauma, and abuse. She blogs at atashyaghmaian.com.

Connect with Atash:

Website: www.atashyaghmaian.com
Instagram: @ayhealing
YouTube: @AtashYaghmaian

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Creative Intuition: The Skill That Makes Life and Work Easier

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Would you like to know when to say yes or no, how to tell which piece of feedback is right for you or your book, or how to proceed with greater ease? If you’re working on a book, would you like to spend more time having your characters tell you what to write and less time trying to figure it out? Find out how your intuition can do all of these things and how connecting with it is easier than you think.

Episode Highlights

01:42 The Voice You Keep Ignoring
02:57 What Intuition Actually Is (and Isn’t)
05:27 That Quiet Whisper You Can’t Shake
07:12 Gut Feeling or Fear? How to Tell
11:32 Get Out of Your Head, Into Your Body
15:27 Stop Forcing It, Let Answers Come
17:10 Journaling That Builds Self-Trust
18:53 The Dream That Changed Everything
22:16 Signs… or Coincidence?
25:36 Test Your Intuition Today
27:46 Follow What Feels Alive
30:19 A Practice to Come Back to Yourself

Resources for this Episode:

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

How Writers Keep Going When They’re Exhausted, Overwhelmed, and Doubting Themselves

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 01:00:00 -0500

How do you keep the faith when your nervous system is fried, your heart is tired, and the world feels like too much? In this editors’ roundtable episode, I’m joined by Kristin Sancken and Lynn Shattuck for an honest conversation about what actually helps when times are tough. Together, they share personal stories of losing faith in creative projects, the hidden cost of valuing product over process, and the gentle, sustainable strategies they use to care for themselves during hard seasons. This episode explores how to honor the season you’re in, lean into community, and choose care in a culture that tells us to go it alone.

Episode Highlights

01:57 When It All Falls Apart: The “Empire Strikes Back” Season
03:54 Kristen’s Season of Care and Surrender
05:56 When the Story Goes Quiet: Lynn’s Memoir Pause
07:47 Lisa’s Dark Night of the Soul
12:36 Holding Onto Faith When It Feels Slippery
13:30 The Power of DadderDays
25:24 How Laying an Egg Can Return You To Your Body
27:31 Trusting the Cycles We’re In
31:36 Journal Prompts + Voices from the Community

Resources for this Episode:

Kristin’s Bio: Kristin Thomas Sancken was born in Panama, raised in Mexico, and came of age in Minnesota before settling in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she lives with her husband, two children, and an exuberant Golden Retriever. Her writing has earned numerous awards and appeared in publications including The Guardian, HuffPost, and Columbia Journal. You can find more of her writing at her Substack, Sanctuary of the Holy Others.

Lynn’s Bio: Lynn Shattuck writes on topics like grief, parenting and mental health. She was a columnist at Elephant Journal for ten years, where several of her essays on the topic of grief and sibling loss and parenting went viral. Lynn co-founded the website lossofalifetime.com, a hub of resources and community for those who’ve experienced sibling loss. She co-edited the essay collection, The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, which was released in June of 2025.

Connect with Kristin:

Website: http://www.sancken.com/
Instagram: @ktsancken_writer
Threads: @ktsancken_writer

Connect with Lynn:

Website: www.lossofalifetime.com
Website: www.lynnlshattuck.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064888772287
Instagram: @lynn_shattuck

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

How to Write a Memoir When You Don’t Remember Everything (Memory, Trauma & Emotional Truth) with Sue William Silverman

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Finding Your Voice and Crafting Stories that Ignite the Soul with Sue William Silverman

What do you do when the memory you need most for your memoir is the one you can’t quite reach? You listen to this week’s guest, Sue William Silverman. Sue is the award-winning author of nine works of nonfiction and poetry and co-chair of the MFA in Writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She joined me for a deeply honest, craft conversation about what to do when you can’t remember, how to work with fragmented memory, how to use structure, voice, and sensory detail to tell the emotional truth of your story, and how to trust yourself even when certainty is impossible. If you’ve ever felt stalled by memory gaps, afraid of getting it “wrong,” or unsure how to write what you can’t fully recall, this episode will give you both permission and practical tools to keep going. Let’s dive in.

Episode Highlights

04:48 Writing Memoir When Memory Feels Unstable
05:48 From Bad Fiction to Honest Storytelling
07:13 The Five Senses Trick for Unlocking Memories
09:38 Emotional Truth vs. Perfect Facts
20:29 Writing the Gaps: What You Don’t Fully Remember
27:30 What You Cut (and Why It Matters Later)
30:55 You Don’t Have to Fit Your Whole Life in One Book
33:47 Finding the Voice That Can Tell the Story

Resources for this Episode:

Books by Sue William Silverman:

Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader
Because I Remember Terror Father, I Remember You
Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul
Love Sick
How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences

Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma by Melanie Brooks

The Part That Burns by Jeannine Ouellette

Playing with Dynamite by Sharon Harrigan

The Queen’s Path by Stacey Simmons

Can You Trust Your Memories? with Stacey Simmons

Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Sue’s Bio: Sue William Silverman is an award-winning author of nine works of nonfiction and poetry. Her new book, "Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader," is longlisted for the 2026 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. Sue has appeared on such programs as The View, Anderson Cooper 360, and PBS Books. She’s co-chair of the MFA in Writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Connect with Sue:

Website: https://www.suewilliamsilverman.com/
Facebook: @SueWilliamSilverman
Instagram: @suewilliamsilverman

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Can You Trust Your Memories? What Neuroscience Reveals About Trauma, Story, and Healing with Stacey Simmons

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Listeners, do you ever wonder if your memories are real? Are you writing a memoir and struggling to remember something—or worrying that what you’re sharing might not be “the truth”? Today on Writing Your Resilience, I’m joined by psychotherapist and neuroscience nerd Stacy Simmons for a powerful conversation about memory, trauma, and storytelling. We explore why memory isn’t a recording device, how traumatic memories get fragmented in the brain, what “reconstituted memories” really are, and how writers can work with their memories in ways that heal rather than re-traumatize. Get ready to dive into a conversation that reveals why memory is fragile, not like a flower but like a bomb.

Episode Highlights:

4:34: The Types of Memories Memoirists Need to Know
12:16: Can Your Bodies Be In Your Memories? The Limitations of Science
19:48: What to Do with Trauma Memories and How to Keep from Retraumatizing Yourself
27:33: Navigating Your Conscious Memories
35:41: Trusting Early Memories

Resources from This Episode:

What If You’re Not Meant to Be the Hero with Stacey Simmons
The Adverse Childhood Experience Survey Test
Mushroom Pharmacy: A Practical Guide to Psychedelic Mushrooms by Stacey Simmons
What Happened to You by Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry
Hysterical Podcast
McMartin Preschool Case
The Debate on Repressed Memories
Identify Your Memoir’s Essential Question
Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Stacey’s Bio: Stacey Simmons is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Psychedelic Therapist. She is a clinical supervisor at Hope Therapy Center in Burbank, California. Her practice focuses on creative professionals, where she works primarily with writers, directors, actors, and musicians. Her research focuses on creativity, archetypes, psychedelic psychotherapy, neuroscience, and consciousness research. She is a volunteer researcher with the Semel Institute of Neuroscience at UCLA, as well as a researcher with the Trance Science Research Institute in Paris, France. She holds a PhD from the University of New Orleans, and a Masters degree from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California.

Connect with Stacey:

Website: https://staceysimmonsphd.com

Facebook: @staceysimmonsphd

Instagram: @staceysimmonsphd

TikTok: @staceysimmonsphd

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

How to Write About Trauma Without Traumatizing Your Reader with Melissa Fraterrigo

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Writers, are you writing about trauma and wondering how detailed to get or how to connect the dots when your story feels scattered? The solution might be a memoir in essays that allows you to write about powerful discreet moments that are loosely connected by associations.

If that's you, you are in for a treat because this week on the Writing and Resilience Podcast, I'm joined by Melissa Fraterrigo, author of the Perils of Girlhood, named one of literary hub's, 100 notable small press books of 2025.

During our conversation, we explore the differences between memoir and memoir and essays, how to use memory as a portal to story, and how learning to trust your reader can help you decide what to share and what to leave out. Let's dive in.

Episode Highlights

6:24: The Drivers of Self-Esteem We’re Not Discussing
9:53: Understanding Memoirs in Essay versus Traditional Memoirs
17:00: How to Use Memory as a Portal to Story
22:15: The Secret to Treating All Characters Well
24:40: Tips for Navigating Traumatic Material in Your Essay
34:35: The One Unexpected Gift Writing Gives You

Resources for this Episode:

Melissa’s Bio: Melissa Fraterrigo’s memoir, The Perils of Girlhood was published by the University of Nebraska Press in Fall 2025, and named by Literary Hub as one of “100 Notable Small Press Books of 2025.” She is also the author of the novel Glory Days (University of Nebraska Press), and the story collection The Longest Pregnancy (Livingston Press). She teaches creative writing at Purdue University and is the founder of the Lafayette Writers’ Studio in Lafayette, Indiana. Please visit melissafraterrigo.com and lafayettewritersstudio.com.

Connect with Melissa:

Website: melissafraterrigo.com
@melissafraterrigo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissa.fraterrigo
Substack: https://substack.com/@melissafraterrigo
Lafayette Writers Studio: lafayettewritersstudio.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Memoir Writing Mistakes: Why “This Happened, Then This Happened” Isn’t a Memoir with Wendy Dale

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 01:00:00 -0500

This week, I’m joined by Wendy Dale, the author of The Memoir Engineering System, for a conversation that will change the way you think about structure, scenes, and what actually makes a memoir work. We talk about why “this happened, then this happened” isn’t a story, how connected events create momentum, and why your job as a memoirist isn’t just to show—but to transport your reader. If you’ve ever felt stuck in the messy middle, overwhelmed by pages, or unsure how to shape your lived experience into a compelling narrative, this episode is for you.

Episode Highlights

03:04 Wendy's Background
05:50 The "This Happened Then This Happened Problem
09:37 What Makes a Good Memoir
12:07 The Secret to Becoming a Great Writer
16:26 The Most Important Elements a Writer Must Consider
26:03 What Readers Really Want
33:15 The Real Work Scenes Must Do

Resources for this Episode:

Story Cure: A Book Doctor's Pain-Free Guide to Finishing Your Novel or Memoir by Dinty Moore
Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family by Mitchell Jackson
What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo
Identify Your Memoir’s Essential Question
Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Wendy’s Bio: Wendy Dale is the founder of Memoir Writing for Geniuses. She offers coaching and classes for newbies and professionals to write their memoirs using principles instead of a process of trial and error. Her memoir Avoiding Prison and Other Noble Vacation Goals was published by Three Rivers Press, a division of Penguin Random House. She is also the author of the book The Memoir Engineering System, the result of 15 years of research, which details a six-step process that allows writers to craft their memoirs from the ground up with no structural errors. Her motto is “Make your first draft your final draft.”

Connect with Wendy:

Website: www.geniusmemoirwriting.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@memoirwritingforgeniuses

Sign up for Revise Your Memoir series: https://bit.ly/4ooLTDi

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Entering the Fire Horse Year: The 3 Things Writers Must Do to Reclaim Momentum

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 01:00:00 -0500

As we step into 2026, many writers feel ready to begin—yet remain stalled or exhausted from the year before. In this episode, I show you how to reclaim momentum through creative alignment and the one thing you must do to harness your success. We explore the three essential things every writer must do: shed limiting beliefs, build supportive habits, and set boundaries that honor who you’re becoming—so you can step into the year with clarity, sovereignty, and authentic momentum.

Episode Highlights

1:53: Why Your Momentum is Flagging or Lagging
6:09: Shedding Unhelpful Beliefs
12:33: Modifying Your Habits
16:34: Evaluating Your Relationships
28:10: The Most Important Practice to Cultivate in 2026

Resources for this Episode:

Lisa’s Bio: Lisa Cooper Ellison is an author, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of the Writing Your Resilience podcast. Working at the powerful intersection of storytelling and healing, she blends her writing expertise, clinical training, and soul-centered practices—including Akashic Records work and Human Design—to help writers turn their hardest experiences into art. Her essays—on sibling loss, grief, trauma healing, and the craft of writing—have appeared in The New York Times, HuffPost, and The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, among others.

Sign up for Revise Your Memoir series: https://bit.ly/4ooLTDi

Get a taste of the series by signing up for Identify Your Memoir’s Essential Question

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Encore Episode: Breaking the Silence with Melanie Brooks

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 01:00:00 -0500

X: https://twitter.com/MelanieJMBrooks

In this encore conversation, author and teacher Melanie Brooks and I explore the lifelong impact of silence—within our families, our communities, and our writing lives. Drawing from her memoir, A Hard Silence, Melanie shares how unspoken truths shaped her understanding of grief, identity, and faith, and what it took to finally claim her voice on the page. Together, we discuss how silence keeps writers stuck, the power of finishing the stories that haunt us, and how narrative medicine helped her weave two complex narratives into one.

Episode Highlights

2:55: The pain of living with secrets
5:54: Navigating anticipatory grief
15:45: The transformative power of finishing your story
20:00 The magic of timing and the stories we tell ourselves
26:00 The influence of narrative medicine on Melanie’s story
30:00 Marrying two stories into one
37:00 Melanie’s best writing advice

Resources for this Episode:

Melanie’s Bio: Melanie Brooks is the author of A Hard Silence: One Daughter Remaps Family, Grief, and Faith When HIV/AIDS Changes It All (Vine Leaves Press, September 2023) and Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma (Beacon Press, 2017). She teaches professional writing at Northeastern University and creative nonfiction in the MFA program at Bay Path University in Massachusetts. She holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast writing program. She recently completed a Certificate of Narrative Medicine at Columbia University. Her work has appeared in Psychology Today, the HuffPost, Yankee Magazine, the Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, Creative Nonfiction, and other notable publications. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, two children (when they are home from college), and two Labs.

Connect with Melanie:

Website: melaniebrooks.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melanie.brooks.1690

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melaniejmbrookswriter

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/melanie-brooks-504826121

Book: https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-hard-silence-one-daughter-remaps-family-grief-and-faith-when-hiv-aids-changes-it-all-melanie-brooks/20151761?ean=9783988320209

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Encore Episode: Writing about Absent Fathers and Attachment Styles with Acamea Deadwiler

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Join me and Pushcart Nominee, TedX Speaker, and multi-passionate creative, Acamea Deadwiler for this encore episode where 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 writing her memoir, Daddy’s Little Stranger.

Acamea’s bio: Acamea Deadwiler is a Pushcart Prize nominated memoirist and essayist who received praise from Publishers Weekly and authored the memoir, Daddy’s Little Stranger. Her work has appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, North American Review, and Beyond Words Literary Magazine, among other publications. Acamea’s media features include the New York Post, Cosmopolitan, Bustle, and the FOX television network. She is also a TEDx speaker. Currently residing in Nevada, Acamea is an Indiana native. She is a fellow in the MFA program at Randolph College.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Episode Highlights

1:00 The Stories We Carry
7:00 Dealing with Normalized Violence
11:29 Choosing the Right Moments When Trauma Is High
15:30 Writing About Abandonment
18:00 Attachment Styles and Storytelling
24:12: Essay Collections vs Memoir
28:00 Writing About Bad Behavior
35:19 Transcendental Meditation and Writing
41:50 Connecting With Your Inner Compass
43:00 Acamea’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Acamea:

Instagram - @acamea
Twitter - @acameald
Website - acameadeadwiler.com
Book - Daddyslittlestranger.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Encore Episode: Crafting the Personal Essay and Resilient Editing Tips with Andrea Firth

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Join me and Andrea Firth for this encore episode of the writing your resilience podcast where we explore what personal essays are, how writers can uncover their essay’s aboutness, and how to develop resilient editing practices. As an added bonus, learn the inside scoop on how to get published on the Brevity Blog.

Episode Highlights

4:00 The Difference Between Memoir and Personal Essay
7:00 Exploring the Inciting Incident for Your Essays
14:00 Common Struggles Essayists Have: Aboutness
21:00 The Power of the Braided Essay
25:00 Resilient Editing and Workshopping
34:00 Submitting to the Brevity Blog

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

The Beauty of a Busted Fruit by Natalie Diaz
Secret Words by Andrea Firth
Broken Glass by Andrea Firth
Old John by Andrea Firth
Brevity Blog Submission Guidelines
Snot-Bubble-Cry Dance Parties that Boost Your Creativity by Lisa Cooper Ellison
Looking at an Eclipse: A Braided Essay About Braided Essays by Lilly Dancyger
Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Andrea’s Bio: Andrea A. Firth is a writer, editor and educator living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is an Editor at Brevity Blog and cofounder of Diablo Writers’ Workshop where she teaches creative writing and provides developmental editing. Andrea has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Saint Mary’s College of California. She was a finalist for The Missouri Review's 2021 Perkoff Prize in nonfiction, and her work has appeared in Dorothy Parker’s Ashes, Allium, The Coachella Review among others. Learn more about her and read her recent work at www.andreaafirth.com.

Connect with Andrea:

Website: https://www.andreaafirth.com/

Substack: Everything Essay! with Andrea Firth

Instagram: @andreaafwriter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrea.firth.58

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreafirth/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Encore Episode: Writing Through Shame: Hannah Sward on Memoir, Resilience, and Being Present

Thu, 25 Dec 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Join me and Hannah Sward, author of Strip: A Memoir, for an encore episode where we go 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 moves with incredible precision and power. You’ll also learn transcription tricks, sex scene-writing tips, the unexpected doors publishing your book can open, and some somatic techniques for navigating your vulnerability.

Episode Highlights

4:46 Hannah’s memoir writing process
10:16 Transcription tips
17:47 Somatic strategies for writing vulnerable scenes, including sex scenes
23:35: Placing insights into your book
24:37 Tricks for writing concisely
28:57 The post-publication life of your book
34:39 Writing what’s next

Resources for this Episode:

“My life after meth: Learning to open and close the curtains” by Hannah Sward
“The Sharp Edge of A Shell” by Hannah Sward
“Making Even The Smallest Mistake Filled Me With Terror. Then 2 Little Words Changed My Life.” by Lisa Cooper Ellison
Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Hannah’s Bio: Hannah Sward, daughter of the late poet Robert Sward, is the IPPY Gold winning author of Strip: A Memoir. For the past 25 years, Sward’s work has been widely published in literary journals in the US, Canada, and the UK. Her most recent work can be read in the LA Times, HuffPost, The NY Times (Tiny Love Stories) and The Rumpus (Voices on Addiction). Sward is on the board at Right to Write Press, a nonprofit that supports emerging incarcerated writers. She believes strongly in good literary citizenship and is actively involved in the literary community. She lives in Los Angeles where she is working on her next book. Learn more at hannahsward.com

Connect with Hannah:

Website: hannahsward.com
IG: @hannahswardauthor
Threads: @hannahswardauthor
BlueSky: summerjar.bsky.social

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

100 Episodes Later: 10 Lessons Every Writer Needs

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 02:00:00 -0500

What happens when you commit to showing up—again and again—for your writing life? In this special bonus recording in celebration of my 100th episode,, I reflect on ten years of creative work and the ten lessons I learned about growth, resilience, rest, and trusting your own process. If you’re questioning your path, feeling stuck, or wondering whether your effort matters, this episode will remind you why it does.

Episode Highlights

2:48: The Most Important Thing to Know
6:04: Failing Up versus Floundering
9:03: The Counterintuitive Nature of Progress

Resources for this Episode:

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

What If You're Not Meant to be the Hero of Your Memoir: How Writers Reclaim Their Sovereignty with Stacy Simmons

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Have you been trying to fit your life story into the hero’s journey and find it’s just not working? What if it doesn’t fit the mold because you were never meant to be the hero, but rather you were meant to be the queen? In this 100th episode of Writing Your Resilience, I’m joined by Stacey Simmons, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Psychedelic Therapist, and author of The Queen’s Path. Together, we explore sovereignty, archetypes, and why so many women’s stories end before they ever claim their full power.

Episode Highlights

4:35: Understanding Sovereignty
9:25: The Hero’s and Heroine’s Journey
15:30: Blindness and Entering the Divide
22:05: Our Curses and Marks
25:15: The Dangers of the Queen’s Path
31:20: Exercise: MIPEs, MISORs, and Our Commitments
38:33: Sovereignty Is for Everyone
41:52: Psychedelics and Sovereignty

Resources for this Episode:

Connect with Stacey:

Website: https://staceysimmonsphd.com/
Facebook: @staceysimmonsphd
Instagram: @staceysimmonsphd
TikTok: @staceysimmonsphd

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Stop Forcing the Silver Lining: Why Writers Need Real Emotional Truth with Dr. Risa Ryger

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 01:00:00 -0500

What if the pressure to “find the silver lining” is actually keeping you from healing?
In this episode, Dr. Risa Riger and I unpack the subtle—and sometimes harmful—ways toxic optimism, avoidance, and “bouncing back” culture disconnect us from our own truth. Together, we explore what real resilience looks like, why honesty must come before hope, and how trusting your capacity to be with discomfort can transform the way you meet your life.

Episode Highlights

2:13: The Self-Owned Mindset
3:50: The Problem with Silver Linings
7:44: The Fallacy that Everything Happens for a Reason
12:15: Building Self-Literacy
19:11: The Unsustainability of Bouncing Back
26:10: Cultivating Self-Trust

Resources for this Episode:

Dr. Ryger’s Bio: Dr. Risa Ryger is a Clinical Psychologist, International Speaker, Author, Founder of 93% Consulting, and the Creator of The Self-Owned Mindset(TM). As an Expert in Change, she knows that positive change can happen at any point. Her goal is to help women build confidence and self-trust to powerfully step forward into their lives through developing their Self-Owned Mindset.” Dr. Ryger has held clinical appointments including Professional Associate of Psychiatry at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Clinical Instructor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Cornell University Medical College. She has served as a Consulting Psychologist for Victim Services NYC and on the Advisory Council of Mindfulness Without Borders. She has presented to Microsoft, Mastercard, CitiBank, United Bonds UAE, National Alliance on Mental Illness, and Her Justice. She is a contributing author for Mind Body Green, Thrive Global, and The Female Quotient. She hosts a weekly Instagram Live Series, Disruptive Conversations with Dr. Risa Ryger, to highlight female disruptors in their fields. Her debut book on The Disruptive Self-Ownership Process(TM) is set to launch in early 2026. Dr. Ryger earned her Master of Science, Master of Philosophy, and Doctorate from Columbia University. She is the proud mother of two amazing daughters and lives in NY with her husband and two dogs, Penelope and Sammy – the dog who smiles.

Connect with Dr. Ryger:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/dr.risaryger
Website: https://www.drrisaryger.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-risa-ryger-69a47a21/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Your Memoir Isn’t Too Weird: How to Write the Mystical with Confidence with Linda McKittrick

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Many writers find themselves wrestling with experiences that fall outside linear time, logic, or the way stories are “supposed” to unfold. In this final Ask Me Anything episode of 2025, I sit down with my student Linda to talk about how to weave the spiritual, the uncanny, and the beyond-belief into memoir with clarity, groundedness, and literary intention. From magical realism to lyric memoir, we explore the craft choices that honor your truth while still guiding your readers.

Episode Highlights

2:24: Writing About the Spiritual and Mystical
6:12: Magical Realism in Memoir
11:11: Tackling the Mystical Through the Lyric Memoir

Resources for this Episode:

Ditch Your Inner Critic Now
Telling the Truth: Memoir, Myth and Magical Realism
10 Lyrical Memoirs That Will Enchant You
Beloved by Toni Morrison (novel)
The Warrior Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston (memoir)
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (autofiction)
Craving Spring by Anne Batchelder (memoir)
We The Animals by Justin Torres (autofiction)
Be with Me Always by Randon Billings Noble (lyric memoir/essay collection)
The Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward (lyric memoir)
The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch (lyric memoir)
My Name Means Fire by Atash Yaghmaian (memoir)
The Queen’s Path by Stacey Simmons

Linda McKittrick’s bio: Linda is an avid rancher and gardener, former HIV/AIDS, and hospice social worker, living in the Sonoran Desert. She is currently working on a memoir. When she is not writing she enjoys seed saving, creating in the kitchen, and participating in citizen science projects for bats and fireflies.

Connect with Linda:

Email: needleworker1@mac.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Gratitude, Grief, and Growth: What Frida Kahlo Taught Me About Resilience

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Holidays can bring out the best—and the hardest—parts of being human. In this special Thanksgiving episode of Writing Your Resilience, I share stories from joyful celebrations and heartbreakingly difficult years to remind you that whatever you’re feeling today—gratitude, grief, or something in between—it’s all welcome. Together, we’ll explore how art can help us hold the complexity of the season, find meaning in the dark, and transform our experiences into something beautiful.

Episode Highlights

1:30: Thanksgiving Reflections: The Highs and Lows
04:15: Embracing Your Feelings
5:10: The Power of Art: Frida Kahlo's Inspiration
7:00: Practical Advice for a Challenging Thanksgiving
8:14: Gratitude and Resilience

Resources for this Episode:

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

When Every Submission Feels Like a No: Reclaiming Your Writing Confidence

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Listeners, have you been struggling to pick yourself up after experiencing one—or maybe many—rejections of your work? It’s an experience that can make you feel so alone, but I want to be the first to say that we’ve all experienced the self-doubts and even shame a big rejection can create. In this week’s episode, Lynn Shattuck, Kristin Sancken and I share our personal rejection experiences, how to reframe the “no’s” you’ve received, and how to pick yourself back up when the writing life feels tough.

Episode Highlights:

3:12: Writing Rejection Stories
12:06: Understanding the Tier of Rejection
19:53: Capturing the Joy of Writing
22:09: Navigating Our Disappointments
36:11 What If The Work That’s Been Rejected Is Still a Yes for You

Resources:

Ditch Your Inner Critic Now
The Art of Intimacy: Crafting Connection in Memoir and Essay with Lilly Dancyger
Giving Up on Giving Up
How To Read Between The Lines of Your Rejections
What Is Polyvagal Theory
The Emotional Freedom Technique
The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, edited by Lynn Shattuck and Alyson Shelton
“Half-Life” by Lisa Cooper Ellison, published in The Kenyon Review

Connect with Kristin: http://www.sancken.com/

Instagram & Threads: @ktsancken_writer

Connect with Lynn: www.lossofalifetime.com, www.lynnlshattuck.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064888772287
Instagram: @lynn_shattuck

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

You Don’t Suck at Meditation: Busting 5 Myths That Keep You From Feeling Calm

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 01:00:00 -0500

If you’ve ever sat down to meditate—especially at a writing retreat—and thought, “I suck at this,” this episode is for you. In this solo conversation, I unpack five common myths about meditation that leave writers feeling frustrated, ashamed, or “bad” at being still. From the belief that you must stop thinking to the idea that meditation has to happen on a cushion with your eyes closed, I gently dismantle the misconceptions keeping you from finding your calm–including the fact that sometimes meditation isn’t good for you.

Episode Highlights

3:15: What Meditation Really Is
6:54: Why You’ve Been Told to Meditate
8:48: Two Reasons We Believe We Suck at Meditation
9:14: Myth One: The Goal of Meditation is to Stop Thinking
13:12: Myth Two: Meditation Takes a Long Time
16:36: Myth Three: I Have to Do Something Special
17:51: Myth Four: You Have to Sit to Mediate
20:24: Myth Five: Meditation is Always Good for You

Resources for this Episode:

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing Through the Body: What Our Scars, Stretch Marks, and Memories Teach Us with Nina Lichtenstein

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Listeners, what role does the body play in your book? Is it something you use to show the story—or is it the portal to the story itself? In this episode, I talk with Nina Lichtenstein, author of Body, My Life in Parts, a memoir in essays that uses the body as both structure and storyteller. Together, Nina and I explore how writing through the body can deepen our understanding of self, belonging, and resilience. As we prepare for this enlivening conversation, I invite you to take a deep breath, wiggle your toes and get ready for a conversation about what it means to write—and live—in a body. Let’s jump in.

Episode Highlights

2:00: The Power of Writing in Response to Body Parts
8:15: Tips for Crafting a Strong Live Reading
9:53: The Skin We Have in Our Stories
13:48: Navigating Time and Revelation in Essay Writing
21:29: Dealing with Tender Material
28:25: Navigating a Book Launch

Resources for this Episode:

Lucille Clifton’s poem “Homage to My Hips”
“On Blurbs That Matter and How I Did It.” by Nina Lichtenstein
“Skin in the Game” by Nina Lichtenstein

Nina’s Bio: Nina is a native of Oslo, Norway, now living in Maine. She holds a PhD in French literature from UCONN, an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine, and is a “recovering academic.” Her writing has appeared in Tablet Magazine, Kveller, Brevity Blog, Lilith Magazine, The Washington Post, HuffPost, and AARP, among other places. She has blogged as The Viking Jewess (since 2014) now on Substack. Her work has been anthologized and her book, Sephardic Women's Voices: Out of North Africa was published in 2017. Nina is the founder and director of Maine Writers Studio and co-founder/co-editor of In a Flash Literary Magazine. She has three grown Viking Jew sons, all over 6'4" tall with the middle names Thor, Balder, and Odin. She has gleefully discovered pickleball, loves to kayak and hike, and does yoga to calm her monkey mind.

Connect with Nina:

https://www.mainewritersstudio.com/
https://www.ninalichtenstein.com/
https://ninablichtenstein.substack.com/
https://www.instagram.com/vikingjewess/
https://www.facebook.com/ninalich/
https://inaflashlitmag.substack.com/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Selected Misdemeanors: Crafting Meaning in Flash Nonfiction with Sue William Silverman

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Have you ever wondered how a single moment—a glance, a mistake, a shimmering flash of memory—can hold the power of an entire story? Or how the smallest details of an ordinary life can reveal something vast about who we are and what we long for? In this episode, I talk with award-winning author Sue William Silverman about her newest book, Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader. Together, we explore the art of flash nonfiction—those short, revelatory pieces that illuminate our obsessions and turn ordinary moments into profound reflections on love, loss, and self-forgiveness.

Episode Highlights

3:35: Why Title This Selected Misdemeanors
6:36:Playing with Unifying Devices in Your Books
11:18: Understanding Flash Nonfiction
16:20: Creating Alternative Essay Constructions
22:10: Finding Specificity and Moving Away from Abstraction
30:43: Sue’s Writing Advice for Surviving 2025 and Beyond

Resources for this Episode:

About Finding Your Voice and Crafting Stories that Ignite the Soul with Sue William Silverman
Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul by Sue William Silverman

Sue’s Bio: Sue William Silverman is an award-winning author of nine works of nonfiction and poetry. Her new book, "Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader," is a collection of flash essays. Her book on the craft of writing, "Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul," won the 2024 IPPY Silver Award. Her memoir-in-essays collection, "How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences," won the gold star in Foreword Reviews INDIE Book of the Year Award. Other works include "Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction," made into a Lifetime TV movie; "Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You," which won the AWP Award; and "The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew." She’s co-chair of the MFA in Writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her media appearances include The View, Anderson Cooper-360, and PBS Books.

Connect with Sue:

Website: www.SueWilliamSilverman.com
Facebook: @SueWilliamSilverman
Instagram: @suewilliamsilverman

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

When Your Best Writing Feels Terrible: Understanding Shame, Vulnerability, and the Creative Process

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Today, we’re diving into a topic that trips up so many writers—vulnerability. How much should you share? When does honest writing become oversharing? And why does your most powerful work sometimes feel like it completely sucks? If you’ve ever been told your story isn’t raw enough—or that it’s too raw—you’re not alone. In this episode, I’ll break down the two extremes writers fall into, share a framework for finding the right kind of vulnerability, and show you how to use uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure to create stories that feel true, resonant, and safe for both you and your readers.

Episode Highlights

2:32: Defining Vulnerability
3:54: Uncertainty, Risk and Emotional Exposure in Storytelling
5:24: When Your Work Isn’t Vulnerable Enough
7:03: Crafting Compelling Scenes
8:15 When Your Writing Is Too Raw
10:56: What Do Your Readers Really Want
15:00: The Most Important Question to Ask Yourself
18:11: The Secret Reason You Think Your Writing Sucks

Resources for this Episode:

The Fawning Trauma Response with Ingrid Clayton

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Metaphors That Work: How to Make Your Writing More Vivid, Emotional, and True with Kristin Sancken and Lynn Shattuck

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 01:00:00 -0400

This week, we’re kicking off a new Editors’ Roundtable segment on the podcast, where I dig into key writing issues with the two trauma-informed editors I’m training—Kristin Sancken and Lynn Shattuck. In our first conversation, we explore metaphors—what they are, how to craft them, and how to recognize the ones that truly sing on the page. Let’s dive in.

Episode Highlights

5:23: What Is a Metaphor
7:15: Exercises For Creating Metaphors
9:40: Metaphors We Love (or Hate)
18:00: Our Writing Strategies
23:57: Discovering What Works
32:00 Navigating the Metaphor of Home

Resources for this Episode:

Sanctuary of the Holy Others Substack by Kristin Sancken
Oxygen: A Parlor Trick by Kristin Sancken (see page 19)
Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope edited by Lynn L. Shattuck and Alyson Shelton
Why I Rang the Cancer Bell by Lynn Shattuck
The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
Group: How One Therapist and A Circle of Strangers Saved My Life by Christie Tate
Our Double Time by Michael O’Siadhail
Essay on Creating Hermit Crab Essays by Randon Billings Noble
Ditch Your Inner Critic Now Masterclass

Connect with Kristin:

http://www.sancken.com/

Instagram: @ktsancken_writer

Threads: @ktsancken_writer

Connect with Lynn:

www.lossofalifetime.com

www.lynnlshattuck.com

Facebook

Instagram: @lynn_shattuck

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Showing, Telling, and the Shimmer: Finding the Scenes That Bring Your Memoir to Life with Marianna Marlowe

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Which memories shimmer inside you? Which ones refuse to let you go? Those luminous, haunting moments are often the raw ingredients of the story you’re truly meant to tell. In this episode of Writing Your Resilience, I sit down with newsletter follower and memoirist Marianna Marlowe, author of A Portrait of a Feminist as she shares how she used shimmering memories to craft her memoir-in-essays that explores memory and identity through a feminist lens. Together, we talk about her writing process, what feminism really means, how to write from a feminist perspective, and the surprising ways feminist self-care shows up in a writer’s life.

Episode Highlights

2:20: Writing as Both Pleasure and Contribution
11:17: Constructing a Memoir-in-Essays Through a Feminist Lens
15:21: The Role of Identity in Storytelling
17:58: The Power of the Gaze
23:00: The Difference Between Memoir and Academic Writing
28:37: Feminist Self-Care

Resources for this Episode:

Safekeeping by Abigail Thomas
Shimmering Images: A Handy Little Guide to Writing Memoir by Lisa Dale Norton
What They Don’t Tell You About Menopause with Dr. Mary Claire Haver on The Marie Forleo podcast
Buy Portrait of a Feminist

Marianna’s Bio: Marianna Marlowe is a Latina writer who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. After devoting years to academic writing, her focus now is creative nonfiction that explores issues of gender identity, feminism, cultural hybridity, intersectionality, and more Her short memoir has been published in Narrative, Hippocampus, The Woven Tale Press, Eclectica, Sukoon, and The Acentos Review, among others. She’s the author of Portrait of a Feminist and Portrait of a Mestiza, which will be published in March, 2026.

Connect with Marianna:

Facebook: marianna.marlowe
Instagram: mariannamarlowe_memoir
Website: mariannamarlowe.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing Grief Without Cliché: Eirinie Carson on Friendship, Loss, and The Dead Are Gods

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Have you ever wondered what it really means to grieve a friend—someone dazzling, flawed, and deeply loved? Or how laughter, silence, and even text messages can become part of the story we tell about those we’ve lost?

In today’s episode of Writing Your Resilience, I talk with writer Eirinie Carson about her breathtaking debut memoir The Dead Are Gods and her forthcoming novel Bloodfire, Baby. Together, we explore how writing can both preserve and transform our grief, why it’s so important to show loved ones in their full humanity, and what it means to let go of a story that once felt like holding on to the person themselves. Plus, Eirinie will share one of the most surprising things she learned about how we structure a book and the conversations it encourages as well as what gets silenced.

Episode Highlights

2:50: The Power of Capturing Your Memories
4:15: Writing for an Audience
8:30: Holding Space for Your Experiences
11:26: The Challenges of Releasing a Grief Memoir
21:00: The Relationship Between Laughter and Grief
25:00: How Your Book’s Structure Impacts the Way You Market It

Resources for this Episode:

Eirinie’s Bio: Eirinie Carson is a Black British writer living in California. She is a mother of two children and sits on the board of The Writers Grotto in San Francisco. Her work has appeared in LitHub, Mother Magazine, The Notre Dame Review, Mortal Mag, Electric Literature, The Sonora Review and others. She was the NEA Distinguished Fellow at the Hambidge Center, and she and her work have been supported by Mesa Refuge, Hedgebrook and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Eirinie's first book, The Dead Are Gods (Melville House, 2023), was critically acclaimed by Oprah Daily, Nylon Magazine, Shondaland and The Washington Post as well as winning a Zibby Award. It was also named one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2023.

Connect with Eirinie:

Website: www.eiriniecarson.com

Instagram: @eirinieeee

Bluesky: @eirinieee.bsky.social

Tiktok: @eirinieeee

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Write the Story That Sets You Free: A Behind-the-Scenes Pivot Toward Soul Alignment

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Have you ever wondered if what you’re doing is truly aligned with your soul’s purpose? Or maybe you’ve had that nagging feeling that something’s off—that you’re not quite on the right track. How do you know when it’s time to stay the course, and when it’s time to pivot so you can do more of what you love and let go of what no longer serves you? In today’s very personal episode of Writing Your Resilience, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my own writing and business life to share the pivot strategy to better align my business and claim more of my writing time.

Episode Highlights

3:00: Heeding Your Inner Call
8:00: Identifying Your Guiding Principles
18:54: Crafting Your Symbol and Tagline
21:54: Clarifying Your Why and How
33:00: Conquering Your (My) Greatest Fear

Resources for this Episode:

Check Out My New Website
“3 Ways I’m Gently Reinventing My Work Right Now” on Off the Grid with Amelia Hruby
Buy Your Attention Is Sacred Except On Social Media
Building a Writing Career Without Social Media with Amelia Hruby
Using Human Design to Break Through Writing Blocks with Maha Mamish
Leaning into the Mystery of Our Stories with Brett Will Taylor
The Legend of the Phoenix
Mindy at Fairy Tale Social
A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings
The Part that Burns by Jeannine Ouellette

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

The Secret to Writing Your Best Work: Rest

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 01:00:00 -0400

This week, we’re talking about something our culture often dismisses but your writing life desperately needs: rest. In this episode, I’ll share why rest matters, how you can create more of it—even when life feels full—and the surprising lessons I learned during my own summer break. Grab your pen and notebook and get ready to explore the radical power of doing less.

Episode Highlights

1:26: Why I Decided to Take a Month Off
5:30: Connecting with Your Inner Compass
10:23: The 3 S’s of Rest
15:23: Why Doing Less Can Lead to More
18:15: My Biggest Takeaways
21:44 Three Ways to Capture Your Best Ideas

Resources for this Episode:

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

The Fawning Trauma Response: Ingrid Clayton on Healing People-Pleasing and Codependency

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Have you been told you’re a people pleaser or found yourself saying yes when you meant no, without even thinking about it? Have a friend who struggles to express their feelings or share their preferences? If so, you might have encountered the fawning trauma response. Join me and Ingrid Clayton, author of Fawning, and the memoir Believing Me, as we unpack the misconceptions regarding this trauma response, share our experience, strength, and hope, and show you how to join the unfawning revolution she’s spearheading with her new book.

Episode Highlights

1:30: The Fawning Trauma Response
5:51: The Problem of Co-dependence
10:04: Complex Trauma’s Impact on Our Nervous Systems
12:50: Fawning’s Influence on Writing
22:29: The Energetic Signature of Your Book
28:45: The Unfawning Process
43:45: The Role of Tears

Resources for this Episode:

What is the Fawning Trauma Response by Ingrid Clayton
How to Stop Gaslighting Yourself with Ingrid Clayton
Believing Me by Ingrid Clayton

Ingrid’s Bio: While Ingrid has a clinical background, she believes there is no theory, diagnosis, or therapy that can replace the power of shared experience. Her memoir, Believing Me, is written from the heart, where all our hurt lives—so it speaks the same language. In addition to raising her beautiful son, Ingrid believes that gaining the courage to write Believing Me is her greatest achievement to date. Her latest book, Fawning, addresses an often-overlooked piece of the fight-flight-freeze reaction to trauma—explaining what it is, why it happens, and how to help survivors regain their voice and sense of self.

Connect with Ingrid:

Website: https://www.ingridclayton.com/
Instagram and YouTube: @IngridClaytonPhD
Get a free copy of her PDF on the fawning response: https://www.ingridclayton.com/fawningtraumaresponse
Get a copy of Believing Me: https://www.ingridclayton.com/books
Order your copy of Fawning now: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/779579/fawning-by-dr-ingrid-clayton/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Encore: The Creative Cure for Writers: Trauma-Informed Approaches for Memoir and Embracing Your Creativity with Jacob Nordby

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Do you struggle to see yourself as creative? Or have you ever wondered where your creativity comes from, and how to maximize it? This week, I’m joined by Jacob Nordby, founder of A Writing Room Collective and author of Blessed are the Weird: A Manifesto for Creatives, and The Creative Cure, a powerful guide to reconnecting with your creative self. In this week’s episode, Jacob and I dive deep into the healing power of creativity, trauma, and the inner wisdom we all carry within us. Grab your pen, open your heart, and join us as we discuss how to nurture your creative intuition, overcome the obstacles of comparison and fear, and how creativity can be the bridge back to feeling truly alive.

Episode Highlights

The Authentic Work of Creativity
The Trifecta of Rejection, Trauma, and Socialization
Polyvagal Theory and the Creative Process
The Role of Intuition in Creativity
Connecting with Your Body’s Wisdom
Recovering Our Connection to Our True Nature

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

www.creativecurebook.com
www.creativeselfjournal.com
The ACES Test
Polyvagal Theory and the Ventral Vagal State
The Seven Chakras
Human Design
Writing Rituals with Natalie Buster
Writing Down Your Soul by Janet Conner
Seeking Wisdom by Julia Cameron

Jacob Nordby is a co-founder of A Writing Room Collective, Heal + Create, The Institute for Creative Living Foundation 501(c)3, and the author of several books, including Blessed Are the Weird – A Manifesto for Creatives and The Creative Cure. He previously worked as the marketing director for a traditional publishing house and oversaw the launch of many bestselling books. A working author and creative guide, he has a passion for helping writers solve their challenges and enjoy the satisfaction of sharing their work with the world.

Connect with Jacob:

Website: https://www.jacobnordby.com/
The Creative Cure book page: www.creativecurebook.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jacobnordby/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacobnordby/
Creative Self Journal Gift: https://www.jacobnordby.com/creative-self-journal-gift/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Encore: The Power of Micro Memoir: Grief, Storytelling, and Experimentation with Amy Lin

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 01:00:00 -0400

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, how Amy’s memoir acts as a powerful container for this universal experience, the magic of the micro-form, and what it takes to create something experimental. Plus, I’ll share a transformative tool to expand how you see your stories—and uncover the truths hiding within them.

Amy’s Bio: Amy Lin lives in Calgary, Canada where there are two seasons: winter and road construction. She completed her MFA at Warren Wilson College and holds BAs in English Literature and Education. Her work has been published in places such as Ploughshares and she has been awarded residencies from Yaddo and Casa Comala. Here After is her first book.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Episode Highlights

The Container of Grief
The “Good Signs” of Grief
Performative Grief versus the Reality of Grief
The Five Stages of Grief Debunked
The Power of Micro Memoir
The Story Neighborhood Exercise
The Marrow of Living
Amy’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Amy:

Substack: https://atthebottomofeverything.substack.com/
Website: amydawnlin.com
Instagram: @literaryamy
TikTok: @literaryamy

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Encore: How Recovery Supports Memoir Writing and Book Marketing Tips with Laura Cathcart Robbins

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Author Laura Cathcart Robbins shares book marketing tips she learned while promoting her memoir Stash: My Life in Hiding, and how recovery helped her cultivate the honesty needed to write her memoir.

Laura’s Bio: Laura Cathcart Robbins is the best-selling author of the Atria/Simon & Schuster memoir, Stash, My Life In Hiding, and host of the popular podcast, The Only One In The Room. She has been active for many years as a speaker and school trustee and is credited for creating The Buckley School’s nationally recognized committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice. Her recent articles on the subjects of race, recovery, and divorce have garnered her worldwide acclaim. She is a 2022 TEDx Speaker, and LA Moth StorySlam winner. Currently, she sits on the advisory boards of the San Diego Writer’s Festival and the Outliers HQ podcast Festival.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

I Was the Only Black Person at Elizabeth Gilbert and Cheryl Strayed’s ‘Brave’ Magic Retreat by Laura Cathcart Robbins
“A White Woman Told Me She Doesn’t Think of Me as Black. Here’s How I Reacted.” by Laura Cathcart Robbins
Book Review for Stash: My Life in Hiding by Lisa Cooper Ellison
Author Platform Is Not a Requirement to Sell Your Novel or Children’s Book by Jane Friedman
Official Transcript

Episode Highlights

The Response to Stash
The Power of Honesty
The Link Between Recovery and Honesty
Channeling Your Energy in a Specific Direction
Marketing Your Book and Yourself
Caring For Yourself As You Market Your Book
Year Two and Working with Book Clubs
How Honesty Builds Resilience

Connect with Laura

Website: https://lauracathcartrobbins.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauracathcartrobbins
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauracathcartrobbins
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mscathcartrobbins
X: https://twitter.com/lauracrobbins

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Encore: Caring for Your Nervous System and Creativity with Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Kirby Moore

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 01:00:00 -0400

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 tool you can use right now to calm your nervous system. While you can listen to this on any platform, if you’re a visual learner, this is a great episode to watch on YouTube. Now, let’s get to my conversation with Kirby Moore.

Kirby’s bio: Kirby brings a unique and potent blend of modalities to his healing facilitation sessions. He has been very fortunate to study with some masterful SE faculty members, with Tibetan Buddhist heart teachers, and one of the pioneers in the field of Birth Process Work. All this training, plus 20 years as a practicing Astrologer, means that Kirby offers exceptional somatic process work – both in-person and online.

In 2019, Kirby developed Trauma Informed Astrology, which is a very ambitious blend of Western Astrology, nervous system repair and theory, and embodiment tools. He loves offering courses, mentoring students, and offering clients rare insights into their process.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Kirby’s Course: Liberating the Space Element
Use the Code Podcast30 to save 30% off this course
Souls of the Feet Meditation
Heart Coherence Meditation
Dr. Kay Tye: The Biology of Social Interactions and Emotions

Episode Highlights

Biodynamic Cranial Sacral Therapy
What is Somatic Experiencing
Healthy and Unhealthy Checking Out
The Consequences of Dissociation
Reciprocals: A Powerful Somatic Tool
Why Meditation Can Harm Trauma Survivors
Dealing with Writing Triggers
Somatic Advice on Writing

Connect with Kirby

Website: www.traumainformedastrology.com
Website: www.mkirbymoore.com
Website: https://astrodharma.me
Instagram: @traumainformedastrology
Email: kirby@mkirbymoore.com

Free Your Writing Voice, Fuel Your Motivation is a 12-week course designed to help you reconnect with the creative spark that brought you to the page in the first place. https://lisacooperellison.com/free-your-writing-voice-find-your-motivation/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Encore: The Power of Words: Samman Akbarzada on Finding Her Voice After Fleeing Afghanistan

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Imagine working tirelessly for years to publish your first novel—only to have the moment of celebration collide with the collapse of your country. Imagine being forced to flee, leaving behind everything you’ve ever known, and yet… still finding your voice through poetry, storytelling, and advocacy.

Today, I have the honor of speaking with Samman Akbarzada—a poet, novelist, refugee, and fierce advocate for human rights. Her novel, Life is a Movie, tells the story of a working child in Afghanistan, while her poetry collection, A Glimmer in the Dark, captures the heartbreak of exile and the enduring hope of survival. Join us as we discuss the power of storytelling, the resilience of the human spirit, and how writing can bear witness to both personal and collective grief.

Episode Highlights

Publishing in a War Zone
The Impact of Crisis and Loss on Our Writing Lives
Giving a Voice to Someone Who’s Gone
How Helping Others Empowers You
Listening to the Howl
Writing as an Act of Service
Samman’s Best Writing Advice

Resources for this Episode:

Afghan refugees head to Washington asking special visas be issued for families
Afghan refugee pleads for resettlement support on Capitol Hill
Volunteer Information: https://www.volunteermatch.org/
Volunteer Organizations in Charlottesville:
Watch the Trailer for Limbo

Samman Akbarzada is an Afghan refugee and the author of two books: A Glimmer in the Dark, her poetry collection, and Life is a Movie, her debut novel. A second-year student at the University of Virginia, she is committed to working with NGOs and advocating for the rights of underserved communities. Her words capture the suffering, heartbreak, gratitude, and redemption that mark a life lived on the blade of conflict, with love and empathy as her constant guiding light.

Connect with Samman

Website: https://www.amazon.com/author/samman-akbarzada
Instagram.com/sammanwrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samman-akbarzada-9359792a0
Samman’s books: https://bookshop.org/p/books/life-is-a-movie-samman-akbarzada/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Encore: Making Meaning and Writing Toward Posttraumatic Growth with Lennie Echterling

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 01:00:00 -0400

The Paradox of Empathy: When Empathy Hurts

Lennie Echterling joins the Writing Your Resilience podcast to talk about the lessons he learned from landmine survivors, the difference between empathy and toxic positivity, the importance of fostering your posttraumatic growth, and how to use writing to build your resilience.

Lennie’s Bio: Lennie Echterling, Ph.D., is a Professor Emeritus at James Madison University with more than 40 years of experience in promoting resilience, particularly during crises and disasters. He has served as crisis counselor, consultant, and trainer following many traumatic stress events, including tornadoes and floods throughout the United States, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the tsunami in India, the 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon, the shootings at Virginia Tech, and landmine explosions in the Middle East. His awards include JMU’s Distinguished Faculty Award, Virginia Counselors Association’s Humanitarian Award, Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award, Virginia Counselors Career Service Award among many others.

Resources mentioned during this episode:

Thriving in a Time of Crisis

The Book of Forgiving: The Four-Fold Path Four Healing Ourselves and Our World by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu

Writing to Heal with Laura Davis

Good Night Jung by Lennie Echterling

Episode Highlights

Lessons from Landmine Survivors
Triggers for Resilience
Defining Posttraumatic Growth
The Problem of Toxic Positivity
The Power of Being with Another Person’s Story
The Struggle to Trust
Embracing and Exploring the Chaos Story
The Role of Neuroplasticity in Storytelling
Lessons Learned from Final Conversations
Making Every Day Valentine’s Day
The Power of Expressing Gratitude
Lennie’s Best Writing Advice
Lennie’s Resilience Practice

Connect with Lennie:

Email: echterlg@jmu.edu

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Encore: Navigating Complex Relationships and Writing Through Trauma with Lara Lillibridge

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 01:00:00 -0400

The True Meaning of Success with Courtney Maum

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 protect your heart as you write about painful experiences, the power of publishing your story, as well as the a-ha Lara had about which part of the writing process actually heals you.

Lara’s Bio: Lara Lillibridge (she/they) is the author of The Truth About Unringing Phones: Essays on Yearning; Mama, Mama, Only Mama: An Irreverent Guide for the Newly Single Parent, and Girlish: Growing Up in a Lesbian Home,. Lara is a Creative Nonfiction Editor for HeartWood Literary Magazine. She holds an MFA from West Virginia Wesleyan College and is a mentor for AWP’s Writer to Writer.

In this episode:

When can non-linear storytelling play a role in writing about fragmented relationships?
Advice for balancing dark and light moments in memoir writing to present a full picture of the relationship.
The importance of audience connection and feedback as a source of resilience during the book launch period.
The healing power of revision.
Tips for organizing and structuring non-linear memoirs.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother’s Life by Kao Kalia Yang

New York Times article on Consent by Jill Cement

Episode Highlights

COVID’s Impact on Our Creativity
Structuring an Estrangement Story
Crafting a Nonlinear Memoir
Protecting Your Heart as You Write
How Estrangement Impacts Us
The Healing Power of Publishing Your Story
Lara’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Lara

Website: http://laralillibridge.com/

Twitter: https://x.com/Only_Mama

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lara.lillibridge

Instagram/Threads: https://www.instagram.com/LaraLillibridge

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Encore: Recovering from Cults and Religious Trauma Through Writing with Tia Levings

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Welcome to The Anti-Fundamentalist

As you listen to this episode, consider the following questions: What would you need to do to claim your story? What would tell you it has legs? What would you need to do to see it from a wider lens? If it is a really tough story, how would you care for yourself as you work on it?

Tia is an author and guest expert who exposes the abuses in Christian Fundamentalism. She’s been quoted in Salon, the Huffington Post, and the New York Times and appeared in the hit Amazon docu-series, Shiny Happy People. Her memoir, A Well-Trained Wife, will be published August, 6, 2024 by St. Martin's Press. Online, Tia connects our current news headlines with high-control religious roots.

Episode Highlights:

Signals Your Project Has Legs
How Writing Heals
Gaslighting and Religion
Finding the Wider Lens
Understanding Your Boundaries
Writing Without Retraumatizing Yourself
Claiming Your Story
Caring for the Soft Animal of Your Body

Items mentioned in this episode:

The Best Way to Deal with End-of_year Angst (Blog post on writing in a vacuum)

Shiny Happy People where to find it

Shitty First Drafts by Anne Lamott

Dr. Ramani On Gaslighting

Plotting Your Novel with The Plot Clock

Deep Work by Cal Newport

Connect with Tia:

Website: https://tialevings.com

Tia’s Book: https://tialevings.com/book

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TiaLevingsWriter

Facebook: https://facebook.com/TiaLevingsWriter

Substack: https://tialevings.substack.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Encore: Understanding Neurodivergence with Katie Rose Guest Pryal

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Katie Rose Guest Pryal joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to take a deep dive into what neurodiversity is and how it impacts writers.
Here are a few questions to ponder as you listen to this episode: What do you know about neurodiversity? Do you consider yourself to be neurodivergent? If you are, how does that impact the way you set up your writing life, what you write about, and how you see the world?

Katie Rose Guest Pryal, J.D., Ph.D., is a bipolar-autistic author, keynote speaker, law professor, and expert in mental health and neurodiversity. Her books include Life of the Mind Interrupted: Essays on Mental Health and Disability in Higher Education, the IPPY-Gold-winning Even If You’re Broken: Bodies, Boundaries, and Mental Health, and A Light in the Tower: A New Reckoning with Mental Health in Higher Education. She writes frequently for national magazines and speaks around the country about mental health and neurodiversity. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Episode Highlights

Defining Neurodiversity
The Power of a Diagnosis
The Problem of Overwhelm
Reclaiming the Word Selfish
Learn to Cope
Fitting into the Narrow Band of “Normal”
Writing and Neurodiversity

Items mentioned during this episode:
Katie’s post about overwhelm: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzbTVgJgc5L/
Compton Cowboys: https://www.instagram.com/comptoncowboys/

Contact Katie:
Substack: https://krgpryal.substack.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krgpryal/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krgpryal/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/krgpryal

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Encore: It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic Abuse with Dr. Ramani Durvasula

Thu, 03 Jul 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Dr. Ramani’s Healing Program

Dr. Ramani Durvasula, author of It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People, shares her insights into narcissism, how narcissistic abuse survivors can heal, how to get support, and how to care for yourself when writing and promoting a book on tough topics.

Dr. Ramani’s Bio: Ramani Durvasula, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist in California, the founder and CEO of LUNA Education, Training and Consulting, and professor emerita of psychology at California State University Los Angeles. She is the New York Times bestselling author of It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People. She is also the author of multiple other books including Don’t You Know Who I Am: How to Stay Sane in the Era of Narcissism, Entitlement and Incivility and Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving a Relationship with a Narcissist. She has lectured and trained therapists around the world on best practices on working with clients experiencing narcissistic abuse and has developed a 36-hour virtual training and certification program in conjunction with PESI to train clinicians on how to use an Antagonism-Informed approach with clients experiencing narcissistic relationships. Dr. Durvasula hosts a popular YouTube channel with over 1.6 million subscribers, hosted the critically acclaimed podcast Navigating Narcissism, and is a featured expert on the digital media platform MedCircle. She has also been widely involved in the governance of the American Psychological Association, including the APA Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology and the APA Minority Fellowship Program.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Healing from Gaslighting Course

Course on Narcissistic Abuse for Therapists

Dr. Ramani Network

Connect with Dr. Ramani

Website: https://doctor-ramani.com/

YouTube: @DoctorRamani

Instagram: @DoctorRamani

X@DoctorRamani

TikTok: @DoctorRamani

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing for an Audience Without Losing Yourself: Trauma-Informed Storytelling with Beth Docherty

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Click here to learn more about Free Your Voice, Fuel Your Motivation

What does it mean to write the truth when your story includes trauma—and how do you do it without retraumatizing yourself or your readers?

That’s what I’ll explore with this week’s guest, Beth Docherty—a trauma-informed healthcare educator, musician, and emerging memoirist—as she shares her journey from research chemist to advocate for safer, more compassionate care. Together, we dive into one of the most important questions memoirists ask: How do we write about hard truths in ways that are honest, responsible, and healing? Get your notebook, open your heart, and get ready to explore nervous system regulation while writing, what your readers really need from you, and how to know when your story is ready for the world.

Episode Highlights

2:19: Balancing Truth and Care for the Reader
4:45: Understanding Your Window of Tolerance
8:31: Attending to Your Audience’s Needs
16:06: Making Sense of Your Story
18:00: Preventing Overexposure
20:46: Author and Speaker Self-Care

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

Beth's Essay: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/doctor-trauma-informed-health-care-septic_n_686af8dde4b0762f74e11c1e?eyo#
The Moth
The Power of Writing Rituals | Building a Resilient Writing Practice (Pt 1)
Managing Your Creative Energy | How to Write What Matters Every Day (Pt 2)
Working with Your Inner Critic | How to Make It Your Creative Ally (Pt 3)
Finish Strong & Plan Your Next Writing Session | Building a Resilient Writing Practice (Pt 4)

Beth’s Bio: Beth Docherty is a chemist, musician, writer, and a passionate advocate. She is the Principal of The TRUST Project, a research and outreach initiative dedicated to educating medical professionals and students about the connections between trauma, health, and well-being. Beth lectures nationally at universities, conferences, medical facilities and public events, speaking on the importance of trauma-informed care. She is an active member of the Physical and Behavioral Health Action Team of the HEAL PA initiative, which aims to implement trauma-informed practices across Pennsylvania. Beth has also testified in legislative hearings to advocate for the rights of sexual assault and crime survivors. She is currently writing her first memoir, which explores her personal journey through sexual violence and trauma, how it impacted her healthcare, and why trauma-informed care is essential. Her essay on this topic is soon to be published in HuffPost.

Connect with Beth:

Website: https://www.thetrustproject-pa.com/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/beth.docherty.pa
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-docherty-trust/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Disrupting the Inner Critic: Dr. Risa Ryger on Writing, Change, and the Self-Owned Mindset

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 01:00:00 -0400

This is the 75th episode of the Writing and Resilience Podcast, and I would not have made it this far without your generous support of this podcast and my work. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Now, about today’s episode. What if the key to writing through pain isn't pushing harder, but rather being radically kinder to yourself? That's what I'll explore with Dr. Risa Ryger, clinical psychologist, international speaker and founder of 93% Consulting. We explore what it really means to change and write through pain, not from a place of brutal self-judgment, but from a place of self-trust, curiosity, and compassion.

If you're navigating trauma in your writing, wrestling with your inner critic, or wondering how to begin without overwhelming yourself, this conversation is here to support you. Get ready to feel seen, affirmed, and gently challenged.

Episode Highlights

2:11: Starting from the Place of Not Knowing
4:31: Disruption Isn’t Destruction
5:55: Pain in the Change Process
14:22: Don’t Get Stuck in the Binary
18:24: The Self-Owned Mindset

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

Dr. Ryger’s Bio: Dr. Risa Ryger is a Clinical Psychologist, International Speaker, Author, Founder of 93% Consulting, and the Creator of The Disruptive Self-Ownership ProcessTM who served as a consultant psychologist for victim services. She is the host of the weekly Instagram Live series: Disruptive Conversations with Dr. Risa Ryger and she earned her Master of Science, Master of Philosophy, and Doctorate from Columbia University. Creator of the Self-Owned Mindset, she is an excerpt on change whose goal is to help women stop playing small and have the confidence and self-trust to powerfully step forward into their lives and say, I’ve got this.” Dr. Ryger is the proud mother of 2 amazing daughters and lives in NY with her husband and two dogs, Penelope and Sammy – the dog who smiles.

Connect with Dr. Ryger:

Website: https://www.drrisaryger.com/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/dr.risaryger
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-risa-ryger-69a47a21/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Unlock Creative Flow with Qigong: Somatic Practices for Writers with Jay DeMaio

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Have you ever felt like your creativity is blocked—but you know the problem isn’t your ideas, your schedule, or even your writing practice? What if your nervous system holds the key to unlocking the stories inside you?

In this episode, I’m joined by Jay DeMaio, a trauma-aware Internal Martial Arts teacher based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Together, we explore how Qigong—a gentle, meditative movement practice—can enhance creativity, help regulate your nervous system, and bring your body into deeper harmony so your writing can flow more freely. We also dig into my struggles with rest and boredom when doing things I know are good for me. Grab your pen, open your heart, and discover why slowing down might be the medicine your writing life truly needs.

Episode Highlights

0:47: What is QiGong
5:03 How QiGong Changed Jay
15:00: The Impact of Grief and Fear on Our Energy
17:00 Qi Resourcing Exercise
32:00 The Somatic Writing Process
34:00 Boredom and the Fallow State
41:00 Bringing Curiosity to Our Discomfort
44:00 Capitalizing on Summer Energy

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

Jay’s Bio: Jay DeMaio is a trauma-aware Internal Martial Arts Teacher based in Charlottesville, VA. Jay holds a five-year certification in QiGong, Qi Healing and Internal Alchemy Meditation from Blue Willow World Healing Center. He has been training for over 15 years via direct transmission from Daoist QiGong Masters from the Dragon Gate Lineage School and the Mt EMei Lineage School. Through his online classes and in-person workshops, Jay guides gentle, empowering QiGong practices that connect the body to its innate healing wisdom and inner medicine. His therapeutic approach is informed by 5 Element Chinese Medicine and psychosomatic science while staying rooted in trauma awareness, deep presence, and compassion.

Connect with Jay:

Website: www.jaydemaio.com
Instagram and X: @ altar_native_medicine

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Why Writing Is Still Worth It: Sean Murphy on Endurance, Inspiration, and Literary Citizenship

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 01:00:00 -0400

In this episode, I reconnect with the brilliant and multifaceted Sean Murphy—poet, fiction writer, founder of 1455 Literary Arts, director of the Center for Story at Shenandoah University, and host of the podcast Some Things Considered. Together, we explore what it means to create during challenging times, why writing is a long game built on endurance, and how generosity—both to others and to your own process—can sustain your creative spirit. We talk about literary citizenship, artistic joy, and the mindset shifts that help us keep going when the road feels steep. We also tackle one of my most persistent writing problems—something I know I’m not alone in: how to capture all those great ideas that come to me when I’m shampooing my hair.

Episode Highlights

2:57: Juggling the Hardships and Hopes of the Writing Life
5:29: Differentiating Writing from Publishing
7:34: The Process is the Reward
12:33: Writing While Wearing Many Hats
18:45: Developing a Creative Mindset
30:34: Why You Must be a Good Literary Citizen

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

Some Things Considered: Karen E. Bender & Robert Anthony Siegel | How to Adapt & Thrive as a Writer
Information on the connection between dopamine and our endeavors: Dr. Kay Tye: The Biology of Social Interactions and Emotions
Writing to Heal with Laura Davis
How to Navigate the Business of Writing and Publishing: Expert Advice from Jane Friedman

Sean’s Bio: Sean Murphy is founder of the non-profit 1455 Lit Arts, and directs the Center for Story at Shenandoah University. He has appeared on NPR's All Things Considered and been quoted in USA Today, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and AdAge. A long-time columnist for PopMatters, his work has also appeared in Salon, The Village Voice, Washington City Paper, The Good Men Project, Writer’s Digest, and others. His chapbook, The Blackened Blues, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2021. His second collection of poems, Rhapsodies in Blue was published by Kelsay Books in 2023. His third collection, Kinds of Blue, and This Kind of Man, his first collection of short fiction, published in 2024. He has been nominated four times for the Pushcart Prize, twice for Best of Net, and his book Please Talk about Me When I'm Gone was the winner of Memoir Magazine's 2022 Memoir Prize. To learn more, and read his published short fiction, poetry, and criticism, please visit seanmurphy.net/ and @bullmurph.

Connect with Sean:

Website: https://www.seanmurphy.net/
Instagram @bullmurph
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSeanMurphy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bullmurph/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-murphy-4986b41/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@seanmurphy6184

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Using Human Design to Break Through Writing Blocks and Find Flow with Maha Mamish

Thu, 29 May 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Have you ever wondered what truly drives you? Are there parts of your personality that leave you puzzled, making you ask, "Why do I do that?" Have you been trying to improve an aspect of your life—especially your writing life—but it feels like no matter what you do, nothing changes? If you’re nodding along, get ready for a mind-blowing conversation with Human Design coach Maha Mamish.

In this episode, you'll learn what Human Design is, why I’m so passionate about it, and how it can transform the way you approach your life and creative process. You’ll also hear how it's already making a huge impact on my coaching clients. So, grab a pen, open your heart, and get ready to explore your unique operating system in a way that could change everything.

Episode Highlights

4:55: What Is Human Design
7:22: The Main Types in Human Design
13:00: Applying the Types to Our Lives
33:54: Human Design and Your Creative Life
42:24: Maximizing Your Productivity

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

Maha’s Bio: Maha Mamish is the owner of mishmish, an NYC-based think tank that promotes growth for sustainable brands via holistic business frameworks. This year mishmish launched mishmishfoods- a food brand that uses food experiences as a therapeutic modality for personal and collective healing, as well as Heirloom, a service working with top artists to sustainably transform and modernize family heirlooms. Her work sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship, design, wellbeing, and holism. After 17 years excelling in sales and business development in the global luxury interiors industry, she pursued advanced certifications in quantum coaching, relational presence, neuro-linguistics, holistic health & nutritional science, and crystal healing. She also published her book in 2021 titled "The Creative Entrepreneur: Use Your Sensitive Nature to Build a Highly Successful Business. Maha holds a master certification in human design via Robin Winn, a disciple of Karen Parker Curry who studied directly under Ra Uru himself.

Connect with Maha:

Instagram: @mishmishnyc

Website: www.mahamamish.com

Email: mm@mahamamish.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Bringing Light to History: Amy Fish and the Journey of One in Six Million

Thu, 22 May 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Six years ago, Amy Fish and I sat at a table in a hotel ballroom during the HippoCamp Writing Conference when she told me about her latest book idea. As soon as I heard about it, I said, go write that book. In this episode, we celebrate both the journey and the final version of her latest nonfiction book, One in Six Million. Join us as Amy shares how she maintained her motivation through a six-year writing process, how she kept track of her extensive research, how she found the right tone and voice for this book, and what she's currently trusting in.

Episode Highlights

2:30: Finding the Right Voice for Your Book
2:54: Writing Someone Else’s Story
5:47: Managing Your Research
12:25: Maintaining Your Motivation Over the Long Haul
15:40: Nurturing Your Patience
20:07: Incorporating Multiple Facts Into the Same Sentence
23:24: Designing Your Book’s Cover
28:17: Trusting Yourself and the Process

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

INTERVIEW: Amy Fish, Author of One In Six Million
Honeymoon Sneakers by Amy Fish
How to Navigate the Business of Writing and Publishing: Expert Advice from Jane Friedman

Amy’s Bio: Amy Fish is the author of One in Six Million: The Baby by the Roadside and the Man Who Retraced a Holocaust Survivor's Lost Identity and I Wanted Fries with That: How to Ask for What You Want and Get What You Need. She specializes in humor writing and memoir and teaches writing workshops at the Quebec Writing Federation, Hippocamp Conference for Creative Non-Fiction and her local library. Amy's work has been published in Writer's Digest, Canadian Traveler, haikuniverse micropoetry journal, among others.

Connect with Amy:

Website: www.amyfishwrites.com
Social Media: @amyfishwrites
Substack: https://persistenceforwriters.substack.com/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Building a Writing Career Without Social Media: Amelia Hruby on Creative Independence

Thu, 15 May 2025 01:00:00 -0400

When was the last time you examined your relationship to social media? During this week’s episode, I speak with Amelia Hruby, host of the Off the Grid podcast, a show that helps business owners and creatives leave social media without losing customers or readers. Discover what led her to leave Instagram, how her post-Instagram life has changed, and how tips from her Leaving Social Media Toolkit can enhance your author platform regardless of your relationship to social media. Plus, you’ll learn some easy, actionable SEO tips that will quickly make you more discoverable.

Episode Highlights

3:13: Considering Your Relationship with Social Media
5:10: Tips for Getting Off Social Media
10:25: The Importance of Your Website’s SEO
16:11: Marketing as Worldbuilding and Understanding Your Reader
19:20: The Yin and Yang of Leaving Social Media
31:46: Visibility versus Being Seen
40:00: Marketing a Book Without Social Media

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

Amelia’s Toolkit for Leaving Social Media
How Recovery Supports Memoir Writing and Book Marketing Tips with Laura Cathcart Robbins
Glennon Doyle’s Social Media Plan with Amelia Hruby
The Art of Thriving Online by Amelia Knott
How to Cultivate Creative Resilience with Pascale Coté

Amelia’s Bio: Amelia Hruby is a feminist writer, podcaster and producer with a PhD in philosophy. She is the founder of Softer Sounds, a feminist podcast studio for entrepreneurs and creatives. And she’s the host of Off the Grid, a podcast about leaving social media without losing all your clients. On the show, she interviews business leaders and former influencers, and shares stories, strategies and experiments for growing your business with radical generosity and energetic sovereignty.

Connect with Amelia:

https://www.ameliahruby.com/
https://offthegrid.fun/
https://www.softersounds.studio/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Deep Memoir Writing: 3 Stages of Transformation Every Writer Should Know with Jennifer Selig

Thu, 08 May 2025 01:00:00 -0400

In today’s episode, join me and Jennifer Selig as we explore how memoir writing can be a powerful tool for healing and self-discovery. Learn how Jennifer’s unique blend of depth psychology and storytelling offers a fresh perspective on the writing process, and find out how her alchemical stages of change and equations for transformation can help you navigate the emotional terrain of your memoir.

Episode Highlights

4:30: Depth Psychology and the Writing Cure
12:15: Understanding Archetypes
17:28: The Three Stages of Transformation
25:30 The Four Equations of Transformation
29:00 The Issue of Catharsis
34:00 The Power of Attention

Resources for this Episode:

“'Nobody Sees a Flower, Really, It Is So Small': Extolling the Ethic of Attention” by Jennifer Leigh Selig
“A Question of Catharsis” by Debra Gwartney

Connect with Jennifer:

Website: www.jenniferleighselig.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.selig.1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferselig/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferleighselig/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Finding Your Form: Kelly McMasters on Writing Memoir in Essays and Emotional Truth

Thu, 01 May 2025 01:00:00 -0400

What happens when a story won’t stay linear—when your life fractures in ways that defy neat beginnings, middles, and ends?

In this episode of Writing Your Resilience, I sit down with essayist, professor, and former bookshop owner Kelly McMasters, author of The Leaving Season: A Memoir-in-Essays. From leaving marriages to landscapes, identities to illusions, Kelly’s memoir is a brilliant meditation on grief, desire, and the elastic form of the essay itself.

We talk about what it means to write honestly into complexity—how a false childhood memory cracked open the heart of a story, why the essay form became her truest vehicle, and the questions that shape her work long after the final line is written.

Episode Highlights

2:40: Essays versus Straight Forward Narratives
9:39: The Power of Three Scenes
16:45: Weaving Themes Into Your Essay Collection
22:09: Navigating Flashbacks
27:13: Getting to the Truth
36:00 Caring for Your Shame

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

What Squirrels Taught Me About Life After Divorce
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Michael Foucault’s Theory of Heterotopia
The Truth About Unringing Phones by Lara Lillibridge
Turn Your Short Pieces Into a Finished Nonfiction Book by Lara Lillibridge
The Biggest Memoir Mistake: When Too Much Backstory Derails Your Narrative

Kelly’s Bio: Kelly McMasters is an essayist, professor, mother, and former bookshop owner. She is the author of the The Leaving Season: A Memoir-in-Essays (WW Norton) and co-editor of the ABA national bestseller Wanting: Women Writing About Desire (Catapult). Her books have been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, award-winning podcasts including The Sh*t No One Tells You About Writing, and CSPAN’s Book TV in an episode on Myths of the American Dream

Her essays, reviews, and articles have appeared in The Atlantic, Literary Hub, The New York Times, Oprah Daily, The Rumpus, and Virginia Quarterly Review, among others. She currently runs The Magpie Substack and teaches at Hofstra University in New York.

Connect with Kelly:

Website: https://www.kellymcmasters.com/
Instagram: @kelly_mc_masters
Substack: https://kellymcmasters.substack.com/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Embracing Your Weirdness: Allison Landa on Self-Acceptance and Social Stigma

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 01:00:00 -0400

What makes you weird? Is it something that fills you with pride or something you try to hide, a secret you’re constantly working to cover up? In today’s episode, I’m beyond excited to sit down with the brilliant author, Allison Landa, whose memoir Bearded Lady takes us on a raw and transformative journey of self-acceptance, societal judgment, and the complex relationship we have with both our inner and outer weirdness. Whether you’re a writer or simply someone who wants to connect with a compelling story of resilience and identity, this conversation will inspire and resonate with you.

Episode Highlights

1:00: The Challenges of Being Weird
3:17: How Weirdness Both Unites and Separates Us
5:11: Owning Your Story
9:36: Overworking Your Story Dough
11:45: The Shame of Being Seen and Not Seen
17:50: Building Rounded Characters
23:22: Navigating Time in Memoir
29:48: How Writing Changes Your Point of View
32:50: Dealing with Reader Responses
38:58: Building Your Resilience

Resources for this Episode:

Cold Crematorium: Reporting from the Land of Auschwitz by Deckle Edge
The Fact of a Body by Alex Marzano Lesnevich
“The Biggest Memoir Mistake: When Too Much Backstory Derails Your Narrative” by Lisa Cooper Ellison
“3 Ways to Experiment with Memoir Structure to Improve Your Narrative Arc” by Lisa Cooper Ellison

Allison’s Bio: Allison Landa is the author of Bearded Lady, an exploration of what makes you feel weird in the world. Her work has been featured in Business Insider, Parents Magazine, HuffPost, The Guardian US, and The Washington Post, among other venues. She has been awarded artist residencies at MacDowell, WordSpace, Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow.

Connect

Facebook: @matzohbrei
Instagram: @adlanda
Threads: @ adlanda
Website: www.allisonlanda.com
Personal Blog: www.allisonlanda.blogspot.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing Through Collapse: Eiren Caffall on Illness, Climate, and Finding Your Memoir's Form

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 01:00:00 -0400

How do you tell a story of resistance that invites others in? Through the power of your metaphors—something today’s guest, Eiren Caffall has truly mastered. During today’s conversation, we explore how chronic illness and a love for nature shaped Eiren’s memoir The Mourner’s Bestiary, what it means two books in tandem (and release them just months apart), and how crafting metaphor-rich, layered narratives can become both an act of resistance and devotion. It’s time to grab your pen, open your heart, and get ready to learn how collaboration can enhance your writing and how a single essay can become the hinge that holds an entire book together.

Episode Highlights

4:45: The Power of Juxtaposition
7:50: Metaphor as a Vehicle for Change
15:30: Structuring a Circular Story
20:33: Writing as a Collaborative Process
24:08: Teaching Patience
30:07 Red Tides and Amazing Editors

Resources for this Episode:

Short Film: Becoming Ocean
“Red Tides” by Eiren Caffall
Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative by Jane Allison
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
3 Ways to Experiment with Memoir Structure to Improve Your Narrative Arc by Lisa Cooper Ellison
INTERVIEW: Eiren Caffall, Author of The Mourner’s Bestiary by Amy Eaton

Eiren’s Bio: EIREN CAFFALL is a writer and musician. Her work on loss, oceans, and extinction has appeared in Orion, Writer’s Digest, Guernica, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Literary Hub, Al Jazeera, The Rumpus, and the anthology Elementals: Volume IV. Fire, (The Center for Humans and Nature, 2024). She received a 2023 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant, a Social Justice News Nexus fellowship, and residencies at the Banff Centre, Millay Colony, Hedgebrook, and Ragdale. Her books include her memoir The Mourner’s Bestiary (Row House Publishing, 2024) and her novel All the Water in the World (St. Martin’s Press, 2025).

Connect with Eiren

Website: www.eirencaffall.com
Instagram: @eirencaffall
Blue Sky: @eirencaffall.bsky.social

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

How to Protect Your Writing Time, Energy, and Creative Worth with Carolyn Fallert

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Have you ever felt like your creativity isn’t enough or that your artistic endeavors are secondary to everything on your to-do list? Have you tried all the strategies only to find yourself struggling with this yet again? Join me and my client, Carolyn Fallert, as we explore the impact of familial and cultural socializations and how strategies aren’t enough. You need to understand yourself. Get ready to discover the importance of understanding your unique operating system and how it should determine the strategies you use.

Episode Highlights

1:40 The Number One Trick for Getting Unstuck
6:40 Protecting Time and Your Creative Energy
7:31 Understanding Your Nature
17:20 Overcoming Your Conditioning
22:50 Identifying Your Why

Resources for this Episode:

Carolyn’s Bio: Carolyn Fallert is a writer with over four years of dedicated study and practice in creative nonfiction. In 2024, Kenyon Review selected Carolyn for their Residential Writers' Workshop. Her first published essay in Spank the Carp received the highest reader vote for its issue. Before her writing career, Carolyn consulted for Fortune 500 companies and the Gates Foundation. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MPA-ID (Master of Public Administration in International Development) from Harvard Kennedy School. Carolyn is writing a memoir about learning self-defense as a survivor of sexual assault.

Connect with Carolyn

Instagram: @carolynfallert
Substack: https://yourpowers.substack.com/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

How to Navigate the Business of Writing and Publishing: Expert Advice from Jane Friedman

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Writers, if you've ever wondered how to navigate the ever-changing world of writing and publishing, then you are in for a treat. Jane Friedman, who has spent nearly 25 years in the book publishing industry is here today to talk about the second edition of her groundbreaking book, “The Business of Being a Writer.” Join us as we explore the most important part of the business of being a writer: the mindset writers need to cultivate to build a viable writing career. Get ready to learn the secrets to handling rejection, thinking not just about a book, but about your writing career, and Jane's number one tool for creating sustainability over the long haul.

Episode Highlights:

2:20: The Benefits of Seeing Writing as a Business
4:30: Writing a Second Edition
6:50: Writing with Foresight
11:54: Jane’s Evolving Mindset
16:20: Mindset Considerations
24:36: Navigating Setbacks
30:15 The Power of Boundaries

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

Write is a Verb by Bill O’Hanlon
The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
My Latest Rejection Story by Jane Friedman
The Attention Economy Substack
Writing with Hunger: Mindset, Goals, and The Publishing Shift

Jane’s Bio: Jane Friedman has spent nearly 25 years working in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and trend reporting. Her latest book is THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WRITER, SECOND EDITION (The University of Chicago Press), which received a starred review from Library Journal. In addition to serving on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund, she works with organizations such as The Authors Guild to bring transparency to the business of publishing.

Connect with Jane:

https://janefriedman.com
https://youtube.com/@janefriedman
https://linkedin.com/in/janefriedman

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

The Art of Intimacy: Crafting Connection in Memoir and Essay with Lilly Dancyger

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Join me and editor extraordinaire Lilly Dancyger as we discuss her latest book, First Love, an intimate, electric collection of essays on friendship, identity, and what it means to grow into yourself in community. During our conversation, Lilly shares her sharp insights on the craft of memoir, why she bristles at the idea of writing as catharsis, and how she pushes back against the dead girl trope by keeping her cousin Sabina fully alive on the page. If you’ve ever wondered how to turn memory into art without falling into the trap of polishing your pain, this one’s for you.

Episode Highlights

3:36: The Problem of Connecting Memoir with Catharsis
10:12: Essays as a Space for Play and Variation
13:04: Showing Intimacy on the Page
21:12: Zooming In and Zooming Out
27:00: Pushing Against the Dead Girl Trope
33:44: Strategies for Cleansing Your Creative Palette

Resources for this Episode:

Canceling My Book Deal Was the Best Career Move I’ve Ever Made” by Lilly Dancyger
“Why Your Memoir Won’t Sell” by Jane Friedman
More Than True Crime with Sarah Perry

Lilly’s Bio: Lilly Dancyger is the author of First Love: Essays on Friendship, and Negative Space. Her work has been published by The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Playboy, and Rolling Stone, among others, and she writes the Substack newsletter The Word Cave. Dancyger lives in New York City, and teaches creative nonfiction in the MFA programs at Columbia University and Randolph College.

Connect with Lilly:

Website: https://www.lillydancyger.com/
Substack: https://substack.com/@lillydancyger
Blue Sky: @lillydancyger.bsky.social
Instagram: @lillydancyger on Instagram

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing with Purpose: How to Understand Your Audience and Create Compelling Content with Krystal Proffitt

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 01:00:00 -0400

Whether we like it or not, writers are content creators. And one of the biggest struggles I watch writers face is understanding their audience—what they want, what they need, and how to authentically engage with them. In this episode, podcast coach, content strategist, and host of the award-winning The Proffitt Podcast, Krystal Proffitt shares valuable insights on how writers can navigate this challenge and build meaningful relationships with their readers. If you're a writer looking to expand your platform and reach, this episode is for you. Let’s dive in!

Episode Highlights

2:22: Maintaining An Attitude of Gratitude During Busy Seasons
4:08: Building Authentic Audience Engagement
6:32: Humor Is Your Secret Weapon
8:05: Tailoring Your Content to Your Platform
13:32: The Magic of Taking Readers Behind the Scenes
15:09 The Power of Audience Surveys
20:32: How Asking Closed Questions Gets Better Results
27:35: Building Your Launch Squad

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

Start a Binge Worthy Podcast: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating a Podcast Your Audience Craves by Krystal Proffitt
How to Survey Your Audience for Feedback Content Ideas
Audience Engagement and Feedback on Your Content
Podcasters Connect
Embracing the Full Catastrophe: Writing About Loss and Finding Belonging with Casey Mulligan Walsh
The Caregiver Cup with Cathy VandenHuevel

Krystal’s Bio: Krystal Proffitt is a Podcast Coach, Content Strategist, and host of the award-winning show The Proffitt Podcast. She specializes in helping content creators create with confidence. Having published over 1,450 podcast episodes, she knows what it takes to keep creating year after year.

Krystal teaches content strategy, repurposing, branding, and marketing through her podcast, digital courses, and YouTube channel dedicated to content creation. She has also appeared as a Content Expert for brands like Podcast Movement, Buzzsprout, Ramsey Solutions, Amy Porterfield, and Streamyard.

Connect with Krystal:

Website: https://krystalproffitt.com/
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/krystalproffitttx/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KrystalProffitt/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Are Trauma Triggers Ruining Your Writing Life? Here's What to Do

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 01:00:00 -0400

If you’ve ever sat down to write about a tough experience, only to find yourself avoiding the page, feeling emotionally wrecked, or questioning whether you should even be writing this story—you are not alone. Writing about trauma can be healing, but it can also trigger us in ways we don’t expect. Today, we’re going to unpack this. We’ll talk about what trauma triggers really are, how they show up on the page and inside us, and—most importantly—what you can do to navigate them so your writing process supports your well-being rather than working against it.

Episode Highlights

4:30: Trauma Triggers
6:16: Types of Triggers
9:08: What Triggers Look Like On the Page
12:24: Trauma Triage and Self-Care
15:43: Two Powerful Journal Prompts
19:17: How Choices Empower You

Resources for this Episode:

Lisa’s Bio: Lisa is a writer, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of the Writing Your Resilience podcast. Her writing and work live at the intersection of healing and creativity, and she combines her experiences with Complex PTSD and suicide with her clinical training and storytelling expertise to help writers tell stories that transform lives, especially their own. Her work has been featured in Risk!, The New York Times, HuffPost, and Kenyon Review Online, among others.

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

The Power of Words: Samman Akbarzada on Finding Her Voice After Fleeing Afghanistan

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Episode Highlights

2:04: Publishing in a War Zone
9:43: The Impact of Crisis and Loss on Our Writing Lives
17:31: Giving a Voice to Someone Who’s Gone
21:35: How Helping Others Empowers You
28:50: Listening to the Howl
32:48 Writing as an Act of Service
35:20: Samman’s Best Writing Advice

Resources for this Episode:

Afghan refugees head to Washington asking special visas be issued for families
Afghan refugee pleads for resettlement support on Capitol Hill
Volunteer Information: https://www.volunteermatch.org/
Volunteer Organizations in Charlottesville:
Watch the Trailer for Limbo

Samman’s Bio: Samman Akbarzada is an Afghan refugee and the author of two books: A Glimmer in the Dark, her poetry collection, and Life is a Movie, her debut novel. A second-year student at the University of Virginia, she is committed to working with NGOs and advocating for the rights of underserved communities. Her words capture the suffering, heartbreak, gratitude, and redemption that mark a life lived on the blade of conflict, with love and empathy as her constant guiding light.

Connect with Samman

Author Website: https://www.amazon.com/author/samman-akbarzada
Instagram.com/sammanwrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samman-akbarzada-9359792a0
Samman’s books on Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/life-is-a-movie-samman-akbarzada/17408199?ean=9780620941297&next=t&next=t

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

The Creative Cure for Writers: Trauma-Informed Approaches for Memoir and Embracing Your Creativity with Jacob Nordby

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Episode Highlights

1:27: The Authentic Work of Creativity
6:51: The Trifecta of Rejection, Trauma, and Socialization
10:33 Polyvagal Theory and the Creative Process
12:50 The Role of Intuition in Creativity
15:29 The Secret to Guiding Yourself
19:37: Connecting with Your Body’s Wisdom
21:49 Recovering Our Connection to Our True Nature
35:00 Connecting with Jacob

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

The Creative Cure book page: www.creativecurebook.com
Bonus multimedia journaling program gift: www.creativeselfjournal.com
The ACES Test
Polyvagal Theory and the Ventral Vagal State
The Seven Chakras
Human Design
Writing Rituals with Natalie Buster
Writing Down Your Soul by Janet Conner
Seeking Wisdom by Julia Cameron

Jacob’s Bio: Jacob Nordby is a co-founder of A Writing Room Collective, Heal + Create, The Institute for Creative Living Foundation 501(c)3, and the author of several books, including Blessed Are the Weird – A Manifesto for Creatives and The Creative Cure. He previously worked as the marketing director for a traditional publishing house and oversaw the launch of many bestselling books. A working author and creative guide, he has a passion for helping writers solve their challenges and enjoy the satisfaction of sharing their work with the world.

Connect with Jacob:

Website: https://www.jacobnordby.com/
The Creative Cure book page: www.creativecurebook.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jacobnordby/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacobnordby/
Creative Self Journal Gift: https://www.jacobnordby.com/creative-self-journal-gift/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Embracing the Full Catastrophe: Writing About Loss and Finding Belonging with Casey Mulligan Walsh

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Have you ever been told what you’re writing is too dark, too sad, or that it needs more levity? Have you wondered how a story of tragedy can grow into something more than the sum of its parts?

Join me and my client, Casey Mulligan Walsh as we discuss her revision process, what it took to embrace both the heartbreaking and beautiful aspects of her life, and how she’s become a small press author whose book debuted at number two in Amazon’s Grief and Loss category, just behind Mary Frances O’Connor. Grab your pen, open your heart, and get ready to learn about how revision can change you and where literary citizenship can take you on this week’s episode of the Writing Your Resilience podcast.

Episode Highlights

2:35: Crafting a Book That’s More Than Loss
4:10: The Lessons of Revision
12:41: The Power of Context
15:15: The Importance of Trusted Critique Partners
21:40: Building Your Creative Intuition
24:35: Navigating the False Victory
26:38: Using Your Author Platform to Build a Launch Team
36:15: The Impact of Illness on Your Resilience

Resources for this Episode:

In a Flash Literary Magazine (seeking submissions now!)
“How to Know If Your Memoir is Boring” by Allison K. Williams
Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle
The Situation and The Story by Vivian Gornick

Casey’s Bio: Casey Mulligan Walsh is the author of The Full Catastrophe: All I Ever Wanted, Everything I Feared. She writes about life at the intersection of grief and joy, embracing uncertainty, and the nature of true belonging. She has written for The New York Times, HuffPost, Next Avenue, Modern Loss, Hippocampus, Barren Magazine, and numerous other literary journals and anthologies. Her essay, “Still,” published in Split Lip, was nominated for Best of the Net. She is a founding editor of In a Flash literary magazine and serves as an ambassador and Board member for the Family Heart Foundation. Casey lives in upstate New York with her husband, Kevin, a chatty orange tabby, and too many books to count. When not traveling, they enjoy visits from their four children and ten grandchildren—the very definition of “the full catastrophe.”

Connect with Casey:

Website: www.caseymulliganwalsh.com
Book Website: https://embracingthefullcatastrophe.substack.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/casey.m.walsh.1/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caseymulliganwalshwriter/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caseymulliganwalsh/
X: https://x.com/CMulliganWalsh
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/caseymulliganwalsh.bsky.social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/casey-mulligan-walsh-522ba231/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Counterintuitive Editing: Finding Balance Between Inner Reflection and Outer Action + Writing Tips for 2025 with Sarah Chauncey

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Join me for a conversation with Sarah Chauncey, a veteran writer, developmental editor, and the author of P.S. I Love You More Than Tuna, as we dive into the inner and outer work of editing, the power of allowing rather than forcing, and why true creative flow often comes from stepping away from the keyboard.

Episode Highlights

3:03 The Role of the Unconscious in Writing
6:28 The Power of Not Pushing
9:16 The Sunk Cost Fallacy and Your Writing Projects
10:15 Your Book Is Not Your Identity
12:27 The Counterintuitive Guide to Life
21:30 Writing in Imperfect Circumstances
22:28 The Inner Work of Editing
28:49 Negotiating with Your Inner Critic
32:96 Exercises to Navigate the Outer Work of Editing

Resources for this Episode:

“In Search of Lost Memories: How Nature Can Help Memoirists Remember” by Sarah Chauncey, published in the July/August 2024 issue of Writer’s Digest.
“ Everyday Wonder: How to Mine Awe from the Mundane” by Sarah Chauncey, published in the September/October 2024 issue of Writer’s Digest
“Beyond BICHOK: How, When and Why Getting Your Butt Out of the Chair Can Make You a Better Writer” by Sarah Chauncey
PS: I Love You More Than Tuna by Sarah Chauncey
The Situation and the Story by Vivian Gornick
The Off the Grid Podcast: Leaving Social Media without Losing All Your Clients

Sarah’s Bio: Sarah Chauncey is a veteran writer and developmental editor, as well as the author of P.S. I Love You More Than Tuna, the first gift book for adults grieving the loss of a pet. In the early part of her career, she wrote for VH1, Comedy Central, MuchMusic and Alliance-Atlantis, along with entertainment websites and music magazines. Later, she pivoted to storytelling for organizations including NASA, McAfee and Intel. After a lifetime of mental health issues, in 2010, Sarah had a profound spiritual experience; she spent the next seven years mostly in silence and solitude, listening to life and taking notes. She writes the Substack The Counterintuitive Guide to Life, which helps readers develop mental health resilience by developing self-awareness. She also writes Resonant Storytelling, a newsletter for writers. Recently, she’s written for Tiny Buddha, Lion’s Roar, Modern Loss, Eckhart Tolle’s website, Jane Friedman’s blog and the Brevity blog.

Connect with Sarah:

Website: www.sarahchauncey.com
Substacks:
- https://sarahchauncey.substack.com/
- https://counterintuitiveguide.substack.com/
- https://morethantuna.substack.com/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing Through Shame: Hannah Sward on Memoir, Resilience, and Being Present

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 01:00:00 -0500

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 moves with incredible precision and power. You’ll also learn transcription tricks, sex scene-writing tips, the unexpected doors publishing your book can open, and some somatic techniques for navigating your vulnerability.

Episode Highlights

4:46 Hannah’s memoir writing process
10:16 Transcription tips
17:47 Somatic strategies for writing vulnerable scenes, including sex scenes
23:35: Placing insights into your book
24:37 Tricks for writing concisely
28:57 The post-publication life of your book
34:39 Writing what’s next

Resources for this Episode:

“My life after meth: Learning to open and close the curtains” by Hannah Sward
“The Sharp Edge of A Shell” by Hannah Sward
“Making Even The Smallest Mistake Filled Me With Terror. Then 2 Little Words Changed My Life.” by Lisa Cooper Ellison

Hannah’s Bio: Hannah Sward, daughter of the late poet Robert Sward, is the IPPY Gold winning author of Strip: A Memoir. For the past 25 years, Sward’s work has been widely published in literary journals in the US, Canada, and the UK. Her most recent work can be read in the LA Times, HuffPost, The NY Times (Tiny Love Stories) and The Rumpus (Voices on Addiction). Sward is on the board at Right to Write Press, a nonprofit that supports emerging incarcerated writers. She believes strongly in good literary citizenship and is actively involved in the literary community. She lives in Los Angeles where she is working on her next book. Learn more at hannahsward.com

Connect with Hannah:

Website: hannahsward.com
IG: @hannahswardauthor
Threads: @hannahswardauthor
BlueSky: summerjar.bsky.social

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Gaslight Proof Your Writing Practice with Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/

Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production:

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Using the Akashic Records to Awaken the Powerful Writing Voice within You with Amy Robeson

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 01:00:00 -0500

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 vibration, and explore some out-of-the-box ways you can awaken the powerful writing voice within you.

Episode Highlights

1:46: Definitions of Awakening
7:32: The Dark Side of Positive Psychology
12:32: The Challenge of Feeling Successful
15:48: The Chasing Happiness Litmus Test
19:41: Working with the Akashic Records
30:57: Setting Yourself Up for Success in 2025

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

Amy’s Bio: Amy Robeson, Akashic Record Master Teacher/Healer, and founder of Sacred Awakening, empowers individuals through her powerful Akashic Records program, to tap into their inner potential for transformation by cultivating curiosity to live their best lives. Amy speaks Light Codes and Light Language, plus she shows you how to be courageous enough to walk your divine path.

Connect with Amy:

Website: https://theamyrobeson.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awakeninglifecoaching
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amy.robeson/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@amyrobeson
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amy.robeson

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing Rituals: Staying Grounded While Being Vulnerable with Natalie Buster

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 01:00:00 -0500

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 techniques, breathwork, and mindful rituals can help writers and creatives stay connected to their truth, heal through their craft, and navigate vulnerability.

Episode Highlights

2:28 What Is a Trauma-Informed Yoga Instructor?
7:18 Opening the Shop Step One: Grounding
12:07 Opening the Shop Step Two: Breathwork
16:27 Opening the Shop Step Three: Moving Your Body
21:43 The Importance of Play
25:42 Opening the Shop Step Four: The Power of Affirmations
29:11 What Death Teaches Us About Storytelling
35:42 Natalie’s Best Writing Advice
37:10 Closing the Shop

Resources for this Episode:

Natalie’s Bio: Natalie is a yoga therapist, an end-of-life navigator, a certified death doula, a grief reliever, an actor, a podcaster, a writer, and a mentor with a deep desire to help people. As a professional actor in New York City, Natalie first discovered yoga as a way to practice self-care in an incredibly demanding profession. After dealing with personal loss, Natalie found comfort in the world of yoga therapy and has since made it her life's mission to help people find relief and love. Natalie specializes in working with people at the end of life, people experiencing grief, and loss, and performers looking to practice self-care.

Connect with Natalie

Websites:
- https://nataliebuster.wixsite.com/groundedactor
- https://www.nataliebuster.com/yogaforendoflife
- https://www.nataliebuster.com/
Instagram:
- https://www.instagram.com/nataliebusteryoga/
- https://www.instagram.com/groundedactorproject/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

How to Gaslight-Proof Your Writing Practice

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 01:00:00 -0500

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: Reasons Writers Gaslight Their Writing Practice
10:05: Ways We Discount Our Creative Intuition
14:46 The Impact of Change on Our Writing Practice
23:50: Tools to Gaslight-Proof Your Writing Practice
31:37: The Poison of Comparison

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People with Dr. Ramani Durvasula
“What Is the Fawning Trauma Response” by Ingrid Clayton, Ph.D
Get your copy of Write More Fretless: A Toolkit for Gaslight-Proofing Your Writing Practice

Lisa’s Bio: Lisa Cooper Ellison is a writer and trauma-informed writing coach who hosts Writing Your Resilience, a podcast at the intersection of storytelling and healing where she interviews bestselling authors and experts in psychology and mental health. In addition to her storytelling expertise, Lisa has an Ed.S in clinical mental health counseling and a background in mindfulness. Clients have been published with small presses and Big-Five houses, including several who’ve become New York Times instant bestsellers. Her essays and stories have appeared on Risk! and in The New York Times, HuffPost, and Kenyon Review Online, among others.

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

When Agents Say No: Overcoming Setbacks with Jessica Yen

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 01:00:00 -0500

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 looking for, and how to regain your power when difficult feedback knocks you down.

Episode Highlights

5:41: The Agent Mindset
10:55: Are We Ready for COVID Stories?
13:12: The Demand for Parenting Books
15:10: Finding Your Book’s Essential Question
24:10: Taking Your Power Back
27:15: A New Take on Writer’s Block

Resources for this Episode:

Categorically So by Jessica Yen
Beauty by Jessica Yen (nominated for a Pushcart Prize)
How I Went From “Big 5 or Die!” to Ecstatic Self-Published Author by Denise Massar
Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops by Allison Hong-Merrill
What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The True Meaning of Success and The Multiple Paths to Publish Your Book with Courtney Maum
Recovering from Cults and Religious Trauma Through Writing with Tia Levings
How to Stop Gaslighting Yourself with Ingrid Clayton

Jessica’s Bio: Jessica Yen is a Chinese American author who explores the intersection of memory, family, culture, language, identity, and history. Her work has been supported by an Oregon Literary Fellowship, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Caldera Arts, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, and Voices of Our Nations Arts. She is a twice-Pushcart Prize nominated essayist whose work has appeared or is forthcoming in Fourth Genre, The Masters Review, Oregon Humanities, and Best American Travel Writing, among others. She is currently working on a memoir. By day, she writes grants and edits academic manuscripts for non-profits, university departments and scholars, and clinics who seek to address health inequities. You can find her online at www.jessicayen.com.

Connect with Jessica:
Website: www.jessicayen.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

From Captivity to Clarity: Reclaiming Your Voice and Writing Your Truth

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 01:00:00 -0500

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 speaker, book coach, and founder of Soul Speak Press, Jessica Buchanan, as we discuss the ways we dismiss our inner knowing, how to reclaim your voice, and how to write your truth as you discover the mountaintops in your emotional deserts.

Episode Highlights

6:00: Finding Words for What Lives Inside Us
11:50: Mining Your Resilience
14:42: The Ways We Discount Our Voices
23:34: An Exercise to Reconcile Your Experiences
30:00: The Power of Supporting Other Writers
38:59: Deserts to Mountaintops Volume 3
42:39: Jessica’s Best Writing Advice

Resources for this Episode:

Jessica’s Bio: In her NYT Bestselling memoir Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six, Jessica details her experience as she was abducted at gunpoint and held for ransom by a group of Somali pirates for 93 days. Jessica is now a highly sought-after inspirational speaker, TEDx Speaker, and the founder of Soul Speak Press. Her upcoming book is an anthology titled Deserts to Mountaintops: The Pilgrimage of Motherhood.

Connect with Jessica
Website: https://www.jessbuchanan.com/
Publishing Website: https://www.soulspeakpress.com/
In Her Words Collection: https://www.soulspeakpress.com/powerwithin
Deserts to Mountaintops: https://www.desertstomountaintops.com/
To Learn More About Her Anthologies, Email: info@soulspeakpress.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

The Power of Micro Memoir: Grief, Storytelling, and Experimentation with Amy Lin

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 01:00:00 -0500

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, how Amy’s memoir acts as a powerful container for this universal experience, the magic of the microform, and what it takes to create something experimental. Plus, I’ll share a transformative tool to expand how you see your stories—and uncover the truths hiding within them.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Episode Highlights

3:34: The Container of Grief
9:31: The “Good Signs” of Grief
13:00: Performative Grief versus the Reality of Grief
15:11: The Five Stages of Grief Debunked
23:45: The Power of Micro Memoir
36:34: The Story Neighborhood Exercise
40:34: The Marrow of Living
44:01: Amy’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Amy:

Substack: https://atthebottomofeverything.substack.com/
Website: amydawnlin.com
Instagram: @literaryamy
TikTok: @literaryamy

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Why Practicing Gratitude Can Transform Your Writing and Your Life

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 01:00:00 -0500

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 in life.
The transformative power of gratitude, especially during dark times, and how it can support mental health and resilience.
How gratitude intersects with writing, helping authors find bright spots even in tough stories, creating balance and depth in their work.

If you feel called to, please consider sharing your thoughts on the episode through reviews, texts, or comments on Instagram, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Episode Highlights:

2:00 How to Practice Gratitude
5:00 How Gratitude Practices Make You a Better Writer
7:00 My Gratitude and Shoutouts to My Listeners

Some of My Listeners’ Favorite Episodes:

More Than True Crime with Sarah Perry
Recovering From Cults and Religious Trauma Through Writing with Tia Levings
How to Stop Gaslighting Yourself with Ingrid Clayton, Ph.D
It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People with Dr. Ramani Durvasula
Estrangement, Dementia, and the Fractured Memoir with Lara Lillibridge
Self-Acceptance, Dating Disasters and Life After Loss with Debbie Weiss
Caring for Your Nervous System and Creativity with Kirby Moore
The Loneliness of Sibling Loss with Lynn Shattuck and Alyson Shelton

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing with Hunger: Mindset, Goals, and the Publishing Shift with Ariel Curry and Liz Morrow

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 01:00:00 -0500

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 new role self-publishing plays in the publishing industry on this week’s episode of the Writing Your Resilience podcast.

Ariel’s Bio: Ariel Curry is a senior editor for nonfiction at Sourcebooks. As an editor, she enjoys brainstorming and outlining new book ideas, bringing clarity and purpose to prose, and helping authors build their self-efficacy. She lives in Chattanooga, TN, with her husband and rescue dogs, Enyo and Tenaya.

Liz and Ariel wrote Hungry Authors: The Indispensable Guide to Planning, Writing, and Publishing a Nonfiction Book (Bloomsbury 2024) and host the weekly writing podcast, Hungry Authors.

Liz’s Bio: Liz Morrow is an author, ghostwriter, collaborator, and thought partner for entrepreneurs, leaders, industry experts, and high-net-worth individuals. She has been writing professionally for over ten years, sold book proposals for multiple six figures, and published with “Big 5” publishers. She lives in Greenville with her husband, son, daughter, and goldendoodle.

Highlights from this Episode

2:38 Defining a Hungry Author
9:31 Advice for Writers Struggling to Stay Hungry
14:43 Self-Publishing as the New Author’s Playground
26:23 What It Takes to Self-Publish Well
33:51 The Hungry Authors Approach to Author Platform
42:59 Ariel’s Best Writing Advice

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Ariel’s Substack, My Book is NOT My Baby
You Don’t Have to Monetize Your Trauma by Kate McKean
Saying Yes To Yourself as a Writer Hungry Authors Episode with Lisa, Liz, and Ariel

Connect with Liz and Ariel:

IG: @hungryauthors
https://hungryauthors.com/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Forgiveness to Friendship and Why It's Never Too Late with Gayle and Mildred Kirschenbaum

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 01:00:00 -0500

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 into best friends, and the secrets to lifelong learning and living vibrantly no matter your age.

Mildred Kirschenbaum, a centenarian from Brooklyn, NY, has captured hearts as a social media influencer with her viral life advice, drawing from her rich life experiences, including starting a family post-WWII and founding a travel agency. Her book, Mildred’s Mindset: Wisdom from a Woman Centenarian, penned at 100, encapsulates her secrets to longevity and a joy-filled life. Known for her positive outlook and social nature, Mildred, with the help of her daughter Gayle, offers a refreshing perspective on embracing life’s every moment, inspiring readers globally with her wisdom and vibrant spirit.

Gayle Kirschenbaum is an Emmy award-winning filmmaker, TV producer, writer, speaker, photographer, and forgiveness coach. She is the creator of several reality shows and has gained acclaim for her film Look at Us Now, Mother! which chronicles her journey to forgive her mother and transform their relationship. The film premiered on Netflix and has had a global impact. Her TEDx talk No More Mama Drama focuses on forgiveness. Another notable film, A Dog’s Life: A Dogamentary, premiered on HBO, portraying the heartwarming bond between dogs and humans through her own experiences with her Shih Tzu. Gayle's writings have been published in many outlets including The Huffington Post, Parade, Shondaland, and The Ethel (AARP). Her photographs have been exhibited internationally and are in many private collections. Kirschenbaum’s work has been featured widely in media outlets including The New York Times and NBC's Today Show.

In this episode:

1:32: The Challenges in Mother/Daughter Relationships
9:23: Becoming Best Friends Who Don’t Always Agree
16:23: How Age and Experience Change Our Perspective
21:46: The Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing
33:26: Why It’s Never Too Late

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Connect with Gayle and Mildred:

Instagram @glkirschenbaum

TikTok @gaylekirschenbaum

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/gaylekirschenbaum/

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/2uru2z7c

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Bright Spots, Neurodiversity, and More Chicken in Your Memoir with Kristin Jarvis Adams

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 01:00:00 -0500

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 Us. Join us as we explore the challenges of turning an animal into a primary character in your memoir, learning to appreciate the diverse ways we communicate, how to get past your vendetta mindset, and the power of finding the pinpoints of light in dark times.

Kristin’s Bio: Kristin Jarvis Adams’ award-winning book, The Chicken Who Saved Us, received national attention in the Wall Street Journal and NBC News. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, ParentMap, Journey, The Autism Blog, and elsewhere. A Pacific Northwest native, she spends her days writing, working as a parent advocate for children with special needs, and chasing a flock of belligerent but loveable chickens around her backyard.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Kristin’s Resources: https://kristinjarvisadams.com/resources/
How a pet chicken helped me understand my autistic son: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2017/02/02/how-a-pet-chicken-helped-me-understand-my-autistic-son/

Episode Highlights

2:21 Using a Chicken as a Primary Character
11:34 Writing About Another Person’s Disability
16:57 Getting Past the Vendetta Mindset
24:10 Balancing External Dramas with Internal Transformation
30:54 Kristin’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Kristin:

website: https://kristinjarvisadams.com

Instagram: @kristinjarvisadams

Facebook: @thechickenwhosavedus

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

The Loneliness of Sibling Loss with Alyson Shelton and Lynn Shattuck

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Lynn’s Where I’m From Poem

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 brothers and talk about sibling loss, the challenges of living with disenfranchised grief, and how writing has helped us heal and maintain a relationship with our siblings even though they are gone.

Alyson’s Bio: Alyson Shelton is an award winning screenwriter. Her essays have been published widely at outlets such as The NY Times, Ms., The Rumpus and more. She hosts a popular series inspired by George Ella Lyon’s poem, Where I’m From. The poem is also the inspiration for her memoir in progress.

Lynn’s Bio: Lynn Shattuck grew up in a Southeast Alaskan rainforest and is now a Maine-based writer. She co-founded thelossofalifetime.com, a website for grieving siblings. Her essays have been featured in Elephant Journal, Human Parts, Al Jazeera, P.S. I Love You, The Fix, Vice and Mind Body Green.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

There’s No Escape by Alyson Shelton

What I Want You to Say When I’m Grieving by Lynn Shattuck:

My 20-Year-Old Brother Died By Suicide. Here's Why I Almost Joined Him by Lisa Cooper Ellison

Lisa’s Where I’m From Poem

Alyson’s Where I’m From Poem

Episode Highlights:

3:23 Silent, Unacknowledged Grief
7:45: The Impact of the Hierarchy of Grief
12:23 The Benefits of Writing about Sibling Loss
18:31: Grieving and Writing in Community
23:49 Building the Sibling Loss Anthology
32:48 Getting to Know Alyson and Lynn
35:23 Lynn and Alyson’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Lynn

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064888772287

Substack: https://lynnshattuck.substack.com/

Connect with Alyson

Website: www.alysonshelton.com

Instagram: @byalysonshelton

Where I’m From poem project: https://www.alysonshelton.com/where-im-from.html#/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Byalysonshelton

Connect with the Loss of a Lifetime Sibling Loss Group

Website: https://www.lossofalifetime.com/

Instagram: @lossofalifetime

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Breaking the Silence on Sexual Assault with Cheyenne Wilson

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 01:00:00 -0400

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 importance of healing in community, and how to find the resources that are right for you. Plus, you’ll hear about the unlikely event that fired Cheyenne up and motivated her to write this book.

Cheyenne’s Bio: Cheyenne Wilson, BSN, is a passionate advocate and author dedicated to supporting and empowering survivors of sexual assault. At 29, she wrote We Are the Evidence: A Handbook For Finding Your Way After Sexual Assault. This groundbreaking resource features contributions from 25 experts, including therapists, lawyers, and survivors, offering a comprehensive guide to healing and resilience. With a background in social services and a career in nursing, Cheyenne combines her professional expertise with personal experience to create resources that validate and uplift survivors.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

What is Polyvagal Theory?
A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings
Recovering from Cults and Religious Trauma Through Writing with Tia Levings

Episode Highlights:

3:40 Why Write Something Other Than a Memoir
5:45 Going from Crushed to Fired Up
9:12 The Power of Community and the Pain of The Friend Response
15:05 Finding a Community When You Don’t Know Where to Look
19:45 Writing a Nonfiction Book that Touches on Your Experiences
21:47 What If Your Assault Happened Decades Ago
26:45 Recruiting Experts and Survivors for Your Book
28:38: The Need to Continue Healing
31:26: Finding the Right Therapist
39:15: Cheyenne’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Cheyenne:
Website: https://wearetheevidence.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/WeAreTheEvidence
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/cheyenne-wilson-3a5041191

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing about Absent Fathers and Attachment Styles with Acamea Deadwiler

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 01:00:00 -0400

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 writing her memoir, Daddy’s Little Stranger,

Acamea’s bio: Acamea Deadwiler is a Pushcart Prize nominated memoirist and essayist who received praise from Publishers Weekly and authored the memoir, Daddy’s Little Stranger. Her work has appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, North American Review, and Beyond Words Literary Magazine, among other publications. Acamea’s media features include the New York Post, Cosmopolitan, Bustle, and the FOX television network. She is also a TEDx speaker. Currently residing in Nevada, Acamea is an Indiana native. She is a fellow in the MFA program at Randolph College.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Episode Highlights

1:00 The Stories We Carry
7:00 Dealing with Normalized Violence
11:29 Choosing the Right Moments When Trauma Is High
15:30 Writing About Abandonment
18:00 Attachment Styles and Storytelling
24:12: Essay Collections vs Memoir
28:00 Writing About Bad Behavior
35:19 Transcendental Meditation and Writing
41:50 Connecting With Your Inner Compass
43:00 Acamea’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Acamea:

Instagram - @acamea
Twitter - @acameald
Website - acameadeadwiler.com
Book - Daddyslittlestranger.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Self-Acceptance, Dating Disasters, and Life After Loss with Debbie Weiss

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 01:00:00 -0400

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 Widow’s Search for Love” about creating a new life after the loss of her husband and high school sweetheart of 32 years. Her writing has been featured in The New York Times’ “Modern Love” column and the Huffington Post among other publications. A former lawyer, she’s proudest of earning her MFA in creative writing at Saint Mary’s College of California in 2020 at age 56. She currently lives in Benicia, California where she can be found practicing yoga, hiking, and extolling the virtues of cheese.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

First Try the Pastrami, Then the Polyamory by Debbie Weiss

When My Partner Of 32 Years Died, I Thought My Life Was Over. Here's How I Overcame My Grief. by Debbie Weiss

Ann Garvin’s Tweet Thread: https://x.com/AnnGarvin_/status/1776564808482959499

Episode Highlights

2:00 Tackling a Story of Layered Grief
7:58 Finding Your Story's Essential Question
12:00 The Challenges of Dating Over 50
18:47 Getting What We Deserve
25:07 Publishing a Modern Love
29:47 Tempering Your Expectations
34:20 Debbie’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Debbie:

https://debbieweissauthor.com/
https://www.facebook.com/debbie.hansen.9
https://www.instagram.com/debbie_weiss_author/
https://substack.com/@debbieweiss

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

The Challenges of Being Vulnerable On the Page with Megan Williams

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 01:00:00 -0400

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, and a key book-launch lesson every author needs to know.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Mom Rage by Minna Dubin
Ordinary Insanity by Sarah Menkendrick

Episode Highlights

2:00 The Challenge of Being Vulnerable on the Page
6:00 Protecting Yourself from Friendly Fire
8:30 Structuring Around a Theme
15:33 The Challenges of Modern Motherhood
23:39 Book Launch Tips
26:00 Megan’s Writing Tip

Megan’s Bio: Megan Williams is the author of One Bad Mother: A Woman’s Search for Meaning in Motherhood and the Police Academy. After graduating from Haverford College, Megan received her Ph.D. in English from Temple University and taught at Lafayette College and Santa Clara University. She has moved across the country—never landing in the middle—three times in twenty years. She now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, who runs Blue Dog Bakery and keeps their teenage twins, rescued cat, horse, and mastiffs full of treats.

Connect with Megan:

Website: meganwilliamsauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1347114175&mibextid=ZbWKwL
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ottoisking
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-williams-6585844a/
TikTok: @Onebadmother
One Bad Mother: A Mother's Search for Meaning in the Police Academy a book by Megan Williams (bookshop.org)

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Estrangement, Dementia, and the Fractured Memoir with Lara Lillibridge

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 01:00:00 -0400

The True Meaning of Success with Courtney Maum

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 protect your heart as you write about painful experiences, the power of publishing your story, as well as the a-ha Lara had about which part of the writing process actually heals you.

In this episode:

When can non-linear storytelling play a role in writing about fragmented relationships?
Advice for balancing dark and light moments in memoir writing to present a full picture of the relationship.
The importance of audience connection and feedback as a source of resilience during the book launch period.
The healing power of revision.
Tips for organizing and structuring non-linear memoirs.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother’s Life by Kao Kalia Yang

New York Times article on Consent by Jill Ciment

Episode Highlights

1:00 COVID’s Impact on Our Creativity
3:15 Structuring an Estrangement Story
8:45 Crafting a Nonlinear Memoir
15:00 Protecting Your Heart as You Write
How Estrangement Impacts Us
24:00 The Healing Power of Publishing Your Story
30:23 Lara’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Lara

Website: http://laralillibridge.com/

Twitter: https://x.com/Only_Mama

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lara.lillibridge

Instagram/Threads: https://www.instagram.com/LaraLillibridge

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Caring for Your Nervous System and Creativity with Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Kirby Moore

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Kirby’s Course: Liberating the Space Element

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 tool you can use right now to calm your nervous system. While you can listen to this on any platform, if you’re a visual learner, this is a great episode to watch on YouTube. Now, let’s get to my conversation with Kirby Moore.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Use the Code Podcast30 to save 30% off this course

Souls of the Feet Meditation

Heart Coherence Meditation

Dr. Kay Tye: The Biology of Social Interactions and Emotions

Episode Highlights

2:00 Biodynamic Cranial Sacral Therapy
4:00 What is Somatic Experiencing
8:00 Healthy and Unhealthy Checking Out
12:00 The Consequences of Dissociation
15:00 Reciprocals: A Powerful Somatic Tool
26:00 Why Meditation Can Harm Trauma Survivors
30:00 Dealing with Writing Triggers
38:00 Somatic Advice on Writing

Connect with Kirby

Website: www.traumainformedastrology.com

Website: www.mkirbymoore.com

Website: https://astrodharma.me

Instagram: @traumainformedastrology

Email: kirby@mkirbymoore.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing about Intergenerational Trauma with with Margaret Juhae Lee

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 01:00:00 -0400

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 writing a researched memoir, staying motivated over the long haul, and the problem of getting an agent too soon.

In this episode:

How to navigate the challenges of writing a memoir that spans multiple generations and historical events.
The importance of structure in memoir writing and how to achieve it.
The emotional impact of sharing family stories and intergenerational trauma.
Practical advice for balancing journalism and narrative memoir writing.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Starry Field with Margaret Juhae Lee and Grace M. Cho Interview for the Korea Society

Episode Highlights

4:00 Why Explore the Past?

7:00 The Impact of Intergenerational Trauma

9:00 The Role of Stories in Identity Formation

15:00 Maintaining Your Momentum Over the Long Haul

20:00 Getting an Agent Too Soon

22:00 Structuring a Researched Memoir

26:00 The Miracle of the Memoir Process

29:00 Turning Yourself into a Character

35:00 Understanding Situation versus Story

Connect with Margaret:

Website: www.margaretjuhaelee.com

Instagram: @mjuhae

Twitter: @margaretjuhae

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-juhae-lee-2b95905/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

The True Meaning of Success and The Multiple Paths to Publishing Your Book with Courtney Maum

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Making Art Inside Delicious Darkness

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 cultivate.

Courtney’s Bio: Courtney is the author of five books, including the groundbreaking publishing guide that Vanity Fair recently named one of the ten best books for writers, BEFORE AND AFTER THE BOOK DEAL and the memoir THE YEAR OF THE HORSES, chosen by The Today Show as the best read for mental health awareness. A writing coach, director of the writing workshop “Turning Points,” and educator, Courtney's mission is to help people hold on to the joy of art-making in a culture obsessed with turning artists into brands. Passionate about literary citizenship, Courtney sits on the advisory councils of The Authors Guild and The Rumpus and runs a bestselling Substack on publishing conundrums. You can sign up for her weekly newsletter and online masterclasses at CourtneyMaum.com

In this episode:

3:00 The Importance of Protecting Your Mental Health
6:45 The True Measure of Success
15:00 Understanding Your Yeses and Nos
19:50 Building Brand Assets for Your Author Platform
28:50 Navigating the Realities of the Publishing Industry
42:00 The Impact of Health Challenges on Our Identity
60:00 Having Faith in Yourself

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Last Night an ENT Saved My Life

Exploring the Loneliness Epidemic with Athena Dixon

How to Stop Gaslighting Yourself with Ingrid Clayton

Official Transcript

Connect with Courtney:

Website: courtneymaum.com

Substack:https://substack.com/@courtneymaum

Instagram: @cbmaum

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Is It Self-Protection or Self-Sabotage: Why Tough Stories Cause Writer's Block

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 01:00:00 -0400

How Recovery Supports Memoir Writing and Book Marketing Tips with Laura Cathcart Robbins

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—especially when one voice is telling you to slow down or stop.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Grampy’s Coat by Donna Moriarty

Not Just Words: How a Good Apology Makes You Braver, Bolder, and Better at Life

Dear Especially After Breaking: What If You Decide with the Full Force of Your Own Formidable Wisdom by Jeannine Ouellette

How to Stop Gaslighting Yourself with Ingrid Clayton, Ph.D

Episode Highlights

2:50 The Impact of Scene Writing on the Brain

3:35 The Voices Writers Wrestle With

10:30 Why Marketing Memoir is Hard

13:27 The Publication Fallacy Writers Buy Into

16:25 The Problem with Staying Small

19:00 Protecting the Magic of Your Most Precious Stories

23:42 Donna’s Best Writing Advice

Donna’s bio: Donna Moriarty is a lifelong writer and editor. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Keepthings, Ms., San Francisco, and others. She’s the author of Not Just Words: How a Good Apology Makes You Braver, Bolder, and Better at Life. Donna is currently working on a memoir. She and her husband live in Ossining, N.Y., where they raised three wonderful children and a succession of dachshunds.

Connect with Donna:

Website: www.donnamoriarty.com

Writing Website: www.silversmithwriting.com

Instagram: @image.and.likeness

Email: donna@silversmithwriting.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Strategies for Navigating Traumatic Memories In Your Memoir

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 01:00:00 -0400

My Interview with Sarah Perry

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 your toughest experiences
The benefit of studying other writers

Resources

Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience by Brené Brown

Hunger by Roxanne Gay

Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul by Sue William Silverman

After the Eclipse by Sarah Perry

A Hard Silence by Melanie Brooks

My Interview with Melanie Brooks

Playing with Dynamite by Sharon Harrigan

Deborah’s Bio: Deborah Svec-Carstens is a writer, spiritual director, and “recovering” lawyer who has written a memoir about her search for healing after a stranger sexually assaulted her in Paris. Her writing has appeared in the Des Moines Register and has been named a finalist in essay contests. In February 2024, she appeared before more than 1,200 people as part of The Des Moines Storytellers Project and told her story of creating community in the aftermath of rape. Deborah lives in West Des Moines, Iowa. She enjoys reading (especially at the beach), hiking, and singing soprano in a local community choir.

Connect with Deborah

Website: https://www.deborahsveccarstens.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deborah.sveccarstens

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deborah.sveccarstens/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

The Challenges of Writing Coming-of-Age Memoirs

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 01:00:00 -0400

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 Exploring the Scope of Your Book
3:15 Feedback on the Childhood Voice
5:43 Are You Starting in the Right Place
7:15 The Importance of Beat Sheets
18:15 Maintaining the Mystery

Resources Mentioned During This Episode

Suzette Mullen Interview
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
The Liar’s Club by Mary Karr

Laila’s Bio: Laila found her most meaningful work as a teacher after pursuing a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Education from UC Berkeley. She’s currently writing a memoir about her chaotic, bicultural childhood that included a murder trial, misattributed paternity, an outing to exhume a dead relative, transatlantic smuggling, and a life-changing promise to a pig. She lives in Santa Cruz, California, and loves cave diving, close encounters with sharks, and dark espresso.

Connect with Laila

Substack: https://lailacoryrall.substack.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

The Dark Side of Publishing: Why It's So Hard for Trauma Survivors

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 01:00:00 -0400

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 trauma survivors can care for themselves while navigating the publishing process.

Laurie’s Bio: Laurie Riedman is a personal and relationship coach, writer, and storyteller. After thirty-five years running her PR and marketing firm, she transitioned to coaching, founding b.u. coaching to support those—like her—who seek to embrace their truth and be their best selves in all aspects of their personal and professional lives. She publishes essays on her blog, More Than Words, and recently published her memoir Diamonds in the Dirt: Stories from a Junkyard Girl. She also co-edited Badass Sisterhood and Soul Shine (forthcoming) with Susan Walter.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

The Liar’s Club by Mary Karr

Episode Highlights

1:58 Staying True to Your Vision

5:34 Quieting the Voice of Doubt

7:40 The Internal Struggles We Face

10:00 Dealing with People’s Responses

12:00 Owning Your Truth

17:58 Publishing’s Impact on Trauma Survivors

23:19 The Sandpaper Draft

Connect with Laurie

Website: www.laurieriedman.com

More Than Words blog: https://laurieriedman.substack.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coachingbu

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Does What I Am Writing Really Matter?

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 01:00:00 -0400

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, the truth about how many books authors typically sell, and how to show up for yourself as you write.

Amanda’s Bio: Amanda is an English teacher, outdoors writer, and novelist with an undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and a graduate degree from the University of Denver. Her writing appears in three Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Her poetry and outdoor journalism have earned recognition from the Poetry Society of Virginia and Virginia Outdoor Writers Association. Her debut novel, An Expected End, is a work of speculative fiction that was published in October 2023.. A member of James River Writers, the Poetry Society of Virginia, and Virginia Outdoor Writers Association, she shares a home with her husband, their rescue parrot, and their two rescue dogs.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Athena Dixon Episode

James River Writers

Official Transcript

Episode Highlights

2:13 Why Does Your Story Matter

4:44 How Many Books to Authors Typically Sell

8:41 What’s Your Story’s Essential Question

11:16 How Does Writing Impact Your Life

14:30 Making Room For Joy

18:00 The Power of Community

22:22 Amanda’s writing advice

Connect with Amanda:

Website: AmandaSueCreasey.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanda_sue_creasey

Substack: https://amandasuecreasey.substack.com/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

How to Tell My Story Without Sounding Like I’m Playing the Victim

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Wendy’s essay on Insider.com

This week, you will hear from Wendy Hawkes, an emerging writer working on a coming-of-middle-age memoir about how she survived category 5 Hurricane Dorian, a storm whose intensity was due to climate change, and how this experience taught her to go with the flow. During our conversation we talk about how to write tough scenes without overdramatizing them or falling into a victim role, and how to decide which details truly belong.

Wendy’s Bio: Wendy Hawkes (she/her) is an American emerging writer currently crafting a memoir based on her experience surviving Category 5 Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. She is a member of the National Association of Memoir Writers and has been published in Insider.com. Her personal essays have achieved finalist status in various competitions, including second place in the Writer’s Digest 2023 Personal Essay Contest. Wendy sails and writes alongside her British-born husband from their floaty home while avoiding oncoming storms amidst ever-present boat chores, sporadic diving and snorkeling, and exploring tropical islands.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode

Blake Snyder’s Beat Sheet

A Writer’s Secret Weapon: Add a Listening Pass to Your Editing Arsenal

Making Meaning and Writing Toward Posttraumatic Growth with Lennie Echterling

Natural Reader

Episode Highlights

5:00 Writing Present Tense with Perspective

6:00 Writing to Heal vs Writing for an Audience

Making Yourself the Hero of Your Story

19:42 Wendy’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Wendy

Website: https://WendyHawkes.com
Instagram: wendyh_aquatania

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

How Can I Braid My Life Story With My Deceased Partner’s?

Thu, 18 Jul 2024 01:00:00 -0400

My Interview with Sarah Perry

This week, you’ll hear from Meredith Master, a writer working on her memoir who is deciding on its structure. In this episode, we discuss writing a braided memoir, writing with a disability, telling the story of someone who has passed away, and how to write about the parts of someone’s life you weren’t present for.

Meredith’s Bio: Meredith Master is a blind writer living in New York City, where she shares a small space with her guide dog, Ivan and mostly unhelpful Boston Terrier, Jelly Roll. She is currently working on three book projects, including a memoir about adult onset disability and addiction as told through the stories of herself and her partner, Michael. She is also working on a collection of humorous essays and an anthology of personal stories of resilience told by writers who went blind and lived to tell about it.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

The Fact of a Body by Alex Marzano-Lesnevich

Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories That Ignite the Soul by Sue William Silverman

After the Eclipse by Sarah Perry

My Interview with Sue William Silverman

Episode Highlights

3:06 Braiding Two Lives Together

8:45 Deciding on the Best Form

12:00 Telling Someone Else’s Story

20:30 Meredith’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Meredith

Email: meredithmaster@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meredith.master/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Should I Honor Their Privacy or Break the Silence by Publishing My Memoir?

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 01:00:00 -0400

It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People

Have you ever felt the need to write your story and share it with others? What if you believed breaking the silence would heal you, but family members want you to keep certain stories private? Could you find a way to respect their wishes while honoring your truth?

In this episode, I am joined by Stephanie Shafran, a writer who’s spent a lifetime being silenced and is now experiencing just this situation. We talk about writing what you need to write, deciding whether to publish, and respecting a family member’s need for privacy while still expressing yourself.

Stephanie’s Bio: Stephanie Shafran’s poetry chapbook Awakening was released in 2020. Stephanie contributed to the 2021 anthology, A 21st Century Plague: Pandemic Poetry, edited by Elayne Clift. A member of Straw Dog Writers Guild and Florence Poetry Society, Stephanie resides in Northampton, Massachusetts. You can read her monthly blog posts at stephanieshafran.com. In 2017, Stephanie retired from a teaching and counseling career. Her degrees include a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Smith College, Master in the Art of Teaching from the University of Vermont, and Master of Counseling Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Embracing Our Grief

Episode Highlights

2:50 Discovering You’re Not the Main Character

4:04 Disenfranchised Grief

7:00 Navigating Other’s Privacy with Our Need to Speak the Truth

13:40 Identifying Your Audience

17:00 Deciding Whether to Publish

23:09 Stephanie’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Stephanie

Website: stephanieshafran.com

Email: stephanieshafran@gmail.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shafranstephanie/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephanie.shafran.1

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Is My Book Ready for Beta Readers?

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Crafting the Personal Essay and Resilient Editing Tips with Andrea Firth

Before you send your book to beta readers, listen to this episode!

In it, you’ll meet Melissa Macomber, another Camp Structure alumni who’s working on her memoir. During this episode, we explore how to know when your book is ready for beta readers, the three types of beta readers you’ll need, how to choose beta readers wisely, and questions to ask them before sending out your work.

Melissa’s Bio: Melissa is a writer currently working on a memoir about how to recognize your soulmate(s). You can find more of her short pieces and research on love, commitment and betrayal on her website.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Bianca Maris’s Beta Reader Matchup

Writers Digest Article About Sensitivity Readers

Writing Diversely

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Podcast

Crafting the Personal Essay and Resilient Editing Tips with Andrea Firth

Hidden Potential by Adam Grant

Official Transcript

Episode Highlights

1:20 Maintaining Your Stamina

2:59 Preparing Mentally for Beta Reader Feedback

4:09 Working with Writers

9:30 Should I Send Them All or Part of My Manuscript

11:55 Working with Members of Your Audience

15:06 Finding Beta Readers

16:05 Working with Sensitivity Readers

19:52 Mistake allowances

Connect with Melissa:

Website: melissamacomber.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

How to Return to Your Memoir After Loss and How to Navigate Your Author Platform as a Trauma Survivor

Thu, 27 Jun 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Breaking the Silence with Melanie Brooks

This week, you’ll hear from Camp Structure alumni Shoshana Koch, a writer and speaker who’s working on a coming-of-age memoir. During this episode, we explore the challenges trauma survivors face when building an author platform, how to deal with rejection, and how to re-engage with a writing project after an extended break.

Shoshana’s Bio: Shoshana is a psychologist, writer, and speaker who focuses on the intersection of trauma and addiction. She is editing a debut memoir set in an ‘80s childhood with her strung-out family (think “Lord of the Flies” meets “Trainspotting”) which examines how to mend the splinters of trauma’s shattering, claim our wholeness through the breaking, and live with the cost of the truth over the cost of lies.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode

Episode Highlights

7:58 Writing from the Scar, Not the Wound

9:19 The 100 Rejections Club

14:06 The Impact of Grief Anniversaries on Our Writing Lives

16:21 Writing in the Aftermath of Grief

22:53 Feeling Like You’re Behind

Connect with Shoshana:

Shoshana’s Website: https://www.shoshanakoch.com
Shoshana's Substack: https://shoshanakoch.substack.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shoshanadianekoch/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shoshanadianekoch/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shoshanakoch

Sign up for Camp Structure: 14 Weeks to Find and Refine Your Memoir’s Narrative Arc: https://lisacooperellison.com/camp-structure-find-your-memoirs-narrative-arc/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing that Gets Noticed with Estelle Erasmus

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Welcome to season three of the Writing Your Resilience podcast! During seasons one and two, I interviewed experts and published authors who generously shared their wisdom on writing and healing. We’ll get back to that in season four. But sometimes it’s nice to know the people walking this journey alongside you. For my season three “Summer Shorts” series, you’ll meet ten writers in the trenches of the writing process and hear my advice to them.

But I wanted to launch this season with one more expert–Estelle Erasmus, author of the craft book Writing That Gets Noticed. During our episode, we explore how to craft short pieces with the greatest chance for publication. You’ll also learn some savvy tricks for dealing with rejection.

Bio: Estelle Erasmus, author of Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published, named a 2024 "Best Book for Writers" by Poets & Writers, is a professor of writing at New York University, the host of the Freelance Writing Direct podcast, a contributing editor for Writer's Digest, where she also teaches courses on writing essays and pitches, and judges the Writer's Digest Personal Essay contest. Her articles for the New York Times and The Washington Post have gone globally viral. She has appeared on Good Morning America and has had her articles discussed on The View. She has also taught, coached, and mentored many writers who have gone on to be widely published. She received the 2023 NYU School of Professional Studies Teaching Excellence Award, a 2023 Zibby Award for Best Book for the Writer, is an American Society of Journalists and Authors award winner, and was a cast member in the inaugural New York City production of the Listen to Your Mother storytelling show.

Resources In This Episode
How to BullyProof Your Child
Plus Here I'm the Focus of the Well Newsletter re the Bullyproof Story
I'm Learning to Listen in New Ways
Freelance Writing Direct with Ann Hood

Highlights
7:00 The Best Time to Work on Short Pieces
10:00 The Power of Google Alerts
13:00 Journaling with Purpose
17:30: Vulnerability versus Pity
25:11 The Danger of Oversharing
29:00 Confessing versus Confiding
32:00 The Power of Accomplishment Lists
33:48 Writing Timely Essays
40:52 Handling Rejection
51:25 Estelle’s best writing advice

Connect with Estelle
Website
Substack
Freelance Writing Direct podcast
Instagram
X
TikTok

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

"How Do You Know When Your Story Is “Finished?” Ask Me Anything with Lisa Cooper Ellison

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Welcome to the last episode of Season 2! This second season has been amazing, and I am so grateful for all of the featured guests and all of you listeners. Just as I did last season, I decided to sit behind the microphone and open myself up to answering questions.

In this episode, you’ll meet Katie Rouse, a poet, memoirist, and former student in my Camp Structure course. During this episode, we explore the signals that your story is “finished” and ready to marinate. As you listen to our interview, here are some questions to consider: How do you know it's time to let a manuscript rest? Do you resist doing it? What fears do you face? What have you done to cope with them? If you've let your manuscript rest, what tells you it's time to pick it back up?

Katie’s Bio: Katie Rouse is a marketing manager, poet, and freelance writer who writes about faith, doubt, and deconstruction. She loves sending out weekly poems to email subscribers, as well as longer monthly letters. Her work has been published in Missive Mag, hyssop + laurel, and The Unmooring. She published her first book of poetry, Psalms of Deconstruction, in Fall 2021, and is working on her first memoir, which will recount her journey of deconstructing her faith while serving as a missionary in India.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode

Katie’s Poem “Psalm 9” from The Unmooring (See page 38)

Episode Highlights

1:15 Finding the “Good Enough” Completion Point

4:55 Completing Your Work

6:15 The Three Types of Rest

10:15 Signals It’s Time to Return to Your Work

12:36 Common Fears Writers Have Around Rest

Connect with Katie

Website: https://bit.ly/katierousewrites

Newsletter: https://bit.ly/katierousewrites_subscribe

Instagram: @katie.rose.rouse

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People with Dr. Ramani Durvasula

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Dr. Ramani’s Healing Program

Dr. Ramani Durvasula, author of It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People, shares her insights into narcissism, how narcissistic abuse survivors can heal and get support, and how to care for yourself when writing and promoting a book on tough topics.

Ramani Durvasula, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist in California, the founder and CEO of LUNA Education, Training and Consulting, and professor emerita of psychology at California State University Los Angeles. She is the New York Times bestselling author of It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People. She is also the author of multiple other books including Don’t You Know Who I Am: How to Stay Sane in the Era of Narcissism, Entitlement and Incivility and Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving a Relationship with a Narcissist. She has lectured and trained therapists around the world on working with clients experiencing narcissistic abuse and has developed a 36-hour virtual training and certification program to train clinicians on how to use an Antagonism-Informed approach with clients experiencing narcissistic relationships. She hosts a popular YouTube channel with over 1.6 million subscribers, hosted the critically acclaimed podcast Navigating Narcissism, and is a featured expert on the digital media platform MedCircle. For more on Dr. Ramani, please check out the links below!

Resources:

Healing from Gaslighting Course

Course on Narcissistic Abuse for Therapists

Dr. Ramani Network

Episode Highlights

6:11 How Narcissism Affects You

11:47 Narcissism versus Antagonistic Behavior

16:21 Radical Acceptance and the Problem of Toxic Hope

28:00 The Disengagement Continuum

33:00 Disenfranchised Grief

38:00 Breaking Through Cognitive Dissonance

43:00 Healing and Getting Support

51:46 Dr. Ramani’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Dr. Ramani

Website

YouTube: @DoctorRamani

Instagram: @DoctorRamani

XL @DoctorRamani

TikTok: @DoctorRamani

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Addiction, Recovery, and Confronting the Good Mother Myth with Ann Batchelder

Thu, 30 May 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Author Ann Batchelder talks about her daughter’s struggle with addiction, their recovery journeys, the myths she had to confront, her struggle with perfectionism, and the writing tips she learned as she was writing her memoir, Craving Spring: A Mother's Quest, a Daughter's Depression, and the Greek Myth that Brought Them Together

Ann’s bio: Ann Batchelder writes about women’s wisdom and the pain and beauty of difficult transitions. She is the author of Craving Spring: A Mother’s Quest, a Daughter’s Depression, and the Greek Myth that Brought Them Together. Her work has been featured in multiple podcasts and publications, including in Insider Magazine, Newsweek, Hippocampus, The Linden Review, and The Rumpus.

Ann served as Editor of Fiberarts Magazine for ten years. She was guest curator for the Asheville Art Museum where she designed and developed several major contemporary exhibitions, Acting Director of the International Studies program at Lesley University, and Director of Special Events for the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Ann has an MSW and has been practicing mindfulness since 2004. She lives with her husband in Asheville, NC. www.annbatchelder.com

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

The Hero’s Journey

The Heroine’s Journey

Episode Highlights

5:50 Being Addicted to Someone Else’s Recovery

9:00 Confronting the Good Mother Myth

11:15 What Truly Helping Someone Looks Like

13:27 The Power of Surprising the Reader

15:00 A Buddhist Bent on Recovery

21:00 Braiding in the Greek Myth

30:21 The Art of Inserting Backstory

39:00 Ann’s Writing Advice

Connect with Ann:

Website: www.annbatchelder.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ann.batchelder.9?mibextid=eQY6cl

Instagram: instagram.com/annbatchelder

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Psychology of Character Development for Memoirists: https://janefriedman.com/the-psychology-of-character-development-for-memoirists-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing about Chronic Illness and Crafting the Hybrid Memoir with Jennifer Lunden

Thu, 23 May 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Author, Jennifer Lunden, shares her struggles with chronic illness, the challenges of writing a hybrid memoir, especially when you’ve not trained in science writing, and the grit all writers, but especially writers with disabilities, need to cultivate.

Jennifer Lunden Bio: Jennifer Lunden (she/her) is the author of American Breakdown: Our Ailing Nation, My Body’s Revolt, and the Nineteenth-Century Woman Who Brought Me Back to Life, which was praised by the Los Angeles Review of Books and Washington Post, and called a “genre-bending masterpiece” by Hippocampus. Her essays have appeared in Creative Nonfiction, Orion, River Teeth, DIAGRAM, Longreads, and other journals; selected for a Pushcart Prize; and recognized as notable in Best American Essays. She has been awarded grants from the Maine Arts Commission, the Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, and the Canada Council for the Arts, and was the 2016 recipient of the Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Foundation Scholarship in Nonfiction. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and former therapist, in 2012, she was named Maine’s Social Worker of the Year. She lives with her husband, the artist Frank Turek, in Portland, Maine.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode

The Lady’s Handbook of Mysterious Illnesses

“The Hero’s Journey Starring You” on the Hidden Brain podcast

Sarah Perry Episode

Laura Davis Episode

Episode Highlights

7:11 Feedback We Get When Writing About Illnesses

12:00 Structuring a Hybrid Memoir

22:00 The Two Types of Grit Writers with Disabilities Need

31:07 The Three Kinds of Stories We All Have

39:48 Jennifer’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Jennifer

https://jenniferlunden.com/
https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.lunden
https://www.instagram.com/jleelunden/
https://staging.bsky.app/profile/jenniferlunden.bsky.social

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Psychology of Character Development for Memoirists: https://janefriedman.com/the-psychology-of-character-development-for-memoirists-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Note: Jennifer’s headshot was taking by Melanie Lunden

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

How Recovery Supports Memoir Writing and Book Marketing Tips with Laura Cathcart Robbins

Thu, 16 May 2024 02:00:00 -0400

Author Laura Cathcart Robbins shares book marketing tips she learned while promoting her memoir Stash: My Life in Hiding, and how recovery helped her cultivate the honesty needed to write her memoir.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

I Was the Only Black Person at Elizabeth Gilbert and Cheryl Strayed’s ‘Brave’ Magic Retreat by Laura Cathcart Robbins

“A White Woman Told Me She Doesn’t Think of Me as Black. Here’s How I Reacted.” by Laura Cathcart Robbins

Book Review for Stash: My Life in Hiding by Lisa Cooper Ellison

Author Platform Is Not a Requirement to Sell Your Novel or Children’s Book by Jane Friedman

X: https://twitter.com/lauracrobbins

Episode Highlights

9:00 The Response to Stash

14:00 The Power of Honesty

16:00 The Link Between Recovery and Honesty

24:00 Channeling Your Energy in a Specific Direction

26:00 Marketing Your Book and Yourself

34:30 Caring For Yourself As You Market Your Book

41:00 Year Two and Working with Book Clubs

47:00 How Honesty Builds Resilience

Connect with Laura

Website: https://lauracathcartrobbins.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauracathcartrobbins

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauracathcartrobbins

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Crafting the Personal Essay and Resilient Editing Tips with Andrea Firth

Thu, 09 May 2024 01:00:00 -0400

The Beauty of a Busted Fruit by Natalie Diaz

Andrea Firth joins the Writing Your Resilience podcast to talk about what personal essays are, how writers can uncover their essay’s aboutness, and how to develop resilient editing practices. As an added bonus, she also offers writers the inside scoop on how to get published on the Brevity Blog.

Andrea’s Bio: Andrea A. Firth is a writer, editor and educator living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is an Editor at Brevity Blog and cofounder of Diablo Writers’ Workshop where she teaches creative writing and provides developmental editing. Andrea has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Saint Mary’s College of California. She was a finalist for The Missouri Review's 2021 Perkoff Prize in nonfiction, and her work has appeared in Dorothy Parker’s Ashes, Allium, The Coachella Review among others. Learn more about her and read her recent work at www.andreaafirth.com.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Secret Words by Andrea Firth

Broken Glass by Andrea Firth

Old John by Andrea Firth

Brevity Blog Submission Guidelines

Snot-Bubble-Cry Dance Parties that Boost Your Creativity by Lisa Cooper Ellison

Looking at an Eclipse: A Braided Essay About Braided Essays by Lilly Dancyger

Episode Highlights

4:00 The Difference Between Memoir and Personal Essay

7:00 Exploring the Inciting Incident for Your Essays

14:00 Common Struggles Essayists Have: Aboutness

21:00 The Power of the Braided Essay

25:00 Resilient Editing and Workshopping

34:00 Submitting to the Brevity Blog

Connect with Andrea:

Website: https://www.diablowriters.org/andrea-a-firth/

Writing Workshops: Diablo Writers' Workshop

Instagram: @andreaafwriter

Facebook: @andrea.firth.58

LinkedIn: @andreafirth

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Instagram: @lisacooperellison

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: @lisacooperellison

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Psychology of Character Development for Memoirists: https://janefriedman.com/the-psychology-of-character-development-for-memoirists-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Heeding Your Inner Voice and Navigating Your Memoir's Dark Night of the Soul with Suzette Mullen

Thu, 02 May 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Suzette’s Free Companion Guide/E-book

Author and writing coach, Suzette Mullen shares tips for structuring your memoir, navigating the dark night of the soul, living with integrity, and learning to listen to your inner voice.

Suzette’s Bio: Suzette Mullen (she/her) is a memoir and nonfiction book coach, retreat leader, and the author of the memoir The Only Way Through Is Out (University of Wisconsin Press, 2024), named one of February’s “most anticipated” releases by Lambda Literary. Foreword Reviews calls The Only Way Through Is Out: “Candid, inspirational… An emotive memoir that issues a stirring call to women to choose self-actualization.” Suzette’s essays have appeared in the New York Times, today.com, and Brevity, among other outlets. In her work as a book coach, Suzette guides writers to find their deeper stories and define their big ideas. She co-hosts the Mainely Memoir Retreat for women memoir writers and supports LGBTQ+ writers through her group mentorship program, Write Yourself Out. A graduate of Harvard Law School and Wellesley College, Suzette is working on her next book, a memoir about the costs and joys of living authentically.

Resources Mentioned In this Episode:

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

Why Preparing a TED Talk Makes You a Better Memoirist (Even If You Never Intend to Get on Stage)

Get Your Free Copy of Write

Episode Highlights
2:00 Exploring Cover Design

7:00 The Mid-Life Coming-of-Age Story

11:00 Identifying Your Inner Voice

17:00 Learning to Listen to Yourself

22:00 Integrity and Seeing Clearly

26:30 Living Through the Dark Night of the Soul

30:00 Beating Out Your Story and Cutting Your Darlings

34:00 Building a Behind-the Scenes Guide

36:00 Deciding What’s for Public Consumption

Connect with Suzette:

Website: https://www.yourstoryfinder.com/ and https://www.mainelymemoir.com/

Instagram: @urstoryfinder
Facebook: Suzette Mullen, Author
Facebook: Your Story Finder
LinkedIn: Suzette Mullen, LGBTQ Book Coach, Memoir

Connect with your host, Lisa:

More, Fret Less

Instagram:

@lisacooperellison

YouTube: @lisacooperellison

Facebook: @lisacooperellison

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Psychology of Character Development for Memoirists: https://janefriedman.com/the-psychology-of-character-development-for-memoirists-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Produced by Espresso Podcast

Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Surviving a Social Media Witch Hunt and Threading a Theme Through Your Memoir with Natalie MacLean

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Natalie’s Juicy Book Bonuses

Natalie MacLean joins the Writing Your Resilience podcast to talk about surviving a social media witch hunt, how it impacted her relationship with alcohol, threading a theme through her memoir and marketing your book like a pro.

Natalie’s Bio: Natalie MacLean, named the World's Best Drinks Journalist, has also won four James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards. She’s the bestselling author of Red, White and Drunk All Over. Her new memoir, Wine Witch on Fire: Rising from the Ashes of Divorce, Defamation, and Drinking Too Much has just become a national bestseller and has been described as “This decade’s Eat Pray Love.”

She hosts the NYT recommended podcast, Unreserved Wine Talk, and offers popular online wine and food pairing classes at www.nataliemaclean.com.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode

Natalie’s Reader Guide

Five Takeaways From the Time’s Investigation into Child Influencers

Signs of Alcoholism or Alcohol Use Disorder

SAMHSA’s National Helpline

Unreserved Wine Talk Podcast

Episode Highlights

4:00 Developing Your Voice

5:52: Dealing with an Online Pile On

10:00 Caring For Yourself While Writing a Tough Story

13:00 Re-evaluating Your Relationship with Alcohol

21:00 The Struggles of Working in the Male-Dominated Wine Industry

27:00 Threading the Witch Theme into This Story

32:00 The Power of Book Club Guides and Bonuses

38:00 Rebuilding Your Relationship to Social Media After a Pile On

Connect with Natalie:

Natalie’s Book Bub Page

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Making Meaning and Writing Toward Posttraumatic Growth with Lennie Echterling

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 01:00:00 -0400

The Paradox of Empathy: When Empathy Hurts

Resources mentioned during this episode:

Thriving in a Time of Crisis

The Book of Forgiving: The Four-Fold Path Four Healing Ourselves and Our World by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu

Writing to Heal with Laura Davis

Good Night Jung by Lennie Echterling

Episode Highlights

4:41 Lessons from Landmine Survivors

10:00 Triggers for Resilience

12:00 Defining Posttraumatic Growth

15:00 The Problem of Toxic Positivity

22:00 The Power of Being with Another Person’s Story

27:00 The Struggle to Trust

30:00 Embracing and Exploring the Chaos Story

35:00 The Role of Neuroplasticity in Storytelling

38:00 Lessons Learned from Final Conversations

42:00 Making Every Day Valentine’s Day

47:00 The Power of Expressing Gratitude

54:40 Lennie’s Best Writing Advice

56:20 Lennie’s Resilience Practice

Connect with Lennie:

Email: echterlg@jmu.edu

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Finding Your Voice and Crafting Stories that Ignite the Soul with Sue William Silverman

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 01:00:00 -0400

“INTERVIEW & REVIEW: Sue William Silverman, Author of Acetylene Torch Songs”

Sue William Silverman joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to talk about the power of creative nonfiction, how to use metaphor, masks, and language to harness its power, and how this work can lead to personal growth.

As you listen along, here are a few questions to ponder: Which of your stories yearn to be told? How do you uncover their many emotional truths? What do those truths look like on the page and sound like when you read them out loud?

Sue’s Bio:

Sue William Silverman is an award-winning author of eight works of nonfiction and poetry. Her most recent book is Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul. Her previous book, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences," won the gold star in Foreword Reviews Indie Book of the Year Award and the Clara Johnson Award for Women’s Literature. Other works include Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction, which was made into a Lifetime TV movie; Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You, which won the AWP Award; and The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew. She is faculty co-chair of the MFA in Writing Program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Episode Highlights:

4:00 Why We Write Creative Nonfiction

8:00 Metaphors in Creative Nonfiction Writing

24:00 Using Masks to Externalize the Narrator and Connect with Their Voice

30:00 Writing, Creativity, and Emotional Truth

36:00 Creative Nonfiction Writing and Personal Growth

42:00 Writing, Memoir, and Essay Collections.

48:00 Writing, Resilience, and Self-Expression

Resources Mentioned During This Episode
“Innocence & Experience: Voice in Creative Nonfiction” by Sue William Silverman

Connect with Sue:

Website: www.SueWilliamSilverman.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SueWilliamSilverman
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suewilliamsilverman/

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Psychology of Character Development for Memoirists: https://janefriedman.com/the-psychology-of-character-development-for-memoirists-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

How to Stop Gaslighting Yourself with Ingrid Clayton

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Ingrid Clayton joins the Writing Your Resilience podcast to talk about Complex PTSD, how narcissistic abuse leads to self-gaslighting, its impact on the writing process, and how Ingrid confronted these experiences while writing her memoir Believing Me.

Here’s a list of questions to ponder as you follow along: Have you ever doubted your own experiences? Have you ever felt like if you just did the right thing, you’d be good enough and the problems in your relationships would end? Is there something about yourself you struggle to believe in? While writing, have you considered what story your body wants to tell?

Ingrid Clayton’s Bio: While Ingrid has a clinical background, she believes there is no theory, diagnosis, or therapy that can replace the power of shared experience. Her recent memoir is written from the heart, where all our hurt lives—so it speaks the same language. In addition to raising her beautiful son, Ingrid believes that gaining the courage to write Believing Me is her greatest achievement to date.

Episode Highlights

5:00 Childhood trauma, gaslighting, and self-gaslighting

13:00 Writing a memoir and healing through the process

25:00 Trauma writing and grounding techniques for writers

38:00 Self-publishing vs traditional publishing

52:00 Self-publishing as a process of trusting myself

1:07 Healing trauma and self-expression

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

“What Is the Fawning Trauma Response?” by Ingrid Clayton
“What Is Self-Gaslighting?” by Ingrid Clayton
“Fix Your Partner” Instagram Reel
Stand Up Therapy Variety Show Episode One
Stand Up Therapy Variety Show Episode Two

Contact Ingrid:

Website: https://www.ingridclayton.com/

Instagram and YouTube: @IngridClaytonPhD

Get a free copy of her PDF on the fawning response: https://www.ingridclayton.com/fawningtraumaresponse

Get a copy of Believing Me: https://www.ingridclayton.com/books

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Create Your Memoir’s Beat Sheet: https://janefriedman.com/craft-your-memoirs-beat-sheet-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Healing Through Forgiveness

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Writing to Heal with Laura Davis

Welcome to season two of the Writing Your Resilience Podcast! After celebrating season one’s fantastic interviews, I decided to kick things off right by having a fireside-style chat with you about a topic that keeps coming up: Forgiveness.

Whether we’re on a healing journey or writing the tough stuff, forgiveness can be a complicated thing to grasp and work through. In this episode, I talk about what forgiveness is, what the process looks like, and how it’s related to the writing process.

As you listen along, consider the following questions: What do you think about the word forgiveness? More importantly, how do you feel about it? What do you want to know about it? And finally, what relationship do you think it has to the writing process?

Episode Resources

Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma by Melanie Brooks

It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing From Narcissistic People by Dr. Ramani Durvasula

Practicing Radical Acceptance with Zebib Abraham

Leaning into the Mystery of Your Stories with Brett Will Taylor

Recovering from Cults and Religious Trauma Through Writing with Tia Levings

To Write a Better Memoir, Learn This F-Word

Episode Highlights

2:00 Why People Hate Forgiveness

7:00 Forgiveness Myths

9:00 Defining Forgiveness

13:00 Forgiveness Prerequisites

22:00 The Process of Forgiving

30:00 Two Powerful Writing Exercises

36:00 Renewing and Releasing Relationships with Yourself and Others

48:00 Empowering Yourself

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Create Your Memoir’s Beat Sheet: https://janefriedman.com/craft-your-memoirs-beat-sheet-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Ask Me Anything with Lisa Cooper Ellison

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Wake Up With Joint Rotations

Welcome to the last episode of Season 1! This season has been amazing, and I am so grateful for all the listeners who return week after week to learn from my featured guests. After weeks of asking other writers questions, I decided to invite some of the writers I work with onto the podcast to ask me questions!

In this episode, you’ll first meet Sara Pam Neufeld, a yoga teacher and former journalist who’s working to complete the first full draft of her memoir about her quest for balance when life turned upside down. As you listen to our interview, here are some questions to consider: What makes it difficult to tell your story? Is it something internal or is your answer based on something you learned or a way you were trained?

In the second part of this episode, you’ll hear from Lisa Rizzo, author of the award-winning poetry collection, Always a Blue House, and In the Poem An Ocean. Lisa’s putting the finishing touches on her memoir-in-progress. As you listen to her interview, consider these questions: Is there a craft technique you'd like to try, or would you like to push the boundaries of storytelling by trying something new?

Connect with Sara Neufeld:
Website: https://www.sarapamneufeld.com

Resources from Sara Neufeld’s Interview

Your Life as Story by Tristine Rainer

Acetylene Torch Songs by Sue William Silverman

A Few Keys to Alignment

Improve Your Back and Hip Tightness

Connect with Lisa Rizzo:

Website: http://lisarizzowriter.com

Resources from Lisa Rizzo’s Interview

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Stash: My Life in Hiding by Laura Cathcart Robbins

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Heavy by Kiese Laymon

Safekeeping by Abigail Thomas

The Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis

After the Eclipse by Sarah Perry

Believing Me by Ingrid Clayton

(re)using found forms: the hermit crab essay

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Create Your Memoir’s Beat Sheet: https://janefriedman.com/craft-your-memoirs-beat-sheet-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Recovering from Cults and Religious Trauma Through Writing with Tia Levings

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Tia Levings joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to discuss her experience as a debut author, writing to heal without retraumatizing yourself, the gaslighting that happens in religion, and getting things off your chest and onto the page to educate others with your writing.

As you listen to this episode, consider the following questions: What would you need to do to claim your story? What would tell you it has legs? What would you need to do to see it from a wider lens? If it is a really tough story, how would you care for yourself as you work on it?

Tia is an author and guest expert who exposes the abuses in Christian Fundamentalism. She’s been quoted in Salon, the Huffington Post, and the New York Times and appeared in the hit Amazon docu-series, Shiny Happy People. Her memoir, A Well-Trained Wife, will be published August, 6, 2024 by St. Martin's Press. Online, Tia connects our current news headlines with high-control religious roots. Find her work @TiaLevingsWriter on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, and through her Substack, The Anti-Fundamentalist.

Episode Highlights:
10:00 Signals Your Project Has Legs
15:00: How Writing Heals
17:00 Gaslighting and Religion
20:00 Finding the Wider Lens
25:00 Understanding Your Boundaries
28:00 Writing Without Retraumatizing Yourself
35:00 Claiming Your Story
39:00 Caring for the Soft Animal of Your Body

Items mentioned in this episode:
The Best Way to Deal with End-of_year Angst (Blog post on writing in a vacuum)
Welcome to The Anti-Fundamentalist (Post where Tia holds her book)
Shiny Happy People where to find it
Shitty First Drafts by Anne Lamott
Dr. Ramani On Gaslighting
Plotting Your Novel with The Plot Clock
Deep Work by Cal Newport

Connect with Tia:
Website: https://tialevings.com
Tia’s Book: https://tialevings.com/book
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TiaLevingsWriter
Facebook: https://facebook.com/TiaLevingsWriter
Substack: https://tialevings.substack.com

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/
Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Create Your Memoir’s Beat Sheet: https://janefriedman.com/craft-your-memoirs-beat-sheet-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Leaning into the Mystery of our Stories with Brett Will Taylor

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 01:00:00 -0500

https://www.brettwilltaylor.today/on-letting-the-ghosts-of-love-say-good-bye/

Brett Will Taylor joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to discuss vulnerability, family stories, shamanism, and the importance of leaning into the mystery.

As you listen to this episode, consider the following questions: What are the family stories that you are living from? Who are your people and who or what do you consider to be your guides? How do you grapple with the things that no longer serve you? How does this work and the work of being present in life help you find and sharpen your writing voice?

Brett Will Taylor is forever exploring the stories we tell ourselves. He does that through his own writing, as a consultant to Fortune 100 companies, and a thought partner to men interested in their own development. Currently, he is writing a one-man show called "Home Free." On the surface, the show is about selling and emptying the family home of forty years. On a deeper level, it's about the stories we tell ourselves: why we create them, why it's so hard to let go of them, and what happens when we do.

Episode Highlights:

2:00 Family Stories

8:00 Confronting Your Vulnerability

10:00 Defining Shamanism

12:00 The Importance of Story

17:00 Grappling with What No Longer Serves Us

27:00 Strategies for Staying Present

34:00 Finding Your Voice

Items mentioned during this episode:

Wired for Story: https://www.slj.com/story/wired-for-stories

https://www.brettwilltaylor.today/when-a-guest-bathroom-isnt-just-a-guest-bathroom/

https://www.brettwilltaylor.today/on-continuation-indras-net-and-an-old-alabaster-lamp/

Connect with Brett:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brettwilltaylorpage/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Brettwilltaylor/

Website: https://www.brettwilltaylor.today

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Create Your Memoir’s Beat Sheet: https://janefriedman.com/craft-your-memoirs-beat-sheet-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Understanding Neurodivergence with Katie Rose Guest Pryal

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Katie Rose Guest Pryal joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to take a deep dive into what neurodiversity is and how it impacts writers.

Here are a few questions to ponder as you listen to this episode: What do you know about neurodiversity? Do you consider yourself to be neurodivergent? If you are, how does that impact the way you set up your writing life, what you write about, and how you see the world?

Katie Rose Guest Pryal, J.D., Ph.D., is a bipolar-autistic author, keynote speaker, law professor, and expert in mental health and neurodiversity. Her books include Life of the Mind Interrupted: Essays on Mental Health and Disability in Higher Education, the IPPY-Gold-winning Even If You’re Broken: Bodies, Boundaries, and Mental Health, and A Light in the Tower: A New Reckoning with Mental Health in Higher Education. She writes frequently for national magazines and speaks around the country about mental health and neurodiversity. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Episode Highlights

2:00 Defining Neurodiversity
11: 00 The Power of a Diagnosis
15:00 The Problem of Overwhelm
20:00 Reclaiming the Word Selfish
26:00 Learn to Cope
31:00 Fitting into the Narrow Band of “Normal”
34:45 Writing and Neurodiversity

Items mentioned during this episode:

Katie’s post about overwhelm: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzbTVgJgc5L/

Compton Cowboys: https://www.instagram.com/comptoncowboys/

Contact Katie:

Substack: https://krgpryal.substack.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krgpryal/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krgpryal/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/krgpryal

Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/krpgryal.bsky.social

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Create Your Memoir’s Beat Sheet: https://janefriedman.com/craft-your-memoirs-beat-sheet-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Exploring The Loneliness Epidemic with Athena Dixon

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Athena Dixon joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to discuss the multiple facets of loneliness, how to decide what is for you and what is for the public, and how to create your own definition of success.

Here are a few questions to ponder as you listen to this episode: How do you define loneliness? How did the pandemic impact the way that you define and experienced it? What does success look like for you? What is one positive association you have with being alone?

Born and raised in Northeast Ohio, Athena Dixon is a poet, essayist, and editor. She is the author of The Loneliness Files (Tin House 2023) and The Incredible Shrinking Woman (Split/Lip Press 2020). Her work is also included in the anthology The Breakbeat Poets Vol.2: Black Girl Magic and her craft work appears in Getting to the Truth: The Craft and Practice of Creative Nonfiction. Athena is an alumni of V.O.N.A., Callaloo, and Tin House and has received a prose fellowship from The Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing and a Second Book Residency from Tin House.

Episode Highlights:

4:00 The problem of loneliness
8:00 Establishing intimacy between writer and reader
11:00 The skills of being honest
16:00 Finding the vessel for your story
20:00 Defining success for yourself
27:00 Digital loneliness
35:49 Intentional isolation
42:00 The relationship between loneliness and hyper-independence

Essay mentioned during this episode:

https://gay.medium.com/the-incredible-shrinking-woman-997f50b9e63b

Connect with Athena

Website: https://athenadixon.com/

Instagram: the_muse_paper
Twitter/X: AthenaDDixon
Facebook: AthenaDevonDixon

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Create Your Memoir’s Beat Sheet: https://janefriedman.com/craft-your-memoirs-beat-sheet-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

More than True Crime with Sarah Perry

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Sarah Perry joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to talk about the choices they made while writing their award-winning memoir, After the Eclipse, and how each decision helped them build a book about their mother’s murder that was more than a true crime story. In this conversation, they explore the structure of Sarah’s book, how to build a character based on research, navigating the challenges of memory, and why closure isn’t what some of us are looking for.

Here are a few questions to ponder as you listen to this episode: What’s the toughest experience you’ve been through? If you wrote about it, what would you like readers to focus on? How might you need to structure this book in order to make that happen? How would you take care of yourself while dealing with the toughest parts of your story, especially if that meant researching police reports or interviewing other people to bring a character to life? What would you do with all that research?

Sarah Perry (she/they) is a memoirist and essayist who writes about love, trauma, gender-based violence, queerness, and the power dynamics that influence those concerns. She is the author of the memoir After the Eclipse, which was named a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a Poets & Writers Notable Nonfiction Debut, and a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers pick. Her second book, a memoir-in-essays called Sweet Nothings, is forthcoming from Mariner in 2024. Shorter work has appeared in the Huffington Post, Off Assignment, Elle magazine, The Guardian, and other outlets. A former Tulsa Artist Fellow and recipient of fellowships from the Edward F. Albee Foundation, VCCA, Playa, and The Studios of Key West, she holds an M.F.A. in nonfiction from Columbia University. She is currently Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of North Texas.

Episode Highlights

2:00 Framing a tough story
8:00 Building a character you can’t interview
12:00 Finding a resolution when closure isn’t possible
20:00 Navigating the challenges of memory
31:00 Structuring a dual timeline narrative
45:00 Navigating research and coping with tough material

Sarah’s essays:

Connect with Sarah
Website: sarahperryauthor.net
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahperry100
X: https://twitter.com/trickylarouge

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Find the Memoir Structure that Works for You: https://janefriedman.com/find-the-memoir-structure-that-works-for-you-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Embracing Our Grief with Eileen Vorbach Collins

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 01:00:00 -0500

TW: Mention of Suicide

Eileen Vorbach Collins joins the Writing Your Resilience podcast to talk about living with and writing about grief, breaking free of stigma and shame, how your structure serves your readers, and the importance of humor, even when writing about unimaginable pain.

Here are a few questions to ponder as you listen to this episode: Have you experienced a profound loss like death, divorce, or something else? What helped you make sense of it? What helped you learn to live with this experience? What are your thoughts on Prolonged Grief Disorder? How do you find the light in the darkest of moments?

Eileen Vorbach Collins, a Baltimore native, has a BS degree in nursing and an MA in pastoral care. She has written extensively about child loss since her 15-year-old daughter's suicide. Eileen’s writing has received several literary awards and two Pushcart Prize nominations. Her micro essay, “Howl and Whisper,” was nominated for Best Microfiction 2024, and her award-winning essay collection, Love in the Archives, A Patchwork of True Stories About Suicide Loss, was published in 2023 by Apprentice House Press.

Episode Highlights:

2:00: How structure serves your readers

10:00 Roadblocks to write the unimaginable

15:30 The importance of including humor

17:00 The problem with Prolonged Grief Disorder

25::00 Living with grief and dealing with sibling loss

33:30 Battling the stigma of suicide loss

39:00 Writing as a way to combat shame

Resources for this episode:

To learn more about the history of homosexuality and the DSM, click here
To read about Prolonged Grief Disorder, click here; to read about the criticisms of it, click here

Essays by Eileen:

Connect with Eileen:

Website: https://www.loveinthearchives.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vorbachcollins/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evorbachcollins

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Find the Memoir Structure that Works for You: https://janefriedman.com/find-the-memoir-structure-that-works-for-you-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing About Abandonment without Abandoning Yourself with Ronit Plank

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 02:00:00 -0500

Courtney Maum post on hiring a publicist.

Let’s Talk Memoir host Ronit Plank joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to discuss writing about abandonment, the importance of understanding the context of your story, the challenges around writing about family, publishing with small presses and much more.

Here are a few questions to ponder as you listen to this episode: Have you ever written about someone who's abandoned you? What kind of feedback did you get? Do you wonder how to do this without making them a monster or abandoning yourself? Ever wonder what it might be like to publish this work, or where you might publish it?

Ronit Plank’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories. She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and lives in Seattle with her family where she teaches memoir workshops and is working on her next book.

Episode Highlights:

8:00 Lessons on writing about abandonment

14:00 The power of context

20:30 The challenges of publishing stories about complex characters

29:15: How to tell if your project is complete

35:01 Finding your story’s emotional truth

40: Publishing with small presses

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Hot Sheet Article on Books Being Sold by Word of Mouth

Ronit’s essay “How to Approach Family and Friends About Your Memoir

Ronit’s essay “I want to heal my son so badly”

Connect with Ronit:

Website: https://ronitplank.com

Instagram: @ronitplank

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/
Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Find the Memoir Structure that Works for You: https://janefriedman.com/find-the-memoir-structure-that-works-for-you-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Writing to Heal with Laura Davis

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Laura Davis joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to discuss the healing power of writing, the difference between writing to heal and writing for a public audience, and the challenges she faced while writing her memoir, The Burning Light of Two Stars.

Here are a few questions to ponder as you listen to this episode: What role has writing played in your life? If you have been writing for a while, which piece has healed you the most? Have you ever received feedback that something should be taken out of a piece of writing only to have a burning desire to keep it around? How do you know if a piece of writing is really ready to be published?

Laura Davis is the author of The Burning Light of Two Stars, The Courage to Heal, and five other groundbreaking books. In addition to writing books that inspire, the work of Laura’s heart is to teach. For more than twenty-five years, she’s helped people find their voices, tell their stories, and hone their craft. Laura has been published in Publisher's Weekly, Writer's Digest, CrimeReads, Brevity, and The New York Times, featured in Los Angeles Review of Books, and on QWERTY, Write-Minded, The Only One in the Room, and dozens of other podcasts. She's a featured speaker for The National Association of Memoir Writers and a popular teacher at The San Miguel Writers’ Conference and at Esalen in Big Sur. Learn about her workshops, classes and international retreats, and read the first five chapters of her memoir at www.lauradavis.net.

Episode Highlights

8:25 Dealing with the emotional rigors of memoir writing
12:45: Writing to heal
21:00 Writing for yourself versus an audience
34:45 Beginning your book
46:50 Structuring your book and including primary sources

Connect with Laura Davis:

Website: www.lauradavis.net

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurasaridavis

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewritersjourney

Free Ebook: Writing Toward Courage: A 30-Day Practice. Click here to receive this beautiful, thought-provoking creative gift.

FEATURED RETREAT: Writing as a Pathway Through Grief, Uncertainty and Change - May 7-13 - Northern California.

THROUGH FEBRUARY 2024: Purchase The Burning Light of Two Stars for 70% off here. Insert the code BURNINGLIGHT70 when you get to the final step on the shopping cart.

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/
Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Find the Memoir Structure that Works for You: https://janefriedman.com/find-the-memoir-structure-that-works-for-you-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Practicing Radical Acceptance in Your Writing Practice with Zebib Abraham

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Zebib Abraham joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to discuss why she writes fiction, the relationship between writing and mental health, and tools writers can use to cultivate resilience, self-compassion, and radical acceptance of themselves and their work.

Here are a few questions to ponder as you listen to this episode: Have you ever considered whether something should be written as fiction or nonfiction? Do you wonder which genre might be the most compassionate to you and allow you the freedom to explore your emotional truth? Do you know what self-compassion actually means and what it takes to cultivate it?

Zebib K. Abraham (she/her) is a writer and psychiatrist. She is a graduate of Cornell medical school and completed a Master’s in Creative Writing with distinction from the University of Edinburgh. Zebib has been published in FANTASY Magazine, The Rumpus, The Chestnut Review, Podcastle, and Necessary Fiction, among others. She is a full member of the Science Fiction and Writers Association and has been a commissioned storyteller for the Scottish Storytelling Centre. Zebib publishes under the name Z. K. Abraham, and writes film criticism in addition to her work in fiction and creative nonfiction. She is represented by C. L. Geisler at ArtHouse Literary Agency.

Episode Highlights:

10:00: Choosing Fiction Versus Nonfiction
20:30 Writing and Mental Health
30:00 The Inner Work of Your Writing Life
35:00 Understanding Radical Acceptance
39:30 The Challenge of Oral Storytelling
49:00 Tools for Being a Resilient Writer

Resources mentioned during this episode:

Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff
“How Can You Tell If You’re Starting Your Story in the Right Place?” by Susan DeFreitas: https://janefriedman.com/how-can-you-tell-if-youre-starting-your-story-in-the-right-place/
“What Is Wise Mind” by Dr. Paul Green: https://www.manhattancbt.com/wise-mind-dbt/

Connect with Zebib:

Twitter - https://twitter.com/pegasusunder1
Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/pegasusunder.bsky.social
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pegasusunder
Website: https://zkabraham.com/

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/
Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Find the Memoir Structure that Works for You: https://janefriedman.com/find-the-memoir-structure-that-works-for-you-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Breaking the Silence with Melanie Brooks

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 03:00:00 -0500

X: https://twitter.com/MelanieJMBrooks

Melanie Brooks joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to speak about her book, A Hard Silence: One Daughter Remaps Family, Grief, and Faith When HIV/AIDS Changes It All. This is the book she once struggled to write about her father's death. In today's episode, we'll explore the powerful impact silence has on you and how to break through it.

Before we get to this conversation, I have a few questions for you. What role has silence played in your writing and in your life? Has it ever been helpful? Has it ever held you back? If you could learn one thing about it, what would that be? How could learning this help you become more resilient?

Melanie Brooks is the author of A Hard Silence: One Daughter Remaps Family, Grief, and Faith When HIV/AIDS Changes It All (Vine Leaves Press, September 2023) and Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma (Beacon Press, 2017). She teaches professional writing at Northeastern University and creative nonfiction in the MFA program at Bay Path University in Massachusetts. She holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast writing program. She recently completed a Certificate of Narrative Medicine at Columbia University. Her work has appeared in Psychology Today, the HuffPost, Yankee Magazine, the Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, Creative Nonfiction, and other notable publications. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, two children (when they are home from college), and two Labs.

Episode Highlights

2:55: The pain of living with secrets
5:54: Navigating anticipatory grief
15:45: The transformative power of finishing your story
20:00 The magic of timing and the stories we tell ourselves
26:00 The influence of narrative medicine on Melanie’s story
30:00 Marrying two stories into one
37:00 Melanie’s best writing advice

Connect with Melanie:

Website: melaniebrooks.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melanie.brooks.1690

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melaniejmbrookswriter

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/melanie-brooks-504826121
Get Melanie’s book: https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-hard-silence-one-daughter-remaps-family-grief-and-faith-when-hiv-aids-changes-it-all-melanie-brooks/20151761?ean=9783988320209

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Find the Memoir Structure that Works for You: https://janefriedman.com/find-the-memoir-structure-that-works-for-you-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Get to Know Your Host, Lisa Cooper Ellison

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 01:00:00 -0500

TW: Mention of Suicide

Get to know your host Lisa Cooper Ellison. Whether she was working to stay safe in an abusive home, running away from it, or navigating her brother’s suicide, Lisa has always turned to the page. She had no idea that losing everything while Battling Lyme disease would transform a hobby into an essential tool that helped her reignite her resilience and rewire her nervous system.

Resilience has always played a huge role in Lisa’s life, and through this podcast she wants to help you learn how to become a resilient writer. She’ll help you do this by teaching you the concepts that can help you flourish, sharing stories from writers and mental health professionals who’ve done this work, and inviting you to flip the script on the stories that no longer serve you.

This season on the podcast we're going to look at how silence, loneliness, self gaslighting, and trauma impact the stories we tell ourselves. You're going to learn how self-compassion, seeing the big picture, and claiming your neurodiversity can help you become more resilient and a better writer.

Plus, we're going to look at how to navigate difficult research when you're working on a trauma-filled story, how to portray difficult characters, and how to care for yourself when you are writing the toughest of stories.

Lisa Cooper Ellison is an author, speaker, and trauma-informed writing coach with an Ed.S in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She has spent the last two decades helping clients and students turn difficult experiences into art, and the past seven specifically teaching people how to write their resilience. She currently teaches courses in memoir, the psychology of writing, and the book proposal. Her essays have appeared in Huffington Post, Hippocampus Literary Magazine, and Kenyon Review Online, among others. She’s represented by The Bindery and recently completed her memoir Please Stage Dive Carefully: How I Survived My Brother’s Suicide and Forgave Myself

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Trailer: Writing Your Resilience

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 14:00:00 -0500