The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis Podcast

Episode Title: Pause for Peace: "The Moment" by Margaret AtwoodEpisode Description: In this Midweek Pause for Peace, Laura Davis offers a poem that stops you cold — and then cracks something open. Margaret Atwood's "The Moment" holds up a mirror to one of humanity's oldest assumptions, and asks us to look again. Paired with peaceful imagery, this episode is a quiet invitation to reconsider what we think we own — and what has always owned us.What Laura Covers in This Episode:Why Laura chose this particular Atwood poem and what it illuminates about the human relationship with the natural worldThe tension at the heart of "The Moment" — between the desire for ownership and the world's quiet, firm refusalHow poetry can shift perspective and loosen the grip of assumptions we didn't know we were holdingAn invitation to sit with Atwood's closing whisper and let it settle into the nervous systemAbout Host Laura Davis: Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About Margaret Atwood: Margaret Atwood was born in Ottawa in 1939 and is one of Canada's finest living writers — a poet, novelist, essayist, and environmental activist whose work has been published in more than forty-five countries. Her fifty-plus books include The Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin (2000 Booker Prize), and The Testaments (2019 Booker Prize co-winner). Her most recent book, Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts, was published in November 2025. Visit her at: https://margaretatwood.ca/CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVISJoin Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE TITLE: What Every Author Craves — And How AI Is Exploiting ItEPISODE DESCRIPTION: Every author has a secret hunger. And somewhere, an algorithm has learned exactly how to feed it. In this solo episode, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis pulls back the curtain on a sophisticated new scam flooding writers' inboxes — one that bypasses the usual red flags by doing something far more insidious: telling you exactly what you've always longed to hear. Laura shares the full paper trail of a real exchange that nearly fooled her, unpacks why even experienced authors are vulnerable, and offers tools and resources to help writers protect themselves without closing their hearts entirely.WHAT LAURA COVERS IN THIS EPISODE:Why authors are uniquely vulnerable to AI-generated flattery — and what that reveals about the writing lifeThe anatomy of a sophisticated AI praise scam: what makes these emails so disarmingly convincingHow Laura's own hunger for recognition — shaped by decades of publishing history — set her up to be fooledThe complete email exchange that almost got her, including her own annotated commentary in real timeHow the scam pivoted when she pushed back — and what that second response revealedRed flags to watch for when glowing outreach lands in your inboxResources from fellow writers and publishing insiders who are tracking this phenomenonHow to fight back — and why Laura thinks you shouldEPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:The Inbox Flood — Laura describes the wave of AI-generated praise letters that have become a regular feature of her writing life, and what distinguishes them from genuine reader mail.A Career-Long Vulnerability — To understand why this scam works, Laura goes back decades — to a million-copy bestseller, bags of fan mail, and the particular hunger that kind of early success can create.The Email That Snagged Her — Arriving while Laura was in Egypt for her daughter's wedding, one message stood apart from the rest. She flagged it to answer personally. That decision set everything in motion.Reading It Live — Laura shares the full email — purportedly from a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist — along with her own annotated reactions as she read it for the first time. The commentary is both hilarious and uncomfortably honest.Laura Writes Back — After returning home from more than a day of travel, one of the first things Laura did was compose a careful, open reply. She's not entirely proud of that fact. She shares it anyway.The Second Letter — The response that arrived a day and a half later is what finally confirmed everything. Laura describes the feeling of reading it — and why "slimed" is exactly the right word.Why This Scam Works on Writers — Laura steps back from the personal story to name the deeper dynamic: what it means to create work that yearns to be seen, and how that yearning becomes a target.Resources and a Call to Fight Back — Laura points listeners toward three fellow writers who are tracking and responding to this phenomenon — including one who had a very satisfying time fighting back.ABOUT HOST LAURA DAVIS:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping writers find, shape, and share their most important stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars (BookLife Prize Winner, 2021) and The Courage to Heal, co-authored with Ellen Bass, which has sold over one million copies and transformed the lives of survivors worldwide.Laura teaches writing in all forms — memoir, personal essay, poetry, and more — through weekly online classes, immersive retreats, and international writing and pilgrimage programs. She is the host of The Writer's Journey podcast and Substack, where she shares craft, reflection, and the deep work of the writing life.RESOURCES LAURA MENTIONS:The Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis (BookLife Prize Winner for Best Memoir, 2021) https://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars/The Courage to Heal by Laura Davis and Ellen Bass https://bookshopsantacruz.com/book/9780061284335"Why Authors Are Perfect Victims" by Brooke Warner, founder of She Writes Press: https://open.substack.com/pub/brookewarner/p/why-authors-are-perfect-victims"War and Peace and Book Promotion" by Dan Schorr: https://danschorr.substack.com/p/war-and-peace-and-book-promotionThe Impersonation Trap by Victoria Strauss on Writer Beware: https://writerbeware.blog/2024/03/15/the-impersonation-list/KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:AI scammers have learned to exploit the specific emotional vulnerabilities of authors — including the longing to be seen, understood, and widely read. Awareness of that vulnerability is your first line of defense.The most sophisticated AI praise emails skip the sales pitch entirely. If a message offers only admiration and thoughtful questions with no obvious ask, that's not proof it's real — it may be proof it's very well-designed.When something in your inbox feels almost too perfectly attuned to your deepest hopes, pause before responding. That feeling of being completely understood by a stranger is worth examining carefully.Pushing back and asking direct questions — "Are you actually you?" — is not rude. It is a reasonable response to the times we are living in, and any genuine person will understand.You don't have to go numb to protect yourself. The goal is discernment, not cynicism — learning to recognize manipulation without losing the openness that makes you a writer in the first place.EPISODE CALL-TO-ACTION:If AI flattery has found its way into your inbox, you are not alone — and you are not foolish for being tempted. Laura encourages every writer to read Brooke Warner's post on why authors are perfect targets, follow Dan Schorr's lead and consider fighting back, and share this episode with a fellow writer who needs to hear it.And if you've been waiting for a sign to finally say yes to yourself: one room has just opened at Flourishing as We Age, Laura's upcoming week-long writing retreat on the California coast this June. Visit lauradavis.net to learn more.CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVIS:Substack & Podcast: laurasaridavis.substack.comWebsite: lauradavis.netWriting Classes, Retreats & International Programs: lauradavis.netThe Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title: Pause for Peace: Listening for the Singing — featuring a poem by Rosemerry Wahtola TrommerEpisode Description: In this Midweek Pause for Peace, Laura Davis shares a poem from one of her favorite daily voices — Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, whose poems arrive in Laura's inbox each morning like a warm and welcoming gift. "Listening for the Singing" holds the full weight of these times without flinching, and finds inside that weight something unexpected: the sound of others, singing in the dark, calling out so no one has to feel alone. Paired with peaceful imagery, this episode is a reminder that peace and difficulty have always coexisted — and that the singing is how we find each other.What Laura Covers in This Episode:Why Laura subscribes to Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer's daily poems and why she recommends listeners do the sameHow Trommer holds injustice and peace in the same breath — without pretending either one awayThe surprising image at the heart of this poem and what it reveals about why we create, sing, and reach toward one another in difficult timesAn introduction to Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, former Poet Laureate of Colorado's Western Slope and dedicated champion of creative practiceAbout Host Laura Davis: Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer: Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer is an American poet dedicated to helping others explore creative practice, associated with Colorado. She served as Poet Laureate of San Miguel County, Colorado from 2006 to 2010, and was named Poet Laureate of Colorado's Western Slope by the Telluride Institute from 2015 to 2017. Laura warmly recommends subscribing to Rosemerry's daily poems — a small, sustaining gift arriving in your inbox every morning. You can subscribe to Rosemerry's daily poems here: https://www.wordwoman.com/a-daily-dose-of-poetry/CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVISJoin Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode TitlePause for Peace: Donna Ashworth's "As Time Goes By" – A Meditation on Letting Go and Opening to Life's UnfoldingEpisode DescriptionIn this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares Scottish poet Donna Ashworth's moving poem "As Time Goes By," a reflection on life's essential truth: the continual process of letting go of what we think we can't bear to lose, only to open to the unfolding of something new. Laura pairs this heartfelt poem with peaceful imagery to offer listeners a moment of calm and perspective.What Laura Covers in This EpisodeDonna Ashworth's poem "As Time Goes By" in its entiretyThe wisdom of loosening our grip on what we think defines homeRecognizing that we've always been everything we needed to beUnderstanding the readjustment that happens when simple things become big and big things become simpleThe power of a heart that continues to beat despite being shatteredChoosing peace over wealth, time over money, and treasuring smilesAbout Host Laura DavisLaura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured PoetDonna Ashworth is a Sunday Times best-selling Scottish poet who came to prominence in 2020 when her poetry about the UK's COVID-19 lockdown was read in a viral video to raise money for the NHS. She has subsequently been credited with helping poetry sales reach record levels in the UK.Learn more about Donna Ashworth's work: https://donnaashworth.com/CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVISJoin Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasavisdavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

How to Lead a Writing Retreat People Never ForgetInside Secrets from Twenty-Five Years of Leading RetreatsEpisode Description:What separates a writing retreat people talk about for years from one they quickly forget? With her Flourishing as We Age retreat just days away at the Villa Maria del Mar in Santa Cruz, Laura Davis pulls back the curtain on the hard-won wisdom that has shaped her twenty-five years of leading transformative retreats around the world. This episode is essential listening for anyone who leads — or dreams of leading — retreats, writing groups, or who wants to create sacred container for others.What Laura Covers in This Episode:Why even a retreat five minutes from home requires full immersion — and what that teaches us about holding spaceWhy its crucial to build a team that has your back and brings gifts you don't necessarily have yourselfThe importance of ground rules, confidentiality, and group agreements in creating safetyWhy curriculum is not king — and what isHow to read a room using senses, intuition, and non-verbal cuesThe emotional arc of a retreat: beginning, middle, and endCaring for introverts, honoring the body, and preparing participants for re-entry into real lifeEpisode Highlights:The immersion principle — Why Laura books herself a room at the Villa Maria del Mar even though she only lives a five-minute drive away, and what that boundary makes possible for everyone.The daily team debrief — Why debriefing daily is just as essential as planning.Hold it loosely — Laura's approach to curriculum: plan in exquisite detail, then be willing to abandon your plan when the moment calls for something else.Creating the container — The specific practices Laura uses to mark the threshold between ordinary life and sacred space — and why mirrored opening and closing rituals matter more than most leaders realize.The news-free zone — Why Laura institutes a technology and media policy at every retreat, and how she gets everyone's agreement at the very first session.What participants bring — A reframe that shifts retreat dynamics: helping people identify what they have to offer the group, not just what they hope to receive.When things go sideways — The counterintuitive advice Laura gives about skipped activities, changed plans, and moments when the curriculum simply has to go.The re-entry challenge — Why Laura takes time at every retreat's end to prepare participants for the transition back to real life — and what she's learned about what makes that landing hard.About Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than thirty-five years of experience helping people find their voices and tell their stories. She is the author of the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars (BookLife Prize Winner, 2021) and co-author of the groundbreaking The Courage to Heal.Laura leads writing classes, retreats, and international writing pilgrimages, including the Creative Camino program in Spain. She is the host of The Writer's Journey podcast and Substack, and the Midweek Pause for Peace poetry series. Key Takeaways from This Episode:Immersion is non-negotiable. To hold space for transformation in others, a retreat leader must fully leave ordinary life behind — even when home is just down the street.Plan in detail; hold loosely. A strong curriculum gives you a map, but the most important skill is knowing when to fold the map and follow what's alive in the room.Safety is built, not assumed. Clear ground rules, confidentiality agreements, and group covenants don't happen on their own — they require intention, time, and explicit buy-in from every participant.Retreats engage the whole person. Writing is the anchor, but the body, the senses, nature, humor, movement, and silence all deserve a seat at the table.The ending is part of the retreat. Helping participants prepare for re-entry is not an afterthought — it's one of the most important gifts a retreat leader can offer.Episode Call-to-Action:If this episode sparked ideas about how you lead — or want to lead — writing retreats or groups, Laura invites you to:Explore her upcoming retreats at lauradavis.net, including Flourishing as We Age and future international offerings. Join her mailing list to be informed of new retreats as they're scheduled.Share this episode with a writing teacher, retreat leader, or anyone who creates containers for others.Leave a comment on Substack with the one piece of advice from this episode you're taking with you.Subscribe to The Writer's Journey so you don't miss Laura's update from inside the retreat.Connect with Laura Davis:🌐 Website: lauradavis.net📬 Substack: laurasaridavis.substack.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewritersjourney/🎙️ Podcast: The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis📖 Books: The Burning Light of Two Stars | The Courage to HealThe Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/And remember, every time you click the heart, leave a comment or share a post, you're making it easier for new readers to discover The Writer's Journey. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Susanne Moser's "Drop in the Bucket" - Finding Power in Small Acts of ChangeEpisode Description:In this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, acclaimed writing teacher and author Laura Davis shares climate scientist and poet Susanne Moser's powerful poem "drop in the bucket." Laura pairs this moving piece with peaceful imagery to offer listeners a meaningful respite while addressing one of our most challenging questions: "What can I as one person do to make a difference?" This episode provides essential reflection on how individual actions accumulate into transformative change, offering both comfort and inspiration for anyone feeling overwhelmed by the scale of global challenges.What Laura Covers in This Episode:How to move beyond despair when facing overwhelming global challenges and dysfunctionThe transformative power of individual actions, even when they seem small or insignificantFinding purpose and agency through consistent, meaningful contribution to collective changeThe spiritual and practical dimensions of being "the drop in the bucket" that creates lasting transformationAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About Featured Poet Susanne Moser:Susanne Moser is a committed pilgrim to soul, lover of Earth, long-time friend of Joanna Macy, and practitioner of the Work That Reconnects. In the world as we know it, she has worked as a climate change scientist. While that survival dance is on its way out, she remains feverishly committed to saving all that is worth saving, fostering necessary transformative shifts among humans, building and strengthening capacities for the Great Turning through the Work That Reconnects, and when the muse moves through her, writing poetry to sing the Earth's and life's praises. You can find her on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/p/CFNkXhNHQ8G/CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVIS:Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasavisdavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE TITLE A Mother's Blessing: Love, Loss, and a Wedding on the Red SeaEPISODE DESCRIPTION Some life experiences arrive too large for words — at least at first. Laura Davis returns from her daughter's four-day wedding celebration on the shores of the Red Sea in Egypt, carrying emotions she's still learning to name. In this episode, she reflects on what it means to be fully present to a moment you know you'll spend years writing toward — and shares something rare and tender: a blessing she wrote for her daughter and new son-in-law, offered here for the first time.WHAT LAURA COVERS IN THIS EPISODEWhat it felt like to be immersed in a culture and a celebration that wasn't hers to control or predictThe particular grief of watching a child belong fully to a world you can only visitWhy she chose not to write during the experience — and what that choice reveals about the relationship between living and writingA beautiful original wedding blessing she wrote for her daughter and son-in-law, shared here for the first timeA reflection on what she's still processing EPISODE HIGHLIGHTSLaura describes returning home from Egypt still deep in jetlag and the disorientation of re-entry — a feeling many travelers will recognizeShe reflects on the unexpected gift of relinquishing her habitual need to plan, control, and anticipate what comes nextA quiet, honest reckoning with the complexity of celebrating a child's joy while simultaneously grieving the distance that joy entailsThe blessing itself — a lyrical, layered piece that speaks to love, listening, forgiveness, growth, and communityLaura's candid acknowledgment that she does not yet have the language for what she witnessed, and her willingness to sit in that uncertaintyA meditation on when writing serves experience — and when it distances us from itThe glimpse of a future essay, hinted at but not yet written: a gift to listeners who follow her creative process over timeThe quiet authority of a writer who knows when to waitABOUT HOST LAURA DAVIS Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping writers find and tell their truest stories. She is the author of the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars (BookLife Prize Winner, 2021) and co-author of The Courage to Heal. Laura hosts The Writer's Journey podcast and Substack, leads writing retreats and international writing pilgrimages, and teaches weekly Zoom classes for writers at every stage. Her work sits at the intersection of craft, courage, and the examined life.RESOURCES LAURA MENTIONSThe Burning Light of Two Stars — Laura's award-winning memoir (BookLife Prize Winner, 2021)The Writer's Journey Substack — laurasaridavis.substack.comFlourishing as We Age: A Writing Retreat for Women — Upcoming June retreat at Villa Maria del Mar, Santa Cruz, CA (one room now available due to cancellation)Laura's website — lauradavis.netKEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODESome experiences are too large to write about in the moment — and honoring that instinct is itself a form of craft wisdom.Relinquishing control and the need to know what comes next can be a profound form of freedom, both in travel and in writing.The most complex emotions we carry often hold contradictions — joy and grief, presence and distance — and writing can be the place we eventually make sense of them.A blessing, like a poem, can distill what we most want to say to someone we love; it is one of the most purposeful forms of writing there is.The willingness to say "I don't have the words yet" is not a failure — it is the beginning of every meaningful piece of writing.EPISODE CALL-TO-ACTION If this episode moved you, share it with someone who understands what it means to love across distance. Leave a comment on the Substack post — Laura reads every one. And if you've been sitting with a life experience that feels too big to write about yet, consider joining Laura at her upcoming Flourishing as We Age writing retreat in Santa Cruz, California this June. One room has just opened due to a cancellation. Learn more and register at https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/ CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVISWebsite: lauradavis.netSubstack: laurasaridavis.substack.comThe Writer's Journey podcast — available wherever you listen to podcastsWeekly Zoom writing classes — details at lauradavis.netFlourishing as We Age retreat — Santa Cruz, CA, June 2026The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more. https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

PODCAST SHOW NOTESEpisode Title:I Could Still Let Her Comfort Me Then: A Deleted Scene from the Cutting Room FloorEpisode Description:It begins the way many childhood summers do — open roads, swimming holes, and the particular freedom of being ten years old enjoying a beautiful afternoon. Then one afternoon changes everything.In this second installment of her deleted scenes series, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis shares another scene cut from her award-winning 2021 memoir, The Burning Light of Two Stars. What Laura witnesses that afternoon, and what happens in its aftermath, distills the entire emotional landscape of her memoir into a single, devastating closing line. As with the first deleted scene in this series, Laura also reflects on the craft decision behind the cut — and what writers can learn from letting go of the scenes they love most.What Laura Covers in This Episode:The second in Laura's series of deleted scenes from The Burning Light of Two Stars, shared while she's on vacationA vivid portrait of a cross-country family road trip the summer Laura turned tenHow an ordinary summer afternoon can become the kind of memory that never leaves youAn unexpected moment that pulls Laura into something far beyond the edges of childhoodThe aftermath — and what one small detail quietly reveals about a lifelong relationshipHow a single closing line can carry decades of a relationship's weightThe craft lesson: how a scene can be exquisitely written, emotionally true, and still not belong in the final bookWhy deleted scenes are not wasted writingEpisode Highlights:A childhood summer that held everything. Laura conjures a lost American world: open roads, chain-smoking parents, an imaginary territorial line bisecting the back seat, swimming holes in every state. The ten-year-old Laura is fully alive on the page — curious, scrappy, and completely free.An ordinary afternoon. After a week on the road, the family makes camp and the children run toward the water. It is exactly the kind of afternoon that summer is made for. Then something stops everything.Laura is pulled into the center of it. A stranger takes charge. Laura is just old enough, just tall enough, to be included. What follows is one of the most quietly suspenseful passages in the scene — a moment in which a ten-year-old finds herself somewhere no child expects to be.The moment she has to let go. There is a point at which Laura can no longer keep up. She has to step back. It is a small, heartbreaking detail — and it puts the reader directly inside her ten-year-old body.What she sees next. Laura moves to a different vantage point and finds something she cannot look away from. She renders what she witnesses without flinching, and neither can the reader.Her mother appears. In the moment after, Laura's mother is suddenly behind her. What she does and what she says is fierce, raw, and completely human. For one suspended moment, mother and daughter are exactly what each other needs.The line that reframes everything. The scene closes with seven words that quietly detonate: I could still let her comfort me then. In that single sentence, Laura telegraphs everything the memoir is about — and everything that is yet to come.The craft lesson: even perfect scenes get cut. This scene was sacrificed for the same reason as the father scene in the previous episode — the memoir's momentum required it. But as Laura shows, deleted scenes have their own life, and they illuminate what the finished book could only gesture toward.About Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author, writing teacher, and host of The Writer's Journey podcast. With more than 35 years of experience helping writers find and tell their most authentic stories, she is one of the most trusted and respected voices in the writing world today. Laura is the author of seven books, including her award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars (BookLife Prize Winner, 2021) and the landmark co-authored classic The Courage to Heal.She teaches weekly writing classes on Zoom, leads international writing retreats including the Creative Camino pilgrimage and Flourishing as We Age, and hosts the Midweek Pause for Peace series. Laura's teaching is grounded in a belief that courageous, vulnerable storytelling has the power to heal both the writer and the reader.Key Takeaways from This Episode:Specificity is what makes memoir unforgettable. The sensory details that feel almost too small to include are often the ones that lodge in a reader's body and stay there. Writers should resist the urge to summarize and instead trust the particular, concrete image.One sentence can carry decades. A closing line doesn't need to explain — it needs to land. The best memoir endings open outward rather than close down, leaving the reader holding something they didn't expect to be carrying.Witnessing is its own kind of wound. Memoir can and should make room for the things we saw, not just the things that happened directly to us. What we carry as witnesses is as formative as what we experienced firsthand.A mother's comfort is complicated terrain. The emotional power of this scene comes not just from what happens in the moment, but from the tense Laura uses to describe it. Past tense in memoir is never neutral — it always implies what came after.Episode Call-to-Action:If this episode moved you, Laura invites you to ask: What did you witness as a child that you've never written about? What scene sits just outside the frame of your own story, waiting to be told? Share your reflections in the comments below.If you haven't yet read The Burning Light of Two Stars — the memoir these deleted scenes were written for — now is the time. Readers describe it as impossible to put down, a book that sends them straight into thinking about their own mothers, their own estrangements, their own unfinished reckonings. You can purchase the print edition and audiobook here: 👉 lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-starsIf you're a writer looking for the courage to write the scene that still lives in your body, Laura's weekly writing classes are where that work happens. Visit lauradavis.net to learn more and join the community.And if this episode resonated, please click the ❤️, leave a comment, or share it with someone who needs it. Every click helps new readers and listeners find The Writer's Journey.Deleted Scenes in This Series:The Summer I Dropped Acid with My Father: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/5d90f2b6-2d68-4d9f-a120-cad131f6e3f2I Could Still Let Her Comfort Me Then: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/d72ed72f-70c3-4489-8def-1cf5ad6d5a86They Made Me Part of History: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/de5c307d-9165-43e9-a7d2-50b7cf957362 Connect with Laura Davis:Substack: laurasaridavis.substack.com — essays, poems, nature photos, and writing craftWebsite: lauradavis.net — classes, retreats, books, and workshopsWeekly Classes: Online Zoom writing classes, ongoing enrollmentWriting Retreats: Including Flourishing as We Age and the Creative Camino PilgrimagePodcast Series: Midweek Pause for Peace — also available on SubstackThe Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Pause for Peace: Marge Piercy's "The Low Road" — A Timeless Poem About the Power of Collective ActionIn this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis shares Marge Piercy's iconic poem "The Low Road" — a fiercely hopeful poem about the power of collective action and solidarity. Laura reflects on her personal history with this poem, first encountering it in Piercy's 1980 collection The Moon is Always Female during her years as a young activist, and explores why its message resonates just as powerfully forty-six years later. Paired with peaceful imagery, this episode offers listeners both a moment of calm and a stirring reminder of what becomes possible when people come together.What Laura Covers in This Episode:The enduring relevance of Marge Piercy's activist poetry — why a poem written over four decades ago speaks directly to the challenges of todayHow solidarity and collective action build power — the poem's vision of strength growing from two people to ten million, and what that progression means in our current momentLaura's personal connection to the poem — how a friend's gift of Piercy's poetry collection shaped her thinking during her years as a young lesbian activistThe role of poetry in sustaining resilience — how returning to meaningful poems across different life stages can offer renewed strength and perspectiveAbout Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.Connect with Laura Davis:Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/About Featured Poet Marge Piercy:Marge Piercy is an American poet, novelist, and social activist born in 1936 in Detroit, Michigan. Shaped by her working-class roots and her involvement in the civil rights, antiwar, and women's movements of the 1960s, she became one of the most prominent feminist literary voices of her generation. Piercy has published more than twenty poetry collections and seventeen novels, including the science fiction classic Woman on the Edge of Time and the bestselling Gone to Soldiers. Her work centers themes of gender, class, ecology, and Jewish identity. At 88 years old, she continues to write and publish from her home on Cape Cod. Her new book, The Hour of My Death, is forthcoming from Sibylline Press in fall 2026.Learn more about Marge Piercy at: https://margepiercy.com/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Maril Crabtree's Morning News: Poetry on Loving Life Despite World Horrors, Resilience, and Choosing to StayEpisode Description:In this episode of Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis shares Maril Crabtree's brief but powerful poem that captures the paradox of loving life fiercely even as we witness endless suffering. Through carefully selected imagery paired with these essential lines, Laura explores how we sustain connection to beauty and meaning despite being surrounded by terrible things. This episode offers support for anyone struggling to balance awareness of world suffering with personal joy, seeking poetry that honors both witness and resilience, or looking for language that affirms our right to love life even in dark times.What Laura Covers in This Episode:How Crabtree's precise calculation—"ten times ten thousand terrible things"—acknowledges the overwhelming scale of suffering without turning away from it or minimizing its realityThe radical act of the poem's pivot at "and still," which transforms awareness of horror into fierce attachment to life rather than despair or detachmentWhy the simple declaration "I don't want to leave it" becomes an act of resistance and affirmation, choosing engagement with the world despite—or perhaps because of—its brokennessThe permission this poem offers to hold both grief for the world's suffering and deep love for being alive, modeling how we can be witnesses to injustice while still sustaining ourselves with joy and connectionAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured Poet:Maril Crabtree is an American poet who has called Kansas City home since the 1960s. A Pushcart Prize nominee, she views poetry as "the loom that weaves her life-threads together." Her work, including the full-length collection Fireflies in the Gathering Dark (Kelsay Books, 2017, named a Kansas Notable Book) and the chapbooks Dancing with Elvis, Moving On, and Tying the Light, balances witness to injustice—particularly environmental loss and suffering—with sustaining joy, humor, and spiritual depth.Connect with Maril Crabtree: https://www.marilcrabtree.comConnect with Laura Davis:Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

PODCAST SHOW NOTES:Episode Title:The Summer I Dropped Acid with My Father: A Deleted Scene and What I Had to Let goEpisode Description:Some scenes are written perfectly and still have to go. In this special episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis opens her archive of cut material from her award-winning 2021 memoir, The Burning Light of Two Stars, and shares a piece she fought hard to keep — a single afternoon in the Santa Cruz Mountains with her father that changed something between them permanently. Woven through the storytelling is an honest, behind-the-scenes look at one of the hardest decisions in memoir writing: how to release even your most cherished work when it doesn't serve the book's core arc.What Laura Covers in This Episode:Why even the most beautifully written scenes sometimes have to be cut — and how a memoirist knows when that moment has comeThe backstory of Laura's relationship with her father, and the years of silence that preceded this afternoonA fully rendered deleted scene set at a Back to the Land weekend party in the Santa Cruz Mountains, June 1980What happens when carefully constructed emotional armor starts to crackThe conversation fourteen years in the making — and what finally made it possibleA moment of reckoning that neither of them could have planned or predictedThe memoir craft principle of "killing your babies": releasing what the book can live withoutHow a memoir's central arc determines everything — including what must be sacrificedEpisode Highlights:Why Laura is sharing this now. While on vacation, Laura opens her archive of deleted scenes from The Burning Light of Two Stars — material she spent months crafting and held until the very end. This episode is the first in a series, each one carrying its own embedded craft lesson.The scene begins. Laura sets the stage — a winding road into the mountains, a day that feels unhurried, her father nearby — and then a moment arrives that nobody planned for. What happens next is anything but ordinary.When the interior world takes over. Something shifts mid-afternoon that Laura cannot control. Old grief surfaces. Old loneliness. What had been carefully held at a distance is suddenly right there, impossible to look away from.Finding solid ground. Slowly, steadily, Laura makes her way back. It takes time — and patience — and something she has to locate entirely within herself. When she finally arrives, the world looks different.A conversation that had been waiting. Laura finds her father alone, in a space that feels quietly sacred. Fourteen years of unspoken feeling finally have somewhere to go — and he is, at last, listening.Something she had never received before. Her father says something she had never heard in her family. Laura doesn't just hear it — she chooses to take it all the way in. That choice matters.Forgiveness that held. Laura is clear: what shifted that afternoon didn't dissolve when the day ended. It stayed. It changed the shape of what came after.The craft lesson underneath. The scene was cut not because it failed — Laura loved it — but because The Burning Light of Two Stars was built around a different relationship entirely. Understanding that distinction is one of the most essential, and most difficult, lessons in memoir writing.About Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author, writing teacher, and host of The Writer's Journey podcast. With more than 35 years of experience helping writers find and tell their most authentic stories, she is one of the most trusted voices in the writing world today. Laura is the author of seven books, including her award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars (BookLife Prize Winner, 2021) and the landmark co-authored classic The Courage to Heal.She teaches weekly writing classes on Zoom, leads international retreats including the Creative Camino pilgrimage, and Flourishing as We Age, and hosts the Midweek Pause for Peace series.Her teaching is grounded in a belief that courageous, vulnerable storytelling has the power to heal both the writer and the reader.Key Takeaways from This Episode:Your memoir has a spine — protect it. Every scene must earn its place by serving the book's central arc. Clarity about what your memoir is truly about is what makes every other editorial decision possible."Killing your babies" is an act of craft, not failure. The ability to release scenes, sentences, and words the book can live without is one of the most important — and most painful — skills a writer develops. Holding on too long is what makes books drag.Receiving is its own act of courage. When something long-withheld is finally offered, a writer — and a person — has a choice about how to take it in. That choice can change everything that comes after.Deleted scenes are not wasted writing. The material that doesn't survive into the final manuscript is part of discovering what the book truly is. These scenes illuminate the story and the craft in ways the published version couldn't contain — and they are worth sharing.Episode Call-to-Action:If this episode moved you, Laura invites you to sit with a question: What scene from your own life has been waiting years to be told? What might need to soften before you could write it?If you haven't yet read The Burning Light of Two Stars — Laura's award-winning 2021 memoir and BookLife Prize Winner — this deleted scene is just a glimpse of what's waiting inside. You can purchase the print edition and audiobook here: 👉 lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-starsIf you're a writer wrestling with what to keep, what to cut, or how to find the courage to write the scene that frightens you most, Laura's weekly writing classes are where that work happens. Visit lauradavis.net to learn more.And if this episode resonated, please click the ❤️, leave a comment, or share it with someone who needs it. Every click helps new readers and listeners find The Writer's Journey.Connect with Laura Davis:Substack: laurasaridavis.substack.com — essays, poems, nature photos, and writing craftWebsite: lauradavis.net — classes, retreats, books, and workshopsWeekly Classes: Online Zoom writing classes, ongoing enrollmentInternational Retreats: Including the Creative Camino pilgrimage writing programPodcast Series: Midweek Pause for Peace — also available on SubstackDeleted Scenes in This Series:The Summer I Dropped Acid with My Father: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/5d90f2b6-2d68-4d9f-a120-cad131f6e3f2I Could Still Let Her Comfort Me Then: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/d72ed72f-70c3-4489-8def-1cf5ad6d5a86They Made Me Part of History: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/de5c307d-9165-43e9-a7d2-50b7cf957362The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Jan Richardson's Blessing When the World is Ending: Poetry for Navigating Grief, Collective Pain, and Finding HopeEpisode Description:In this episode of Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis shares Jan Richardson's profound blessing that offers comfort and perspective during times of collective grief and personal anguish. Through carefully selected imagery paired with this moving poem, Laura creates a restorative space for listeners navigating the weight of world events and personal struggles. This episode offers support for anyone experiencing collective grief, processing world events, or seeking poetry that holds space for both suffering and renewal.What Laura Covers in This Episode:How to find perspective during times of collective grief by recognizing the cycles of death and rebirth that mark human experienceThe unique power of blessings to meet us in moments when our world feels like it's falling apart, without offering false comfort or quick fixesWhy sitting with the shards of what has broken, rather than rushing to repair, creates space for genuine healing and transformationHow tenderness and light gather around us even in endings, supporting the quiet work of beginning againAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured Poet:Jan Richardson is a writer, artist, and ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. She serves as director of The Wellspring Studio, LLC. Known for such books as Circle of Grace, The Cure for Sorrow, and Sparrow, she has attracted an international audience drawn to the spaces of welcome, imagination, and solace that she creates with her words and her art. "Blessing When the World is Ending" comes from her book Circle of Grace.Connect with Jan Richardson: https://janrichardson.comConnect with Laura Davis:Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

And I So Walk: On healing, gratitude, and the natural worldEpisode Description:What does it feel like to come through the hardest season of your life and discover that — against all odds — you're thriving? In this deeply personal essay, Laura Davis shares where she is right now: body, spirit, and soul. From dual diagnoses to training hikes in the redwoods, this episode is a meditation on healing, gratitude, and what it means to hold joy and fear at the same time.To See the Images That Go with This Post on Substack: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/1138be6e-1cc5-4f27-80b9-b04cd94e39b9 What Laura Covers in This Episode:The unexpected gift of a health reprieve — and why she's savoring every moment of itHow two serious illnesses reshaped her relationship with her body and with foodWhat the "organ recital" reveals about friendship, aging, and what really mattersTraining for the Camino de Santiago and the joy of walking in communityThe macro/micro dichotomy: how to thrive personally when the world feels like a nightmareWhy the natural world is Laura's church — and what it gives her that nothing else canEpisode Highlights:Laura reflects on a health milestone she wasn't sure she'd ever reach — and what it means to be on the other side of itA candid look at the ongoing decisions that come with cancer survivorship, and how Laura is navigating them on her own termsThe moment Laura stopped tracking every bite of food — and what that small act of freedom signaled about her healingA first training hike with three women who will join Laura on the Creative Camino next fall: what the trail revealed about connection, solitude, and rhythmThe "organ recital" — Laura's name for the health-update exchange that opens nearly every conversation among her peers — and what it says about life at this stageA stunning observation about holding two realities simultaneously: personal thriving alongside collective fearLaura's closing meditation on the body, the trail, and the natural world as sanctuary — a passage that stops you in your tracksA question for listeners: how do you find steadiness and joy when the world feels like it's teetering on the brink?About Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping writers find their voice and tell their stories. She is the award-winning author of The Burning Light of Two Stars (BookLife Prize Winner, 2021) and co-author of The Courage to Heal. Laura teaches weekly online writing classes, leads writing retreats, and guides international writing and walking pilgrimages, including the Creative Camino on the Camino de Santiago. Her podcast and Substack, The Writer's Journey, offer essays, curated poems, nature photography, and reflections on writing, life, and what it means to keep going.Resources Laura Mentions:The Creative Camino — Laura's fall 2026 writing and walking pilgrimage on the Camino Francés: https://lauradavis.net/camino/Pipeline Trail, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park — Felton, CaliforniaThe Writer's Journey Substack — laurasaridavis.substack.comThe Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis (BookLife Prize Winner, 2021)Key Takeaways from This Episode:A reprieve is not a cure — it's a window, and learning to climb through it and stand in the light is its own kind of wisdom.Healing is not linear, but the body has its own intelligence. Trusting it — even incrementally — is a radical act.At any age, but especially as we grow older, feeling good is not a given. When you've known real sickness, wellness becomes a tangible, daily source of gratitude.Holding two realities — personal joy and collective fear — doesn't require resolving the tension. It requires stretching your capacity to carry both.The natural world offers something no human-made space can: perspective, sanctuary, and the reminder that we are small, temporary, and held.Episode Call-to-Action:Laura closes this episode with a question she wants you to sit with: How do you find steadiness and joy while the world teeters on the brink? Leave a comment on the Substack post and join the conversation. You can do so here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/1138be6e-1cc5-4f27-80b9-b04cd94e39b9And if this essay moved you, share it with someone who needs it today.Connect with Laura DavisSubstack: laurasaridavis.substack.comWebsite: lauradavis.netWeekly writing classes, retreats, and the Creative Camino: lauradavis.netThe Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: laurasaridavis.substack.comLearn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: lauradavis.net This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Aurora Levins Morales' Summons: A Call to Action for Peace, Collective Resistance, and Choosing to Stand in the GapEpisode Description:In this episode of Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis shares Aurora Levins Morales' powerful poem that serves as both dream vision and urgent call to action. Through carefully selected imagery paired with this rallying cry for peacemakers, Laura explores how ordinary people must step into the work of peace when governments and leaders fail. This episode offers support for anyone feeling called to action, seeking poetry that mobilizes rather than pacifies, or looking for language that transforms grief and despair into collective purpose.What Laura Covers in This Episode:How the dream of ten thousand grandmothers from twelve hundred corners of the earth creates a vision of collective action when peacekeepers aren't boarding planes and leaders refuse to say every life is preciousWhy the poet insists we cannot wait for governments and positions us—ordinary people with bandages and guavas—as the ones who must cup our hands around each heart and stand between bullets and fleshThe transformative power of singing the earth's song so beautifully that vengeance turns to weeping, mourners embrace, and grief replaces every impulse toward harmHow this poem functions as a literal summons—"Wake up. Put on your shoes"—inviting readers to meet at the corner with whatever gifts they bring and begin the work of building peace togetherAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured Poet:Aurora Levins Morales is a cuir Ashkenazi Boricua writer of poetry, essays, and fiction. A child of blacklisted communist parents, she grew up immersed in social justice movements and the poetry of liberation, and came into public voice as part of the collective eruptions of radical art of the 1970s and '80s. She is the author of nine books, including Medicine Stories, Kindling, Remedios, and Silt. Her poetry is widely used in synagogues and churches, in schools and at rallies, painted on walls and recited at weddings, translated into seven languages and reprinted in dozens of anthologies. She lives at Finca la Lluvia, an agro-poetry project in the western mountains of Boriken, also known as Puerto Rico. "Summons" was published in her collection Rimonim.Connect with Aurora Levins Morales: Support Aurora on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/auroralevinsmorales and visit her website: www.auroralevinsmorales.comConnect with Laura Davis:Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

SHOW NOTESEpisode Title: I've Hated Shopping for Clothes My Entire Life — Until I Didn't Have a ChoiceEpisode Description: In this humorous, deeply personal episode, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis takes listeners on a journey that begins with a pile of luggage beside her bed and ends in a Victoria's Secret dressing room — with a lot of life in between. Equal parts funny, tender, and surprisingly moving, this essay explores what it means to show up for the moments that matter most, even when your body, your budget, and your wardrobe conspire against you.Photos That Go With This Episode: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/c4045f35-54ec-4681-85a2-4f574ea7a9f9What Laura Covers in This Episode:The intimate logistics of preparing for a destination wedding while managing post-cancer health needsA $6,000 day at Saks Fifth Avenue with a professional "Shopping Sherpa" — and what it cost her beyond moneyWhy Laura has spent 50 years avoiding clothes shopping —the childhood roots of that aversionWhat it's like to navigate a mainstream lingerie store as a 69-year-old woman fresh out of radiation treatmentThe unexpected humanity that shows up in the most unlikely placesWhat a bra fitting reveals about identity, the body, and the passage of timeEpisode Highlights:The bedside pile — Laura takes inventory of what's accumulating beside her bed as she preps for Egypt, and what that pile says about this chapter of her lifeThe dress that almost fit — a spontaneous shopping trip in Boston leads to a mother-of-the-bride moment, complicated by her still-healing bodyThe Shopping Sherpa — Laura recounts her one previous foray into professional styling: a single, surreal, tear-filled afternoon at Saks Fifth Avenue that changed how she saw herselfA wardrobe for a book tour — the story of what Laura wore on the road for I Thought We'd Never Speak Again, and the periwinkle leather pants she still mournsWrong store, right mission — Laura arrives at Chico's ready to be fitted, only to discover she's in entirely the wrong placeThe dressing room at Victoria's Secret — what happens when a 69-year-old cancer survivor walks into a store she never imagined would be hersDominique saves the day — the store manager who finally gives Laura the experience she came for, bra by braThe number that stopped her cold — a measurement that sends Laura spiraling through decades of body history, from her mother's era to her ownAbout Host Laura Davis: Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping people tell their most important stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars (BookLife Prize Winner, 2021) and co-author of the groundbreaking The Courage to Heal with Ellen Bass.Laura hosts The Writer's Journey podcast and Substack, leads writing retreats and international programs — including Flourishing as We Age and the beloved Creative Camino pilgrimage — and teaches weekly writing classes via Zoom. Her work sits at the intersection of personal narrative, healing, and the craft of writing.Resources Laura Mentions:The Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis  https://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars/I Thought We'd Never Speak Again: The Road from Estrangement to Reconciliation by Laura Davis — https://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars/The Courage to Heal by Laura Davis and Ellen BassSoma at Chico's (lingerie/bra fitting)Helen Salzman Boutique, Stanford Cancer Center — specialized shop for oncology patientsThe Writer's Journey Substack — laurasaridavis.substack.comFlourishing as We Age: A weeklong writing retreat for women: https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/Key Takeaways from This Episode:Showing up fully for the people we love sometimes requires doing the very things we've spent a lifetime avoiding.The stories we carry about our bodies are long — and they don't always match who we've become.Asking for help, whether from a Shopping Sherpa or a store manager named Dominique, is its own kind of courage.Illness changes us in ways both devastating and unexpected, including what we measure, what fits, and what we let go of.The smallest ordinary missions — finding a bra, getting dressed for a wedding — can hold an entire life inside them.Episode Call-to-Action: If this essay made you laugh, wince, or reach for your own complicated memories of shopping, bodies, and the rituals of getting ready — share it with someone who'd understand. And if you haven't yet subscribed to The Writer's Journey, now is a wonderful time to join Laura's community of writers and readers. Leave a comment, click the heart, and let Laura know what this one stirred in you.Connect with Laura Davis:Substack: laurasaridavis.substack.com — essays, poems, nature photos, and writing class updatesWebsite: lauradavis.net — books, retreats, writing classes, and international programsPodcast: The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis — wherever you listen to podcastsRetreats: https://lauradavis.net/writing-retreats-2/The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Mary Camille Thomas' Resistance: Poetry on Gardening as Metaphor for Political Struggle, Persistence, and Accepting Long BattlesEpisode Description:In this episode of Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis shares her writing group colleague Mary Camille Thomas' elegant poem that uses the work of removing invasive oxalis from a garden as a metaphor for political resistance. Through carefully selected imagery paired with this deceptively simple work, Laura explores how the poem illuminates the gap between our fantasies of dramatic liberation and the reality of humble, persistent effort. This episode offers support for anyone feeling exhausted by resistance work, seeking poetry that honors small acts of persistence, or looking for language that reframes long struggles as worthy rather than futile.What Laura Covers in This Episode:How Thomas transforms the physical act of digging out invasive plants—slicing through weedy tangles, tugging at root masses, tossing bulbs without ceremony—into a meditation on the unglamorous work of resistance that happens in small squares of earth rather than grand battlesThe poem's honest acknowledgment that sometimes resistance yields results (entire oxalis pulled with bulbs clinging to white tendrils) but mostly roots go deep, bulbs remain nestled in secret places, and invaders continue sucking resources meant for what we're trying to protectWhy the speaker's desire "to be the American army liberating Paris" contrasts so poignantly with the reality of being "only one humble partisan" facing a long battle, capturing the deflation many activists feel between their visions of dramatic change and the slow work of daily resistanceHow the poem offers permission to accept that this looks to be a long battle rather than demanding immediate victory, honoring the humble partisan who keeps digging even when roots go deep and the work feels endlessAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured Poet:Mary Camille Thomas is a native of Santa Cruz, California who considers herself lucky to have returned after living internationally and on the road. She is a librarian by profession, and her poetry has appeared in The Moving Force Journal, Porter Gulch Review, and Sisters Singing. She is currently working on a novel called What Lies Buried and a collection of poems of the spirit.Connect with Mary Camille Thomas: https://marycamillethomas.comConnect with Laura and Mary’s teacher, Carolyn Brigit Flynn: https://carolynbrigitflynn.substack.com/Connect with Laura Davis:Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Jack Gilbert's Defense: Poetry on Risking Delight, Accepting Gladness in the Ruthless Furnace, and Making Room for Joy Amid SufferingEpisode Description:In this episode of Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis shares Jack Gilbert's profound poem that challenges us to embrace happiness and delight even as we remain aware of suffering everywhere. Through carefully selected imagery paired with this essential work, Laura explores Gilbert's argument that denying our own gladness actually diminishes rather than honors others' pain. This episode offers support for anyone struggling with guilt over experiencing joy, seeking poetry that gives permission for happiness amid sorrow, or looking for language that reconciles awareness of injustice with celebration of beauty.What Laura Covers in This Episode:How Gilbert's unflinching catalog of suffering—babies starving with flies in their nostrils, slaughter everywhere—creates the context for his radical argument that we must still enjoy our lives because denying happiness lessens the importance of others' deprivationWhy the poem insists we cannot do without delight and enjoyment, arguing that "to make injustice the only measure of our attention is to praise the Devil" and that we dishonor both God's creation and human resilience if we refuse gladnessThe stubbornness required to accept our happiness in what Gilbert calls "the ruthless furnace of this world," and how this acceptance becomes an act of defiance rather than denial or privilegeHow the poem's final image—standing at the prow of a small ship, hearing faint oars in silence—demonstrates that moments of transcendent beauty are "truly worth all the years of sorrow that are to come," offering a framework for embracing both suffering and joy as essential parts of being fully humanAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured Poet:Jack Gilbert (1925–2012) was an American poet known for his spare, emotionally direct verse that explored love, loss, and the search for meaning. Born in Pittsburgh, he gained early recognition when his first collection, Views of Jeopardy (1962), was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, but then largely withdrew from the American poetry scene, spending decades living in Greece and Italy in deliberate simplicity. His infrequent but powerful work, including The Great Fires (1994) and Refusing Heaven (2005), was characterized by its refusal of ornament and fierce commitment to emotional truth, often centering on his marriage to sculptor Michiko Nogami, whose early death haunted his later poetry.Connect with Laura Davis:Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at:https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title: Hard Choices:  How I Decided to Publish Another Book and Risk Losing my Family.Episode Description: In this deeply personal episode, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis shares the essay she published in Publishers Weekly about her wrenching decision to publish her award-winning memoir, The Burning Light of Two Stars, nineteen years after publishing her last book. Laura takes listeners inside the private calculus every memoirist faces: What happens when telling the truth might cost you the people you love? And as an exclusive for her Substack readers, she shares the actual letter she wrote to her family before the book came out — a document of rare candor and courage.What Laura Covers in This EpisodeThe unexpected aftermath of publishing The Courage to Heal (co-authored with Ellen Bass in 1988) — and the family fracture it causedHow Laura spent two decades as a writing teacher, keeping her own most urgent stories unpublishedThe moment she realized she had a new book growing inside her — and why she kept telling herself she'd never publish itThe line she had to cross before she could seriously consider putting The Burning Light of Two Stars into the worldHow she weighed her obligations to her family against her identity as a writer and storytellerWhat actually happened when she told her family the book was coming — and the range of responses she receivedThe exclusive family letter she wrote before publication — shared here for the first timeEpisode HighlightsThe First Reckoning — Laura traces the seismic family rupture that followed the publication of The Courage to Heal, and how she and her mother spent years finding their way back to each other.The Silent Bargain — For two decades, Laura kept the peace by keeping her most personal stories out of print. She reflects on what that cost her as a writer — and why it couldn't last.Writing in Secret — Scrawling dialogue on scraps of paper in hospital rooms and doctor's offices, Laura describes writing the book she told herself she'd never publish.The Weight of the Question — Laura unpacks the central dilemma facing any memoirist writing about family: How do you honor your truth without destroying the relationships you've rebuilt?The Decision — After years of deliberation, Laura chose to become an author again — and what she did the day she signed the contract is something every memoir writer should hear.The Family Responses — From silence to direct confrontation, Laura shares what happened when her extended family found out the book was real.Joy Tempered — Laura reflects on what the lead-up to a book launch actually feels like when the stakes are this personal — and why she wouldn't make a different choice.The Letter — Exclusive to Substack readers: the full text of the letter Laura sent to her family before The Burning Light of Two Stars was published — an intimate, generous act of courage rarely seen in the memoir world.About Host Laura DavisLaura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping writers find and tell their most important stories. She is the author of seven books, including The Burning Light of Two Stars, winner of the 2021 BookLife Prize, and co-author of The Courage to Heal with Ellen Bass — a landmark work that helped launch the incest survivor empowerment movement.Laura teaches all forms of writing through weekly online Zoom classes, writing retreats at Villa Maria del Mar in Santa Cruz, and international programs including her Creative Camino pilgrimage in Spain. She publishes The Writer's Journey on Substack and hosts two podcast series: her main writing-focused show and Midweek Pause for Peace, which pairs poetry with peaceful imagery. Her teaching is known for its warmth, rigor, and deep belief that every writer's story matters.Resources Laura MentionsThe Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis — her award-winning 2021 memoir (BookLife Prize Winner) https://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars/The Courage to Heal by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis — the landmark 1988 book on healing from childhood sexual abuseSoapbox, Publishers Weekly — where "Hard Choices" was originally published (August 9, 2021)Free Two-Hour Writing Workshop: Flourishing as We Age — Laura's upcoming online preview event. You can register here: https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/#onlineLaura's Substack, The Writer's Journey: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Laura's website: https://lauradavis.net/Key Takeaways from This EpisodeThe "safe container" is a legitimate writing strategy. Telling yourself "I'm just writing this for myself" isn't self-deception — it's a way to protect the process while the work finds its form. Many writers need this permission to begin.Publishing a memoir about family is rarely a one-time reckoning. Laura's story shows that the consequences of writing your truth can span decades — and that rebuilding relationships is possible, even after rupture.The decision to publish belongs to the writer. Waiting for everyone's blessing may mean waiting forever. Laura's path forward required accepting that she could not control how others received her truth — only how carefully and lovingly she communicated it.Writing a letter to your family before publication is worth serious consideration. Laura's approach — informing, acknowledging, and apologizing in advance — models one way to hold both creative integrity and human care at the same time.Joy and grief can coexist at a book launch. The lead-up to publication isn't always pure celebration. Laura's honesty about the emotional complexity of that time is a gift to any writer preparing to put a personal book into the world.Episode Call-to-ActionIf this episode stirred something in you — whether you're wrestling with your own "hard choice" about what to write, or sitting with a story you haven't dared to tell yet — Laura invites you to bring it to the page. Consider:Join Laura's free two-hour writing workshop —Flourishing as We Age: https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/#onlineOrder The Burning Light of Two Stars — read the memoir at the center of this story. https://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars/Subscribe to The Writer's Journey on Substack to receive Laura's essays, poems, and writing guidance directly in your inbox. https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Share this episode with a writer in your life who's facing their own hard choice.Connect with Laura DavisSubstack: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Website & Weekly WritingClasses: https://lauradavis.net/Writing Retreats — https://lauradavis.net/writing-retreats-2/International Programs — Creative Camino pilgrimage, SpainThe Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Julia Fehrenbacher's Rays of Kindness: Poetry on Imagining Kindness as the Water We Drink, the Air We Breathe, and the River Through EverythingEpisode Description:In this episode of Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis shares Julia Fehrenbacher's visionary poem that invites us to reimagine kindness not as occasional gesture but as the fundamental element of existence. Through carefully selected imagery paired with this transformative work, Laura explores how the poem challenges us to make kindness our north star, our measure of success, and the river flowing through everything. This episode offers support for anyone seeking hope for a kinder world, poetry that envisions radical transformation through simple acts, or language that reframes kindness as essential infrastructure rather than luxury.What Laura Covers in This Episode:How Fehrenbacher's opening invitation—"Let's let ourselves imagine"—creates permission to envision a world where kindness becomes as fundamental as water, air, and ground, transforming it from occasional virtue into the essential medium of existenceThe poem's call to "pledge our allegiance to kindness, cast our vote for kindness, worship kindness" as a radical reorientation of values that positions human connection and care above all other measures of right and successWhy the image of kindness as "the river that flows through everything" and "rays of kindness that reach out and out and out" suggests that acts of care create expanding circles of influence, each compliment and warm smile and reaching hand generating more kindness downstreamHow the poem's closing vision of "sky that opens wide and waters every parched inch of this holy, hurting world" acknowledges both the world's wounds and its sacredness, offering kindness as the water that nourishes what is parched rather than what is already flourishingAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured Poet:Julia Fehrenbacher is a poet, an author, a life coach, a teacher, a regular practicer of yoga, and a sometimes-painter. She is most at home by the ocean and in the forests.Connect with Julia Fehrenbacher: https://juliafehrenbacher.comConnect with Laura Davis:Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

SHOW NOTES:Episode Title: The Stage I Never Planned to Take: Writing as a Path to Courage and ResistanceEpisode Description: In this timely and deeply personal episode, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis offers both a writing practice and a story of unexpected courage — one that reminds us we have more bravery inside us than we may realize. Recording on the morning of the third No Kings rally, Laura connects the urgency of this political moment to the power of looking back at our own histories to find the strength we need to act now.What Laura Covers in This Episode:Why the current political climate makes reclaiming our personal courage essentialA powerful writing prompt for excavating your own history of bravery and resistanceHow writing fleshes out memories and gives them visceral, usable powerThe story behind The Courage to Heal — and why Laura chose a different story to write about todayA raw, twenty-minute free write from Laura's own early years as an out lesbianWhat happened at a women's music festival forty-five years ago that Laura has never forgottenWhy revisiting past courage can fuel present action — and how to make that memory available to yourself right nowEpisode Highlights:Laura opens from Lexington, Massachusetts on the morning of the third No Kings rally — and reflects on the historical resonance of that placeShe shares the Margaret Mead quote that has guided her through moments of collective fear and uncertaintyLaura reflects briefly on The Courage to Heal — a landmark book that came at enormous personal cost — before turning to a less obvious storyA twenty-minute free write takes listeners into a vivid scene from Laura's early twenties: a women's music festival in northern California, a drunk woman, and a terrified little boyThe moment Laura steps between the woman and the child — and what she discovers about herself in that instantLaura organizes four other lesbians to take the stage with her, drafts a statement on the spot, and speaks out in an unwelcoming crowdShe closes by inviting readers and listeners to write their own courage stories and share them in the commentsAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping writers find their voices and tell their truest stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars (BookLife Prize Winner, 2021), and co-author of The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, one of the most influential books ever written for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.Laura teaches weekly Zoom writing classes, leads national and international writing retreats — including Flourishing as We Age and the Camino de Santiago Creative Pilgrimage— and hosts a podcast: The Writer's Journey. Her Substack newsletter, The Writer's Journey, reaches readers and writers around the world.Resources Laura Mentions:The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse — co-authored with Ellen Bass (1988), a landmark book for survivorsThe Burning Light of Two Stars — Laura's BookLife Prize-winning memoirFlourishing as We Age: A Writing Retreat for Women — Laura's upcoming June retreat at an oceanfront retreat center in Santa Cruz, California https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/A free two-hour introductory workshop based on the concepts explored in the Flourishing as We Age retreat. Free and online: April 18th online. You can register at: https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/#onlineThe Writer's Journey Substack newsletter: www.laurasaridavis.substack.com   Laura Davis official website: www.lauradavis.netKey Takeaways from This Episode:Writing activates courage — Putting a memory of bravery on the page doesn't just record it; it re-embodies it and makes it available as a resource in the present moment.Your courage history is real and retrievable — Most of us have moments of moral or physical bravery we haven't thought about in years. Writing brings them back into focus.Courage doesn't have to be grand — The moment that comes to mind may be quiet, private, or unexpected. All of it counts.Collective action starts with individual memory — Before we can show up fully in the resistance, it helps to remind ourselves that we have shown up before.The prompt works — Whether you write, speak it aloud, share it with a friend, or sit quietly with it, the act of recalling a time you stood up with courage can shift how you move through the world today.Episode Call-to-Action:Laura invites listeners to respond to the courage prompt in this episode — and to share their stories in the comments. She also encourages listeners to join her for a free two-hour writing workshop, Flourishing as We Age: A Writing Retreat for Women. April 18th, 10-12 Pacific time, 1-3 Eastern time. It will be recorded for those who can't attend live. You can register here:https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/#onlineA weeklong version of this workshop will take place in June at a beautiful oceanfront retreat center in Santa Cruz, California. This intimate, transformative week uses story, deep listening, and ritual to help women build resilience, welcome change, and hold grief and gratitude at the same time. Learn more at: https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Rob Brezsny's Blessing: Poetry for Sustaining Hope, Cooking Meals, and Building Community as Democracy CollapsesEpisode Description:In this episode of Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis shares Rob Brezsny's powerful blessing that honors the everyday acts of resistance, care, and community-building that sustain us through political collapse. Through carefully selected imagery paired with this litany of affirmations, Laura explores how cooking meals, scattering seeds, and gathering kitchen table strategies become sacred acts when democracy crumbles. This episode offers support for anyone feeling exhausted by resistance work, seeking poetry that blesses ordinary acts of care, or looking for language that transforms daily choices into revolutionary practice.What Laura Covers in This Episode:How Brezsny transforms mundane acts—cooking meals, tending healing hands, rising on quiet mornings—into blessed resistance when performed against the backdrop of collapsing democracy and empire's breakingThe poem's recognition of multiple forms of survival work: preserving stories others would erase, careful documentation of what must not be lost, protecting small and wild things, and building bridges between wounded communitiesWhy "strategic joy deployed against despair" and "kitchen table strategies where sly revolution simmers" reframe pleasure and community care as tactical choices rather than indulgences or distractions from "real" activismThe blessing on sacred rage that fuels redemptive justice, acknowledging that anger at injustice is holy when channeled toward healing rather than destruction, and that sustaining hope when vulgar bullies assault it is itself an act of defianceAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured Poet:Rob Brezsny is an American astrologer, author, and musician. His weekly horoscope column "Free Will Astrology," formerly "Real Astrology," has been published since 1980, and by 2010 was syndicated in around 120 periodicals. You can find it here: https://freewillastrology.com/This poem "Blessing" was published on Facebook on March 5, 2025.Connect with Laura Davis:Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Podcast Show NotesEpisode Title:When Ambition Loosens Its Grip: On Aging, Endings, and the Change That Finally Found MeEpisode Description:What happens when the drive that has defined your entire creative life begins to shift — not through loss, but through something quieter and more surprising? In this deeply personal episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis shares an essay born from her own writing class, exploring endings, ambition, and the unexpected season of change that has arrived in her 70th year. This is essential listening for any writer — or human — navigating the tension between who they've always been and who they're becoming.What Laura Covers in This Episode:A stunning excerpt from writer Patti Digh that reframes endings as invitations rather than lossesA writing exercise on endings that Laura uses with her students — and writes herselfA candid look at the long list of endings Laura has lived through across her lifetimeThe surprising subject that didn't make her initial list — and why it matters most right nowWhat it means when lifelong ambition begins to transform from the inside outHow Laura's relationship to work, time, and creative output has quietly, profoundly changedThe difference between drive disappearing and drive evolvingWhat it looks like to let go of projects, plans, and "should-dos" — with relief instead of guiltWhy open space has become as essential to Laura as the writing and teaching that has shaped her work life for decadesEpisode Highlights:The Endings Exercise — Laura introduces a powerful classroom prompt inspired by Patti Digh's A Geography of Endings that invites writers to inventory the endings they've lived — and discover what wants to be written.A List That Spans a Lifetime — Laura reads from her own wide-ranging list of endings, moving from profound losses to quiet turning points, modeling the vulnerability she asks of her students.The Ending She Didn't See Coming — The subject Laura chose to write about in depth wasn't on her list at all — and it turns out to be the one that illuminates everything.Still Writing, Still Teaching — But Differently — Laura reflects on what she has and hasn't let go of during a period of deep health challenge, and why her two weekly Substack posts never fell away.The Loosening — Laura pinpoints exactly what has changed: not the love of writing or teaching, but something that was always tangled up with it — and the relief of finally setting it down.The New Architecture of a Day — Laura paints a vivid picture of how her mornings have changed, and why open, unscheduled time has become non-negotiable for her creative life.Crossing Things Off — Not Because They're Done — Laura describes a new and deeply satisfying relationship to her to-do list, and what it means to release a plan with grace instead of guilt.A Sea Change, Arriving on Its Own — Laura reflects on how the transformation she sensed coming for years finally arrived — not through effort, but through surrender.About Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience guiding writers of all levels toward their most meaningful work. She is the author of seven books, including her award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars (BookLife Prize Winner, 2021) and co-author of the groundbreaking The Courage to Heal.Laura hosts The Writer's Journey podcast and the Midweek Pause for Peace, teaches weekly writing classes on Zoom, leads international writing retreats, and publishes The Writer's Journey newsletter on Substack. Her Creative Camino pilgrimage brings writers together on the Camino de Santiago for transformative experiences at the intersection of walking, writing, and community.Resources Laura Mentions:"A Geography of Endings" by Patti Digh (December 2025 Substack post) — https://pattidigh.substack.com/p/a-geography-of-endingsThe Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis — award-winning memoir (BookLife Prize Winner, 2021) — https://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-starsThe Courage to Heal by Laura Davis and Ellen Bass — available wherever books are sold: https://www.amazon.com/Courage-Heal-Survivors-Sexual-Abuse/dp/0061284335Flourishing as We Age: A Writing Retreat for Women — oceanfront retreat in Santa Cruz, California, June 2026 — https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/A Creative Pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago—September 2026 https://lauradavis.net/camino/The Writer's Journey — Laura's Substack newsletter: https://laurasaridavis.substack.comLaura Davis's website — writing classes, books, workshops, and retreats: https://lauradavis.netKey Takeaways from This Episode:Endings are not failures — they are, as Patti Digh writes, invitations that reshape us.The most revealing writing prompt is often the one you least expect. The subject that didn't make Laura's initial list turned out to hold the most truth.Drive and ambition can evolve without disappearing.Open, unstructured time is not wasted time. Spaciousness is not the enemy of productivity — it is the necessary condition for the most meaningful work.Letting go of a project or plan with satisfaction — not guilt — is a skill worth cultivating. Not every idea on the list deserves to be manifested, and recognizing that is a sign of creative maturity, not giving up.Episode Call-to-Action:Try the Endings Exercise yourself. Set a timer for ten minutes and make your own list of endings — big and small, expected and surprising. Let yourself be surprised by what appears. Then choose one and write the story of it in depth. Notice what didn't make your first draft of the list. That might be exactly where to begin.Join Laura in Santa Cruz this June for Flourishing as We Age: A Writing Retreat for Women — a week at a beautiful oceanfront retreat center using story, deep listening, and ritual to welcome change, build resilience, and hold grief and gratitude at the same time. Learn more at  https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/Connect with Laura Davis:Substack Newsletter: The Writer's Journey — essays, poems, nature photos, and moreWebsite: lauradavis.net — writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreatsPodcast: The Writer's Journey with Laura DavisWeekly Series: Midweek Pause for PeaceEvery time you click the heart, leave a comment, or share a post, you're making it easier for new readers to discover The Writer's Journey.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise" - A Celebration of Unbreakable ResilienceEpisode Description:In this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis shares one of Maya Angelou's most powerful poems, "Still I Rise." Laura pairs this triumphant piece with peaceful imagery to offer listeners a moment of inspiration and nervous system regulation. Drawing from her personal experience of hearing Angelou perform this poem, Laura celebrates this timeless work that honors resilience in the face of racism, misogyny, and cruelty.What Laura Covers in This Episode:The power of Maya Angelou's voice and performance style, drawing from Laura's personal experience hearing her performHow "Still I Rise" celebrates unbreakable resilience and determination in the face of systemic oppression and crueltyThe poem's masterful use of natural imagery—dust, tides, moons, suns, and ocean—to convey strength and inevitabilityMaya Angelou's remarkable legacy as a groundbreaking memoirist, poet, performer, and civil rights activistAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About Featured Poet Maya Angelou:A multitalented writer and performer, Maya Angelou is best known for her work as an author and poet. Her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, made literary history as the first nonfiction bestseller by a Black woman. Some of her famous poems include "Phenomenal Woman," "Still I Rise," and "On the Pulse of Morning," which she recited at President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993 and which earned her a Grammy Award. Angelou enjoyed a career as a Tony- and Emmy-nominated actor and singer in plays, musicals, and onscreen. In her work as a civil rights activist, she collaborated with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, among others. The Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient died in May 2014 at age 86.CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVIS:Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasavisdavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

PODCAST SHOW NOTESEpisode Title: Embracing a Different Camino: Six Months of Illness, a Saturday Hike, and a September DreamEpisode Description: In this deeply personal episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed teacher and author Laura Davis shares her return to hiking after six months of illness during breast cancer treatment. Midway through radiation, Laura laced up her hiking boots and headed out to one of her favorite Santa Cruz County trails—and began to reimagine what her upcoming Camino de Santiago pilgrimage might look like. This episode is an honest, moving reflection on resilience, acceptance, and the art of meeting each day as it comes.What Laura Covers in This Episode:Her first hike in six months after breast cancer treatment limited her physical activityThe joy and significance of returning to Bryne-Milliron Preserve in Santa Cruz CountyThe origin story of the Creative Camino—how a chance meeting in Peru with artist and guide Brenda Porter sparked a dreamThe long road from idea to reality: how Covid twice derailed the Creative Camino before it finally launched in 2023What makes the Camino de Santiago unlike any other hiking experienceHow illness has fundamentally shifted Laura's relationship to physical goals and personal expectationsHer safety plan for the September 2026 pilgrimage and why she's no longer attached to walking every mileThe deeper lesson the Camino is already teaching her—before she's even stepped on the trailEpisode Highlights:Boots Back On — After six months of illness that reduced her to barely walking around the block, Laura describes the quiet triumph of lacing up her hiking boots and heading out with her wife Karyn, their friend Mary, and their yellow lab Luna for an afternoon hike.Feeling Strength Return — Laura reflects on what it felt like to stop and rest along the trail, yet still feel her body growing stronger beneath her—a powerful moment of embodied hope midway through radiation treatment.A Dream Is Born in Peru — Laura recounts the 2017 Sacred Valley retreat where she first met Brenda Porter, an artist and skilled guide whose on-the-go watercolor practice captivated her and sparked the idea for a writing and art pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago.Covid and Cancellations — Laura describes the painful process of canceling the Creative Camino twice due to the pandemic, finally launching the first successful pilgrimage in 2023—and why the wait made it all the more meaningful.Walking Across a Country — Laura captures what sets the Camino apart from any other hike: the experience of walking through farmland, villages, and cities alongside pilgrims from around the world, all moving toward the same sacred destination.The Van Will Be There — Laura explains the logistical safety net built into the Creative Camino—luggage transport and support vans that meet pilgrims at key stops—and how this year, for the first time, she's genuinely grateful it exists.A Different Kind of Attachment — In one of the episode's most reflective moments, Laura shares the shift in her relationship to achievement: where she once insisted on walking every single mile, she now finds peace in meeting each day as it comes.In Training — Laura declares herself officially in training for the September 2026 Camino pilgrimage—not with bravado, but with quiet, hard-won determination.About Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping writers transform their lives into powerful, personal stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars (BookLife Prize Winner 2021) and co-author of the groundbreaking The Courage to Heal.Laura hosts The Writer's Journey podcast and teaches weekly writing classes via Zoom, leads international writing retreats. Her work sits at the intersection of craft, healing, and the courage to tell the truth on the page.Key Takeaways from This Episode:Resilience is built one small step at a time. After six months of illness, Laura's return to hiking began not with a grand gesture but with a single Saturday afternoon walk. Writers and pilgrims alike are reminded that the journey back to ourselves often starts smaller than we expect.Meeting each day as it comes is a practice, not a personality trait. Laura describes learning—by necessity—to assess her energy and capacity day by day rather than committing to fixed plans. This is as true for creative practice as it is for physical endurance.Dreams worth having are worth waiting for. The Creative Camino took six years from concept to reality, surviving two pandemic cancellations. Laura's story is a reminder that meaningful creative endeavors often require patience and persistence.Community transforms experience. Whether on the Camino trail or in a writing classroom, Laura consistently points to an intimate writing community at the heart of the experience.Letting go of attachment to outcomes opens new possibilities. Laura's willingness to walk as far as she can—and accept a ride if she can't—models a form of self-compassion that is available to all of us.Connect with Laura Davis:Website: https://lauradavis.net/Substack: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Weekly Zoom writing classes: visit https://lauradavis.net/ for detailsCamino de Santiago pilgrimage: September 2026 — details at https://lauradavis.net/camino/The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Oksana Maksymchuk's Arguments for Peace: Poetry on Denial, Cognitive Dissonance, and Living Through WarEpisode Description:In this episode of Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis shares Ukrainian poet Oksana Maksymchuk's haunting poem that captures the psychological reality of denial as ordinary life continues against a backdrop of impending war. Through carefully selected imagery paired with this powerful work, Laura explores how we navigate the cognitive dissonance between daily routines and rapid-fire cruelty in our world. This episode offers support for anyone processing the tension between normalcy and crisis, seeking poetry that names collective denial, or looking for language that holds the contradictions of living in uncertain times.What Laura Covers in This Episode:How denial functions as a psychological mechanism when we maintain normal routines—cobblestone streets, festive celebrations, children sledding—while ignoring warnings of imminent dangerThe cognitive dissonance of dipping noses in whipping cream while pretending not to notice phones lighting up with foreign leaders warning of invasionWhy we construct arguments against reality based on what we have to lose: our happy lives, our beloved children, our cherished homes, believing our love will protect us from what's comingThe universal human tendency to believe "it couldn't be" and "war wouldn't dare come" even as evidence mounts, and how this poem holds a mirror to our own denialsAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured Poet:Oksana Maksymchuk is a bilingual Ukrainian American poet, scholar, and translator. She is the author of the poetry collections Xenia and Lovy, in Ukrainian. She coedited Words for War: New Poems from Ukraine, an anthology of contemporary poetry, and has published several single-author volumes of translations. Born and raised in Lviv, Ukraine, she has also lived in Chicago, Philadelphia, Budapest, Berlin, Warsaw, and Fayetteville, Arkansas. She currently teaches at the University of Chicago.Connect with Laura Davis:Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Fear Isn't a Stop Sign—It's a Doorway: Graseilah Coolidge on How Forest Immersion Could Build World PeaceEpisode Description:In this inspiring episode of The Writer's Journey, host Laura Davis highlights the groundbreaking work of Graseilah Coolidge, a former intelligence analyst turned forest immersion guide who believes that the path to world peace begins in the quiet embrace of nature.Laura shares how she discovered Graseilah's transformative practice of forest immersion and explores the powerful insights from Graseilah's TEDx talk, "How Forests Can Shape the Future of Peace."From her background in nuclear disarmament and international conflict resolution to her profound revelation in California's redwood forests, Graseilah's journey demonstrates how inner peace can ripple outward to create global change.What Laura Covers in This Episode:How Laura met Graseilah Coolidge while co-leading writing retreats in Tuscany and developed a friendship through forest hikesGraseilah's fascinating background as a former intelligence analyst with expertise in nuclear disarmament and conflict resolutionThe definition and practice of forest immersion: spending multiple days and nights alone in the forest with minimal provisions, supported by communityGraseilah's transformative experience in California's ancient redwood forests that led her to discover that peace begins withinHow Graseilah moved from traditional diplomacy to forest immersion as a tool for personal growth and global peacebuildingKey insights from Graseilah's TEDx talk "How Forests Can Shape the Future of Peace"Graseilah's vision of guiding world leaders through forest immersions to foster reconciliation, trust, and collaborationHow forest immersion awakens presence, awe, compassion, and belonging—essential qualities for changemakersGraseilah's powerful teaching: "Fear isn't a stop sign—it's a doorway"Laura's personal decision to participate in her first forest immersion in California's redwood forestsEpisode Highlights:The Tuscany Connection: Laura describes meeting Graseilah Coolidge while co-designing writing retreats at a stunning Tuscan villa complete with peacocks, olive orchards, and gourmet meals, finding in Graseilah a work partner who is capable, dedicated, hard-working, committed, reliable, and fun.Discovering Forest Immersion: During one of their regular forest hikes with Laura's dog Luna, Graseilah introduces Laura to the concept of forest immersion—spending days and nights alone in the forest with just a sleeping bag and water, supported by community, for profound communion with self and nature.From Intelligence to Inner Peace: Graseilah's fascinating background as a former intelligence analyst with a master's degree in nuclear disarmament and conflict resolution, and how she discovered the limits of traditional diplomacy in creating lasting peace.The Redwood Revelation: Graseilah's transformative experience spending days alone in California's ancient redwood forests without food or shelter led her to a profound truth: peace begins within, not in negotiation rooms."Fear Isn't a Stop Sign—It's a Doorway": When Laura expresses her fear about trying forest immersion, Graseilah offers this powerful reframe that becomes the episode's central theme, demonstrating how we can transform resistance into opportunity.Forest Immersion as Peacebuilding: Graseilah's vision of using forest immersions with world leaders as a tool for fostering reconciliation, trust, and collaboration—moving beyond traditional diplomatic approaches to create lasting change.The Power of Presence and Awe: How Graseilah's forest immersion practice awakens presence, awe, compassion, and belonging—gifts that empower people to reclaim their agency as changemakers and heal themselves and their communities.A TEDx Talk Worth Watching: Laura enthusiastically recommends Graseilah's TEDx talk "How Forests Can Shape the Future of Peace," describing it as powerful, profound, and spirit-lifting during times when thinking about the world can feel depressing.You can watch Graseilah's TedX talk here:https://youtu.be/mvyG_URZEr8?feature=sharedAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience guiding writers through transformative creative journeys. Her award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars" won the prestigious BookLife Prize in 2021, cementing her reputation as both a masterful storyteller and an expert in the craft of personal narrative.Throughout her distinguished career, Laura has led writing workshops and international retreats, helping countless writers find their authentic voices and tell their most important stories.Her approach combines deep compassion with practical expertise, creating safe spaces for exploration and emergence. Laura's teaching emphasizes the connection between personal transformation and creative expression, and she is deeply interested in contemplative practices and experiences that take people to their inner edges.Resources Laura Mentions:People:Graseilah Coolidge - Forest immersion guide, former intelligence analyst, international conflict resolution expert with master's degree in nuclear disarmament.TEDx Talks:"How Forests Can Shape the Future of Peace" by Graseilah Coolidgehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvyG_URZEr8Information about Graseilah Coolidge and the upcoming forest immersionshere:https://epicgatherings.com/immersion/Key Takeaways from This Episode:Reframe Fear as Opportunity: Graseilah's teaching that "fear isn't a stop sign—it's a doorway" offers a powerful way to approach transformative experiences and personal growth. What we resist often holds the greatest potential for change.Peace Begins Within: Traditional diplomacy and policy have limits. Graseilah's work demonstrates that lasting peace in the world must start with cultivating inner peace, presence, and compassion through deep connection with ourselves and nature.Nature as a Teacher for Leaders: Forest immersion offers world leaders and changemakers a unique opportunity to step away from negotiation rooms and strategy sessions, allowing the natural world to awaken qualities essential for reconciliation and collaboration.Embrace Radical Unplugging: True transformation requires complete disconnection from distractions. Spending intentional, uninterrupted time in wild places with minimal provisions allows deeper wisdom to surface and profound shifts to occur.Community-Supported Solitude: Forest immersion isn't about isolation—it's about being held by community while going deep into solitude. This combination of support and space creates safety for exploring our inner edges and emerging transformed.Connect with Laura DavisSubscribe to The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis on your favorite podcast platformJoin Laura's Substack community for regular posts, curated poems, nature photography, and essays on writing and lifeVisit Laura's website to explore her books, classes, and retreat offeringsFollow Laura's work to stay updated on her forest immersion experience and other adventures.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:James Crews' "Interwoven": A Meditation on Grief and JoyEpisode Description:In this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares acclaimed poet James Crews' "Interwoven," a profound meditation on how grief and joy arrive together in our lives. Through poetry paired with peaceful imagery, Laura offers listeners a moment of reflection for both heart and nervous system.What Laura Covers in This Episode:The essential truth that grief and joy cannot be separated—they arrive together like inseparable companions in our emotional livesUnderstanding why we cannot sort our emotions like picking stones from lentils, and what wisdom comes from accepting their simultaneous presenceHow poetry creates space for processing complex emotions and finding meaning in life's contradictionsThe practice of intentional midweek pauses that honor our need for beauty while supporting nervous system regulationAbout Featured Poet James Crews:James Crews is the editor of several bestselling anthologies, including The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection and Joy and How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope, which has over 100,000 copies in print. He has been featured in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, The Christian Science Monitor, and on NPR's Morning Edition.James is the author of four prize-winning books of poetry—The Book of What Stays, Telling My Father, Bluebird, and Every Waking Moment—and a book of short essays, Kindness Will Save the World: Stories of Compassion and Connection. James speaks and leads workshops on kindness, mindfulness, and writing for self-compassion. He lives with his husband on forty rocky acres in the woods of Southern Vermont.Connect with James Crews: Read his work on Substack and learn more about his books and teaching: https://jamescrews.comAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVIS:Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Join Laura on the Camino de Santiago next September: https://lauradavis.net/camino/Subscribe here: https://laurasavisdavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:When Your Body Finally Speaks: A Story of Healing and Learning to Listen at 69Episode Description:In this deeply vulnerable episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed memoir writing teacher Laura Davis shares an extraordinary letter—written from her body to her mind. After months of health challenges including breast cancer and diverticulitis, Laura gave her body a voice, and what emerged was raw, honest, and illuminating. Her body speaks about being ignored for decades, about the breaking point that finally arrived, and about what true healing requires. This is Laura's personal story of confronting "mind over matter" patterns at age 69 and discovering that slowing down isn't weakness—it's wisdom. At the end, Laura invites listeners to try the same practice if it calls to them.What Laura Covers in This Episode:Laura's personal letter from her body addressing recent breast cancer and chronic diverticulitisHow her body has been "screaming" for attention through inflamed colon, emergency room visits, and surgeryThe decades-long pattern of pushing through pain and dissociating from physical needsWhy her body reframes health crises as "wake-up calls" rather than catastrophesThe frank acknowledgment that there are no quick fixes for deep healing workDrawing strength from healing childhood sexual abuse at 27 and co-authoring "The Courage to Heal"What her body sees as resources at 69: humor, community, self-care skills, and playfulnessThe radical practice of keeping her calendar empty and making decisions based on daily energyAn invitation for listeners to let their own bodies speak if they feel called to tryAbout Host Laura DavisLaura Davis is an acclaimed memoir writing teacher and author with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful personal narratives. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars" (BookLife Prize Winner 2021) and co-author of the international bestseller "The Courage to Heal", which has guided hundreds of thousands of sexual abuse survivors through their healing journeys. Laura teaches weekly Zoom memoir writing classes, leads international writing retreats at Villa Maria del Mar in Santa Cruz, California, and publishes The Writer's Journey newsletter on Substack. Her teaching emphasizes writing as a transformative tool for self-discovery, healing, and growth. At 69, Laura is navigating breast cancer treatment and chronic digestive issues while continuing to share her wisdom about aging, resilience, and the power of listening to our bodies.Resources Laura Mentions"The Courage to Heal" by Laura Davis and Ellen Bass - International bestseller supporting sexual abuse survivors, written after Laura's own healing journey beginning at age 27"The Burning Light of Two Stars" by Laura Davis - Award-winning memoir exploring mother-daughter relationships (BookLife Prize Winner 2021)Flourishing as We Age: A Writing Retreat for Women - Seven-day immersive workshop at Villa Maria del Mar, Santa Cruz, California (June 1-7, 2026) focused on resilience, navigating change, and embracing life with four master teachersKey Takeaways from This EpisodeYour Body May Be Speaking Louder Than You Think: Physical symptoms—whether digestive issues, pain, exhaustion, or illness—may be your body's escalating attempts to get your attention about patterns that are no longer sustainable."Mind Over Matter" Has Limits: Pushing through, dissociating from physical needs, and ignoring exhaustion may work for years or decades, but eventually the body demands a different approach. Recognizing this pattern is the first step toward change.Health Crises Can Be Wake-Up Calls, Not Just Catastrophes: Reframing illness or physical breakdown as an opportunity to heal deeper patterns—not just an inconvenience to fix—opens the door to more profound transformation and self-care.Quick Fixes Rarely Address Root Causes: The search for the perfect doctor, diet, supplement, or treatment often masks the need for fundamental lifestyle changes, rest, and addressing what you've never fully tended to.Your Healing History Is Your Foundation: If you've navigated difficult healing journeys before—whether from trauma, illness, or major life transitions—you've already developed the resilience, commitment, and tools you need for current challenges. Draw on what you know about yourself as a survivor.Connect with Laura DavisSubscribe to The Writer's Journey Newsletter: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ (receive essays on writing and life, poetry, nature photography, and healing reflections)Explore Laura's Classes, Books, and Retreats: https://lauradavis.net/Join Laura's Weekly Zoom Memoir Writing Classes: Visit her website for current class offerings and schedulesRegister for Flourishing as We Age Retreat: June 1-7, 2026 at Villa Maria del Mar, Santa Cruz, California (a seven-day immersive experience for women navigating life's next chapters)Listen to The Writer's Journey Podcast: Available on all major podcast platformsLeave a Comment: Share your own experiences with body-mind dialogue on Laura's Substack postsThe Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Alison Luterman's "The Great Rift Valley, Kenya" – A Midweek Pause for PeaceEpisode Description:In this Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis pairs Alison Luterman's contemplative poem "The Great Rift Valley, Kenya" with breathtaking safari photography from Tanzania's Great Rift Valley. This episode offers listeners a moment of reflection on our human journey, our connection to ancestral origins, and the beauty of the natural world, creating space for both heart and nervous system to rest.You can see the images that go with this audio post here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/6a4b00e6-ae56-4a82-9290-9d9af86b648fWhat Laura Covers in This Episode:The intersection of tourism and ancestral connection in Africa's Great Rift Valley, where human origins meet modern travelHow poetry can transport us beyond the superficial aspects of experience to touch something deeper and more meaningfulThe theme of disconnection from our shared human origins and the natural world that nurtured our earliest ancestorsVisual poetry through the pairing of Luterman's reflective verse with stunning wildlife and landscape photography from East AfricaAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured Poet:Alison Luterman is a poet, essayist and playwright. Her books include the poetry collections In the Time of Great Fires (Catamaran Press), Desire Zoo (Tia Chucha Press), The Largest Possible Life (Cleveland State University Press), See How We Almost Fly (Pearl Editions), and a collection of essays, Feral City (SheBooks). Luterman's plays include Saying Kaddish With My Sister, Hot Water, Glitter and Spew, Oasis, Touched, and the musicals The Chain (with composer Loren Linnard), The Shyest Witch (with composer Richard Jennings), and song cycle We Are Not Afraid of the Dark (with composer Sheela Ramesh).Connect with Alison Luterman: https://www.alisonluterman.com/CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVIS:Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasavisdavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

A Photo a Day Keeps Despair at Bay: The Power of a 100-Day Creative ChallengeEpisode Description:In this episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis shares the story of her 100-day photography challenge—a daily creative practice that has become a surprising source of joy, presence, and connection. Laura explores how committing to one tiny beautiful thing each day, with the support of an accountability partner, can transform the way we see the world and sustain us through even the most demanding seasons of life.Whether looking for a sustainable creative habit, a way to deepen a friendship, or a daily reminder that beauty is everywhere, listeners will find a practical and inspiring model for showing up creatively every single day.NOTE: This post is definitely intended as a photo essay. You can see Laura and Kendra’s. photo conversation here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/14dc28d8-07ed-46a8-8e28-cbc5fea8166bWhat Laura Covers in This Episode:How Laura discovered the 100-Day Project (the100dayproject.org) through Suleika Jaouad's (suleikajaouad.com) creative community and its origins with designer Michael BierutWhy Laura chose photography instead of writing for her creative challengeThe value of having an accountability partner for sustained creative practiceHow Laura's photography skills developed through mentorship with her partner Kendra on the Camino de SantiagoThe three simple rules that make the daily practice sustainable and pressure-freeHow daily photography has shifted Laura's way of seeing the worldWhy creativity, friendship, and community matter more than ever in difficult timesEpisode Highlights:The spark of inspiration: Laura describes hearing about the 100-Day Project at one of Suleika Jaouad's (suleikajaouad.com) monthly creative hours and immediately knowing she wanted to participate.Choosing photography over writing: Despite being a lifelong writer and writing teacher, Laura felt drawn to photography as her creative medium.Finding the perfect partner: Laura reached out to friend Kendra Webster, whose photography talent she'd admired on the Camino de Santiago, to be her daily accountability partner.A lunchtime lesson on the Camino: Laura recounts how Kendra taught her a dozen iPhone camera features over tortilla de patatas at an outdoor café on the pilgrimage trail in Spain.Three simple rules: The challenge requires just one new photo per day with a number and title—and it doesn't have to be a good photo.The range of a daily practice: Some days Laura heads out on long hikes with her dog, carefully composing shots along the beaches and woods of Santa Cruz. Other days, the photo is a sunset from the back porch in pajamas or her dog splayed on the kitchen floor.A practice worth continuing: On Day 43, Laura asked Kendra if they should keep going after 100 days. Kendra's immediate answer was YES.Beauty as a daily choice: Laura reflects on how this practice provides a daily reminder that wonder, awe, and joy still exist—and that seeking them out is something we can't afford not to do.About Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping writers tell their most important stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars (BookLife Prize Winner 2021) and the groundbreaking bestseller The Courage to Heal. Laura hosts The Writer's Journey podcast, leads weekly writing classes via Zoom, and conducts international writing retreats, including her upcoming 2026 creative hiking retreat on the Camino de Santiago in Spain (lauradavis.net/camino). Her teaching integrates personal vulnerability with practical craft, drawing on her own lived experience to inspire writers at every stage of their journey.Resources Laura Mentions:The 100-Day Project (the100dayproject.org) – A free, global creative challenge originally created by Michael Bierut, international designer and Yale professor. The next round starts February 22, 2026.Suleika Jaouad (suleikajaouad.com) – New York Times bestselling author, Emmy Award-winning journalist, and creator of The Isolation Journals (theisolationjournals.substack.com). Laura first learned about the 100-Day Project at one of Suleika's monthly creative hours.Design Observer (designobserver.com) – Publication featuring examples of past 100-Day ProjectsLaura's 2026 Camino de Santiago Creative Hiking Retreat(lauradavis.net/camino) Laura is returning to the Camino in 2026 with a new group of pilgrims for writing and watercolor on the pilgrimage trail.Laura's Substack: laurasaridavis.substack.comLaura's website: lauradavis.netKey Takeaways from This Episode:A daily creative practice doesn't have to be big or perfect—the 100-Day Project proves that committing to one tiny beautiful thing each day is enough to shift how you move through the world.An accountability partner adds joy and staying power—having someone to share your daily practice with turns a solo commitment into a meaningful connection.Choose a creative medium that excites you—stepping outside your primary craft can open new ways of seeing and expressing.Simple rules remove pressure and build consistency—one photo, one title, taken that day, no quality bar. That's it.Seeking beauty is not a luxury but a daily practice—in uncertain and demanding times, choosing to notice what's beautiful is an act of resilience and creative renewal.Episode Call-to-Action:Ready to start your own daily creative challenge?The next round of The 100-Day Project (the100dayproject.org) begins February 22, 2026—but you can start anytime. Sign up and join thousands of creatives worldwide.Your project doesn't have to be photography: choose any creative act you can commit to for 100 days. A sketch, a haiku, a voice memo, a walk.And if this episode inspired you, share it with a fellow creative who could use a reminder that beauty is still everywhere—we just have to look for it.Join Laura next September on the Camino de Santiago for 17 days of walking, writing and watercolor in a group of supportive fellow pilgrims. www.lauradavis.net/caminoConnect with Laura Davis:Substack: laurasaridavis.substack.comWebsite: lauradavis.netPodcast: The Writer's Journey with Laura DavisWriting Classes & Retreats: Visit lauradavis.net for information on weekly Zoom classes, workshops, and international retreats including the 2026 Camino de Santiago Creative Hiking Retreat (lauradavis.net/camino)The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Carolyn Forché's On Living in the Hour of Cities Under Siege: Poetry of Witness, Resistance, and Standing Against InjusticeEpisode Description:In this episode of Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis shares Carolyn Forché's powerful and urgent poem that addresses immigration enforcement, state violence, and community resistance. Through carefully selected imagery paired with this essential work of witness poetry, Laura honors the role of artists in times of political crisis. This episode offers support for anyone processing current events, seeking poetry that speaks truth to power, or looking for language that fuels resistance while providing community and solidarity.What Laura Covers in This Episode:How artists and writers fulfill their essential role during political crisis by creating work that educates, inspires resistance, and refuses despairThe power of "poetry of witness" to document injustice, immigration raids, and state violence while affirming our shared humanity across borders and identitiesWhy communities create barricades of care—bringing food to front lines, offering shelter, and building networks of protection—as acts of resistance and solidarityThe practical preparations Forché names for cities facing authoritarian tactics: gas masks, emergency contacts, knowing who will search if you disappear, and the moral imperative to hide those who need protectionAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured Poet:Carolyn Forché (born 1950) is an American poet, translator, and human rights advocate best known for coining the term "poetry of witness" and for work that addresses political trauma and human suffering. Her poetry collections include Gathering the Tribes (1976), winner of the Yale Younger Poets Prize; The Country Between Us (1981), drawing from her experiences as a journalist and human rights advocate in El Salvador during the civil war; The Angel of History (1994), which received the Los Angeles Times Book Award; and In the Lateness of the World (2020), a Pulitzer Prize finalist. A University Professor at Georgetown University, she directs the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice. "On Living in the Hour of Cities Under Siege" is forthcoming from Otherwhere: New and Selected Poems, 1976-2026, to be published by Scribner Books in September 2026.Connect with Carolyn Forché: https://www.carolynforche.comConnect with Laura Davis:Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:When Cancer Becomes the Easy Part: Notes from My Healing PathEpisode Description:In this candid episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed memoir writing teacher Laura Davis shares her experience with a second breast cancer diagnosis eighteen years after her first. Laura reflects on the relief of not needing chemotherapy this time, her complicated history with endocrine therapy, the recovery process seven weeks post-lumpectomy, and the contrast between her cancer treatment and ongoing gut health challenges. With characteristic vulnerability and wisdom, Laura offers insights into medical decision-making, energy allocation during illness, and preparing for radiation treatment.What Laura Covers in This Episode:Processing a second breast cancer diagnosis eighteen years after the firstWhy avoiding chemotherapy this time makes the experience feel "easier"The journey from diagnosis uncertainty to a clear treatment protocolLaura's previous negative experiences with endocrine therapy (Tamoxifen and Arimidex)Deciding whether to try a third endocrine therapy drug despite past difficultiesRecovery milestones seven weeks post-lumpectomyPreparing for nine days of radiation treatment starting mid-FebruaryThe contrast between straightforward cancer treatment and complex gut health issuesReturning to walking and preparing for the 2025 Camino de Santiago pilgrimageHow different health challenges require different levels of daily attentionAbout Host Laura DavisLaura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft compelling life stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021, and co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Laura teaches weekly Zoom memoir writing classes and leads international writing retreats, including "The Art of Memoir" and "Flourishing as We Age" programs at Villa Maria del Mar in Santa Cruz, California. She hosts "The Writer's Journey" podcast, where she shares her expertise on the craft of writing alongside personal reflections on creativity, aging, and resilience. Laura also produces the "Midweek Pause for Peace" series, pairing poetry with peaceful imagery to support nervous system regulation.Known for combining professional expertise with personal vulnerability in her teaching approach, Laura demonstrates through her own writing and life experiences how authentic storytelling can transform both writer and reader. She lives in California with her wife and continues to travel internationally, leading writing workshops and creative pilgrimages around the world.Resources Laura MentionsBooks by Laura Davis:"The Burning Light of Two Stars" (memoir, BookLife Prize Winner 2021): https://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars/"The Courage to Heal" (co-author): https://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/book/9780061284335Upcoming Retreats and Programs:Creative Pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago (September 6-22, 2025) - 17-day trip combining eight days hiking the last 100 km of the French Camino with writing instruction and quick sketching/watercolor techniques led by Laura and hiking guide Brenda: https://lauradavis.net/camino/"Flourishing as We Age: A Writing Retreat for Women" at Villa Maria del Mar, Santa Cruz (June 1-7, 2026): https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/"The Art of Memoir" retreat at Villa Maria del Mar, Santa Cruz: https://lauradavis.net/writing-retreats-2/Laura's Platforms:The Writer's Journey podcastMidweek Pause for Peace seriesWeekly Zoom memoir writing classes: https://lauradavis.net/writing-classes/Laura's Substack: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Laura's main website: https://lauradavis.net/Key Takeaways from This Episode:Past treatment experience shapes current perspective: Knowing which aspects of cancer treatment were hardest for you provides valuable context for facing subsequent diagnoses. Laura's relief at avoiding chemotherapy this time fundamentally changed how she views this second cancer.Medical decision-making requires weighing benefits against lived experience: When considering treatments like endocrine therapy, balance statistical benefits (halving recurrence risk) against your personal history with side effects and quality of life, recognizing that stopping treatment early doesn't necessarily mean poor outcomes.Not all health challenges are equal in their daily impact: Some medical conditions require constant attention and lifestyle adjustment, while others follow clearer treatment protocols. Understanding this difference helps you allocate energy and set realistic expectations for different aspects of healing.The path from diagnosis to treatment clarity takes time: Moving from the uncertainty of discovering a tumor through testing, biopsy, and post-surgical analysis to a defined treatment protocol is a gradual process that requires patience with the unknown.Recovery and future planning can coexist with treatment: Even while managing cancer treatment and recovery, you can begin rebuilding strength and preparing for future goals like hiking the Camino de Santiago, using these aspirations to guide your healing journey forward.Episode Call-to-ActionIf Laura's honest reflections on navigating a second cancer diagnosis resonate with you, consider how her approach to medical decision-making might inform your own health choices. Whether you're facing illness yourself, supporting someone who is, or simply thinking about how to balance treatment benefits with quality of life, Laura's willingness to trust her own experience offers a powerful model.For writers and memoirists drawn to Laura's vulnerable storytelling about health challenges, explore her writing classes and international retreats where you can learn to craft authentic life stories that honor both difficulty and resilience. Join Laura in June for Flourishing as We Age or for a Creative Pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago next September, combining physical journey with creative expression.Connect with Laura DavisSubscribe to Laura's Work:The Writer's Journey Substack: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Main website: https://lauradavis.net/Study with Laura:Enroll in weekly Zoom writing classes: https://lauradavis.net/writing-classes/Join the 2025 Camino de Santiago Creative Pilgrimage: https://lauradavis.net/camino/Register for "Flourishing as We Age" retreat: https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/Support Laura's Work: Every time you engage with The Writer's Journey—through likes, comments, or shares—you help new readers discover Laura's insights on writing, creativity, and living authentically through life's challenges.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Ollie Schminkey's Land of 10,000 Lakes: Poetry on Minnesota, Police Violence, Immigration Enforcement, and Community ResistanceEpisode Description:In this episode of Midweek Pause for Peace, host Laura Davis shares Ollie Schminkey's powerful poem that weaves together images of Minnesota's natural beauty and neighborly warmth with the harsh realities of police brutality, ICE raids, and community resistance. Through carefully selected imagery paired with this moving work of witness poetry, Laura honors how love transforms from sentiment to action when communities face state violence. This episode offers support for anyone processing immigration enforcement, seeking poetry that documents resistance, or looking for language that holds both tenderness and fierce protection.What Laura Covers in This Episode:How Schminkey transforms Minnesota's iconic imagery—tater tot hot dish, the loon's call, northern lights—into a framework for understanding what happens when wholesome community life collides with masked men demanding papers and kicking down doorsThe poem's documentation of state violence against immigrants and communities of color: blood on car headrests, people stolen from cars and jobs and homes, boots and camo and guns flooding familiar streetsWhy whistles shrieking morning, noon, and night become the sound of community resistance, alongside kicking teargas back under SUVs, sex-shop-turned-community-centers, grocery store drop-offs, and signal chats coordinating protectionHow the Minnesota goodbye—bad at letting go of those we love, shoes on in the entryway, refusing to open the door—becomes a metaphor for communities who will not abandon neighbors, proving that love is a verb through tater tot hot dish discreetly delivered and cabins offered as safe housesAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured Poet:Ollie Schminkey (they/them) is a nonbinary transgender poet, musician, ceramist, and instructor based in St. Paul, Minnesota. They are the author of two full-length poetry collections, Where I Dry the Flowers (Button Poetry, 2024) and Dead Dad Jokes (Button Poetry, 2021), which was shortlisted for both the Midwest Independent Publishers Association and the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize, as well as four chapbooks. Schminkey has spent over a decade coaching, mentoring, and teaching poets, and they facilitate Well-Placed Commas, a free weekly writing workshop serving primarily queer and trans writers. They are the founder and director of Midwest Poetry Mash-Up, a national slam poetry tournament, and winner of the 2024-25 Palette Previously Published Poem Prize. Their work has been featured in Poets.org, Frontier Poetry, and numerous other publications, with their poetry performances garnering over 3 million views on YouTube. Schminkey's work has been supported by grants from the Minnesota Regional Arts Council and the Minnesota State Arts Board.Connect with Laura Davis:Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:The Body That Chose Life: An Ode to My Faithful Companion of 69 YearsEpisode Description:In this deeply personal episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed memoir teacher Laura Davis shares a transformative writing prompt inspired by poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer's "Letter to Myself at Twenty-One." Laura guides listeners through the process of writing an ode—a love song—to their bodies as they are today and then she demonstrates the power of this practice by sharing her own vulnerable response. This episode offers both a practical memoir writing technique and a profound meditation on embodiment, aging, and gratitude.What Laura Covers in This EpisodeHow to use poetry as a springboard for memoir writing promptsThe transformative power of writing odes to your own bodyTechniques for writing with radical self-acceptance and honestyHow to honor your body's journey through all its stagesWays to hold gratitude and struggle simultaneously in your writingThe relationship between aging, wisdom, and creative expressionUsing personal vulnerability to deepen your memoir practiceEpisode HighlightsLaura shares Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer's powerful poem "Letter to Myself at Twenty-One" about body acceptance and agingLaura introduces the writing prompt: "Write an ode, a love song, to your body as it is today"Laura reads her own deeply personal response, addressing her body directly after 69 yearsLaura reflects on her premature birth at 2 pounds 12 ounces and her twin sister's deathLaura demonstrates how to write about current health challenges with grace and gratitudeLaura explores the body as "faithful companion" and source of all life experienceLaura shows how to weave sensory details and specific memories into body-centered writingLaura models writing about aging and mortality with acceptance rather than resistanceAbout Host Laura DavisLaura Davis is an acclaimed memoir writing teacher and author with over 35 years of experience guiding writers to tell their most powerful stories. Her award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also the co-author of the groundbreaking book The Courage to Heal. She teaches weekly Zoom memoir classes, leads international writing retreats including "The Art of Memoir" at Villa Maria del Mar in Santa Cruz, and hosts both "The Writer's Journey" podcast and the "Midweek Pause for Peace" poetry series. Laura's teaching emphasizes vulnerability, authenticity, and the transformative power of putting personal truth on the page.Resources Laura MentionsPoem: "Letter to Myself at Twenty-One" by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. You can find the poem and subscribe to Rosemerry’s daily poetry feed here: https://ahundredfallingveils.com/2025/06/05/letter-to-myself-at-twenty-one/Retreat: "Flourishing as We Age: A Women's Writing Workshop" - Weeklong oceanfront retreat in Santa Cruz, California, spring 2025 (https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/)Laura's memoir: The Burning Light of Two Stars (BookLife Prize Winner 2021)Laura's book: The Courage to Heal (co-authored)Episode Call-to-ActionTry this writing prompt yourself: Set aside 20-30 minutes and write an ode to your body as it is today. Address your body directly, thanking it for specific experiences it has enabled. Don't worry about making it perfect or profound—focus on honesty and specificity. Notice what emerges when you approach your body with curiosity and gratitude rather than judgment.Connect with Laura DavisSubscribe to Laura's Substack for weekly writing inspiration: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Explore Laura's writing classes, books, and international retreats: https://lauradavis.net/Learn about the "Flourishing as We Age" spring retreat: https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/Listen to more episodes of The Writer's Journey podcastJoin Laura's weekly Zoom writing classes: https://lauradavis.net/writing-classes/The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE TITLEPause for Peace: How by Rosemerry Wahtola TrommerEPISODE DESCRIPTIONIn this Midweek Pause for Peace, Laura Davis shares a powerful poem that arrived in her inbox and immediately touched her heart. "How" by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer asks the essential question: What is the heart to do when facing brutality? The poem's haunting refrain, "How do we go on?" invites listeners into a space of reflection on resilience, compassion, and the human capacity to endure.WHAT LAURA COVERS IN THIS EPISODEThe immediate emotional impact of receiving this poem and knowing she had to share itThe central question the poem poses: What is the heart to do in the face of such brutality?The complexity of witnessing not only suffering but also those who cheer in responseWhy the question "How do we go on?" resonates so deeply in times of collective traumaThe role of poetry in creating pause, reflection, and space for our nervous systems to process difficult truthsABOUT LAURA DAVISLaura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVISJoin Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasavisdavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ABOUT THE FEATURED POETRosemerry Wahtola Trommer is a poet whose work explores themes of resilience, compassion, and the human experience in the face of difficulty. Her poem "How" powerfully captures the visceral reality of violence while asking profound questions about how we continue forward when witnessing brutality and suffering.Learn more about Rosemerry and read her daily poetry at: https://www.wordwoman.com/a-daily-dose-of-poetry/  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:A Different Kind of Anorexia: How Diverticulitis Changed My Relationship with FoodEpisode Description:In this deeply personal episode, acclaimed memoir teacher Laura Davis shares her unexpected health journey through recurring diverticulitis and the profound way it has transformed her lifelong love of food into fear and isolation. With characteristic honesty and vulnerability, Laura opens up about losing 30 pounds in four months, navigating a confusing medical system, and ultimately discovering that healing requires addressing not just physical symptoms but emotional and mental well-being. This episode offers hope and practical insights for anyone dealing with chronic health challenges while maintaining life's non-negotiable commitments.Episode HighlightsThe Shock of Diagnosis: Laura describes her first diverticulitis attack in September 2025 and the confusing lack of guidance from medical professionalsFood as Identity: How Laura's relationship with cooking, entertaining, and shared meals formed a core part of her identity and joyThe Isolation of Illness: The profound loneliness of eating alone while others enjoy shared meals, bringing her own food in bento boxes to dinner partiesMedical System Frustration: Laura's experience with the "you're old, what do you expect" dismissal from healthcare providersBreaking Point Realization: Discovering that "anorexia" is listed as a diverticulitis side effect—and recognizing she had become afraid to eatCancer vs. Diverticulitis: Laura's surprising revelation that her recurring diverticulitis affects her daily life far more than her breast cancer diagnosisThe Turning Point: Recognizing that healing requires more than physical treatment—she needed to address her emotional spiralEmbracing the Journey: Laura's shift from fighting her condition to exploring holistic approaches including hypnotherapy, guided meditation, and magnetic frequency healingAbout Host Laura DavisLaura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping people craft powerful personal narratives. Her award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars" won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura teaches weekly memoir writing classes via Zoom, leads international writing retreats at Villa Maria del Mar in Santa Cruz, California, and hosts "The Writer's Journey" podcast. She also creates the "Midweek Pause for Peace" series pairing poetry with peaceful imagery. Currently based in Sinai, Egypt, Laura continues to teach, write, and support memoirists worldwide while navigating her own profound life transitions and health challenges with the same honesty and courage she brings to her teaching.Resources Laura MentionsLaura's Award-Winning Memoir: "The Burning Light of Two Stars" (BookLife Prize Winner 2021)Villa Maria del Mar: Oceanfront retreat center in Santa Cruz, California, where Laura will teach her upcoming workshop: "Flourishing as We Age,” a seven-day writing workshop for women at Villa Maria del Mar.  https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/Functional Medicine: Alternative approach to gut health and healingAcupuncture: Traditional Chinese medicine for digestive supportHolistic Healing Modalities: Hypnotherapy for gut health, guided meditation, magnetic frequency healing devicesKey Takeaways from This Episode:Chronic illness impacts identity: When a core aspect of life (like enjoying food) becomes compromised, it can trigger depression and require grieving what was lost while adapting to a new reality.The brain-gut connection is real: Anxiety, worry, and negative thought patterns can exacerbate digestive conditions, creating a cycle where physical symptoms worsen emotional state and vice versa.Healing requires holistic approach: Traditional medical treatment alone may not address chronic conditions—integrating emotional, mental, and alternative healing practices can be essential.Self-advocacy matters: When medical professionals dismiss concerns or offer inadequate guidance, seeking multiple opinions and exploring various treatment approaches is justified and necessary.Mindset shifts enable healing: Moving from fighting against illness to accepting the journey and focusing on what you can control (thoughts, emotions, self-care) creates space for genuine healing.Connect with Laura DavisSubscribe to The Writer's Journey Newsletter: www.lauradavis.netExplore Laura's Writing Classes, Books, and International Retreats: https://lauradavis.net/Listen to More Episodes: The Writer's Journey podcast https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Follow Laura's Weekly Essays and "Midweek Pause for Peace" series: Poetry and peaceful imagery for reflection. https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Naomi Shihab Nye's "Gate A-4" – A Poem About Human Connection Across CulturesEpisode Description:In this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares Naomi Shihab Nye's beloved poem "Gate A-4," a touching true story set in an airport terminal that demonstrates how simple acts of kindness can bridge cultural divides. Through this powerful narrative poem, Laura offers listeners a vision of the shared world we all long for—one where human connection transcends fear and differences.What Laura Covers in This Episode:How a moment of crisis at an airport gate became an opportunity for cross-cultural connection and understandingThe transformative power of small gestures—speaking a few words in someone's language, making phone calls, sharing homemade cookies—to create community among strangersWhy carrying traditions and staying "rooted to somewhere" matters, even when traveling through modern spacesThe poem's hopeful message that "this can still happen anywhere" and "not everything is lost" in our divided worldAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured Poet:Naomi Shihab Nye was born to a Palestinian father and an American mother and grew up in Jerusalem and San Antonio. Her books of poetry include 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East; A Maze Me: Poems for Girls; Red Suitcase; Words Under the Words; and You and Yours. "Gate A-4" is from her collection Honeybee.Featured Music:This original post on Substack includes uplifting music by Alexandra Blakely that beautifully reinforces the poem's message of human connection and hope. Alexandra's song provides the perfect musical companion to Naomi Shihab Nye's vision of a shared world where compassion and understanding bridge our differences.You can listen to Alexandra Blakely's song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBhCFsatU0YCONNECT WITH LAURA DAVISJoin Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasavisdavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title: The Body Budget: When Rest Becomes the Most Important WorkEpisode Description:In this deeply personal episode, acclaimed memoirist and writing teacher Laura Davis shares her journey of learning to honor what her student calls "the body budget"—the finite amount of energy available each day and the necessity of respecting those limits. Drawing on her experiences with breast cancer recurrence and diverticulitis, Laura explores how chronic illness has transformed her relationship with productivity, rest, and what truly matters. This candid reflection offers wisdom for anyone navigating health challenges, energy limitations, or the cultural pressure to constantly "do."What Laura Covers in This Episode:How Laura's lifelong identity as a "doer" has been challenged by illnessThe profound shift that occurred during her first breast cancer treatment 18 years agoUnderstanding and respecting the "body budget"—your finite daily energy resourcesWhy "mind over matter" doesn't work when facing real physical limitationsThe difficult but necessary practice of canceling commitments to protect healingLearning to prioritize rest over productivity and plansThe Ayurvedic concept of Swapna—deep, healing sleep that supports recoveryHow to calculate daily energy capacity and make choices accordinglyThe spiritual clarity that emerges when life slows downEpisode Highlights:The Doer's Dilemma: Laura reflects on her lifelong pattern of creating, manifesting, and following through—and what happens when the body can no longer sustain that paceRemembering the First Time: How Laura's first breast cancer experience 18 years ago taught her about surrender, presence, and living without future plansThe Hard Math of Energy: Learning that you can only do one thing per day when recovering—not six things stacked in a rowSaying No to Mexico: The relief Laura felt canceling her sold-out workshops at the San Miguel Writer's Conference to honor her body's needsThe Body Budget Explained: Laura's friend Nancy Gertz introduces the concept that once your gas tank is empty, you must refill before doing anything elseTraining for the Camino—Later: How Laura postponed hiking preparation with her student Urmila to focus on healing nowWisdom from Urmila: The beautiful message about Ayurvedic healing, Swapna, and emerging from hibernation like a bear in springRest as the Real Work: Why guarding energy and rebuilding health must come first, even for natural doersAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience guiding writers in the craft of memoir. Her award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars won the prestigious BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also the co-author of the groundbreaking book The Courage to Heal and has taught countless students through her international writing retreats, weekly Zoom classes, and her podcast The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis. Drawing from her extensive experience in both writing and life, Laura brings authenticity, wisdom, and practical guidance to every episode. She currently lives in Santa Cruz, California and continues to teach and inspire writers worldwide.Episode Call-to-Action:If you're facing health challenges, energy limitations, or burnout, take time this week to assess your own "body budget." What can you release? What truly matters most right now? Honor your answers without judgment. And if Laura's reflections resonated with you, share this episode with someone who might need permission to rest.Connect with Laura Davis:Subscribe to The Writer's Journey: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Explore Laura's classes and retreats: https://lauradavis.net/Join Laura on the Camino de Santiago: Writing and watercolor pilgrimage, September 2026 (three spots remain): https://lauradavis.net/camino/Leave a comment: Share your own experiences with energy limits and the body budgetSupport the podcast: Click the heart, comment, or share to help new listeners discover The Writer's JourneyThe Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode TitlePause for Peace: Carolyn Brigit Flynn's "My Pledge of Allegiance" – Honoring Our Deepest AllegiancesEpisode DescriptionIn this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares writing teacher and poet Carolyn Brigit Flynn's profound poem "My Pledge of Allegiance," a beautiful meditation on pledging ourselves to Earth, sky, elements, and the sacred web connecting all life. Laura pairs this stirring poem with peaceful imagery to invite listeners to reflect on their own deepest allegiances.What Laura Covers in This EpisodeCarolyn Brigit Flynn's complete poem reimagining what we pledge ourselves toAllegiance to Earth and the great web in which it spins, with rootedness and belonging for allDevotion to the elements—air, fire, wind, and sea—and the eternal beauty in which they liveAn invitation to consider what you pledge your deepest allegiance to in your own lifeAbout Host Laura DavisLaura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured PoetCarolyn Brigit Flynn is a poet, essayist and teacher based in Santa Cruz, California. Her work is dedicated to using language as a pathway to deepening soul and spirit. Carolyn teaches Writing to Feed Your Soul workshops and often writes about Ireland and her perspective as an Irish American. Her memoir, The Light of Ordinary Days, will be published in spring of 2026.Learn more about Carolyn Brigit Flynn at her website: https://www.carolynbrigitflynn.com/ Follow Carolyn on Substack: https://carolynbrigitflynn.substack.com/CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVISJoin Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasavisdavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

PODCAST SHOW NOTESEpisode TitleThe Face in the Mirror: On Aging, DNA, and Unexpected InheritancesEpisode DescriptionIn this deeply personal episode, acclaimed memoirist and writing teacher Laura Davis shares a letter to her late father written forty years after their correspondence ended. When Laura catches her reflection in the mirror after breast cancer surgery and recent health challenges, she discovers her father's face looking back at her—complete with his distinctive Einstein eyebrows and weathered features. Laura explores the shock of sudden aging, the power of DNA and family inheritance, and how loving acceptance can transform our relationship with our changing bodies. This episode offers both a tender meditation on mortality and practical wisdom for writers exploring themes of aging, family connection, and self-acceptance.What Laura Covers in This EpisodeWriting letters to deceased loved ones as a healing practiceThe unexpected physical manifestations of DNA and family resemblanceNavigating sudden physical changes after illness and surgeryAdapting body reclamation exercises from The Courage to Heal for agingThe gap between how we feel internally and how our bodies age externallyFinding love and acceptance for our changing faces and bodiesUsing memoir writing to process loss, aging, and transformationHer father's poignant realization at 81: "I still feel 13 on the inside"About Host Laura DavisLaura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience guiding writers through the craft of memoir. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars (BookLife Prize Winner 2021) and co-author of the groundbreaking bestseller The Courage to Heal. Laura teaches weekly writing classes via Zoom, hosts transformative international writing retreats hiking the Camino de Santiago and at Villa Maria del Mar in Santa Cruz, California, and produces The Writer's Journey podcast along with her Midweek Pause for Peace series. Her work combines vulnerable personal storytelling with practical writing instruction, helping memoirists craft authentic, compelling narratives that honor their experiences while connecting deeply with readers.Resources Laura MentionsBook: The Courage to Heal by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis (published 38 years ago, featuring the "one-inch exercise" in the "Bodies" chapter)Book: The Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis (BookLife Prize Winner 2021)Previous Essay: "The Hippie Dad Who Never Stopped Writing" (featuring examples of her father's artistic letters)This essay on Substack so you can see the images: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/7d44f8c3-38c7-4d8d-9b91-c8d4889def7dUpcoming Retreat: "Flourishing as We Age: A Writing Workshop for Women" at Villa Maria del Mar, Santa Cruz, California (Retreat details at https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/)Body Reclamation Technique: The "one-inch exercise" for self-acceptance and healingKey Takeaways from This Episode:Write letters to the dead as a powerful memoir practice—Epistolary writing can help you process grief, maintain connection, and discover new insights about relationships that transcend time and death.Honor the emotional journey of sudden physical change—Allow yourself to move through shock, dismay, curiosity, and acceptance without rushing to positivity or forcing premature acceptance.Adapt healing practices to new life stages—Techniques like the "one-inch exercise" originally designed for trauma recovery can be reimagined for challenges like aging, illness, or body changes.Recognize the gap between internal and external aging—Understanding that we "still feel 13 inside" while our bodies age can help us approach our reflections with compassion rather than judgment.Find love through connection—When we see our beloved family members reflected in our own aging faces, it can transform self-criticism into tenderness and acceptance.Episode Call-to-ActionSpend time with your own reflection this week. Look closely at the mirror and ask yourself: Who do you see looking back? Whose features have emerged in your face? Write a letter—to a parent, grandparent, or other ancestor whose DNA you carry—exploring what you've inherited and how those physical connections make you feel. Share your reflections in the comments, and if this episode resonated with you, click the heart and share it with other writers navigating the journey of aging and self-acceptance.Connect with Laura DavisSubscribe to The Writer's Journey: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Explore Laura's Classes, Books & Retreats: https://lauradavis.net/Spring 2025 Retreat: Learn about "Flourishing: A Writing Workshop for Women Over Fifty" at https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/Support Laura's Work: Click the heart on posts, leave comments, and share episodes to help new readers discover The Writer's JourneyThe Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode TitlePause for Peace: Pat Schneider's "Is There an Angel in the House" – Finding Shelter in VulnerabilityEpisode DescriptionIn this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares beloved poet and teacher Pat Schneider's heartfelt poem "Is There an Angel in the House," a tender exploration of vulnerability, the courage to ask for help, and the shelter we all need when we're bruised. Laura pairs this touching poem with peaceful imagery to offer listeners a moment of compassion and permission to rest.What Laura Covers in This EpisodePat Schneider's complete poem about asking for comfort when we're bruised and need shelterThe courage it takes to ask for help and admit we need the shelter of a wingThe promise to rise again, light the fire, and carry our corner of the world—after we've been heldA writing prompt Laura uses in her retreats: "Write a love song to your imperfections"About Host Laura DavisLaura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured PoetPat Schneider (1934–2020) was the founder and creator of the Amherst Writers & Artists method. She was a writer, poet, teacher and editor, playwright and librettist who lived and worked in Amherst, Massachusetts. She opened the door to writing to all kinds of people who might otherwise never have written.Writing PromptWrite a love song to your imperfections.CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVISJoin Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasavisdavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:The Hippie Dad Who Never Stopped Writing: How Letters Can Keep Love Alive After AbandonmentEpisode Description:In this deeply personal episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed memoirist Laura Davis shares a moving story from her own life about her father—the free-spirited man who left when she was 13 and never came back, but whose handwritten letters sustained their connection across decades and distance. Laura opens her heart to share how her father's quirky, artistic correspondence taught her that love can transcend physical presence. She also reads from a treasured 1975 letter that demonstrates his unconditional acceptance during her years in a guru's ashram—a stark contrast to her mother's reaction. This intimate storytelling offers a window into Laura's life and the power of sustained connection through the written word.To See the Letters:You can see incredible examples of Abe Davis’ letters by checking out the written version of the post: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/e0269b66-f7f6-44a5-b8be-219fb96ad4a4What Laura Covers in This Episode:How her father left the family when she was 13 and never returned to New JerseyThe transformative power of her father's first letter, received at summer campWhy she never felt abandoned despite her father's physical absenceThe artistic, quirky nature of her father's handwritten correspondence over decadesHow her parents had polar opposite reactions to her choices as a young adultThe contrast between conditional and unconditional parental loveWhy she kept every letter her father wrote and cherishes them todayThe writing practice prompt: "Tell me about a letter, written, read, sent, or received"An invitation to join Laura's ongoing writing classesEpisode Highlights:The 1967 Dodge Dart Departure - Laura describes the moment her father drove her brother to college in Boulder and never came back, marking the beginning of his journey to "find himself" at California's Esalen InstituteThe First Letter from Camp - How receiving her father's first handwritten letter at age 14 established the pattern that would sustain their relationship: "he wasn't coming back to New Jersey and that he still loved me"A Father's Unconditional Acceptance - Laura reads from a 1975 letter her father sent while she lived in a guru's ashram, demonstrating his complete acceptance of her choices even when he didn't share her beliefs—a stark contrast to her mother's threatened deprogrammingThe Art of Letter Writing - Laura describes her father's unique correspondence style: left-handed script, hand-drawn illustrations, watercolor decorations, made-up limericks, and even a ten-page illustrated odyssey on quitting smokingYellow Construction Paper Epistles - How her father crafted letters on bright yellow construction paper, folded accordion-style, and stuffed into hand-decorated envelopes—each one a creative work of artTwo Parents, Two Responses - Laura reflects on having "two more different parents": the free-spirited father who left versus the mother who stayed, paid bills, and held steady through her daughter's teenage rageThe Turquoise Box Under the Stairs - Laura shares how her father's letters live in a large turquoise plastic box in her office crawl space, and the joy of rereading them after twenty yearsForgiveness and Friendship - How Laura's parents eventually became friends again later in life, a transformation Laura credits to her mother's capacity to forgiveAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and memoir writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft authentic, powerful personal narratives. Her award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars won the 2021 BookLife Prize and explores her complex relationship with her mother. She is also co-author of The Courage to Heal, along with six other books on writing and healing.Laura teaches ongoing weekly writing classes on Zoom, leads international writing retreats at Villa Maria del Mar in Santa Cruz, California, and hosts The Writer's Journey podcast. With decades of experience guiding writers through vulnerable storytelling, Laura has become a leading authority on memoir craft and writing for personal transformation.Key Takeaways from This Episode:Letters as lifelines - Consistent, authentic written communication can maintain deep connection even when someone is physically absent or has made painful choicesLove transcends physical presence - Laura's story demonstrates that feeling loved and feeling abandoned are not the same thing—her father left, but she never doubted his loveUnconditional acceptance matters - A parent's ability to accept their child's choices without judgment, even when they disagree, creates lasting emotional securityKeeping what matters - Saving meaningful artifacts like letters provides emotional connection that can be revisited and treasured decades laterComplex relationships deserve space - Laura's honest portrayal of both parents—the one who left and the one who stayed—shows how we can hold complicated truths about the people we loveEpisode Call-to-ActionLaura invites listeners to explore the writing prompt from this episode: "Tell me about a letter, written, read, sent, or received." Consider what letters, notes, or correspondence have shaped your life and relationships.Writers interested in writing their own personal stories in a supportive community can explore Laura's ongoing Wednesday Writing Practice class, which resumes January 7th with a new student special. For those working on book-length manuscripts, Laura's Thursday feedback classes offer expert guidance and peer support (writing sample required, wait list available) https://lauradavis.net/writing-classes/The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Pause for Peace: Julia Fehrenbacher's "The Most Important Thing" – Making a Home Inside YourselfEpisode DescriptionIn this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares poet Julia Fehrenbacher's deeply moving poem "The Most Important Thing," an invitation to create a shelter of kindness within ourselves, where everything is forgiven and allowed. Laura pairs this nurturing poem with peaceful imagery to offer listeners a moment of self-compassion and gentle acceptance.What Laura Covers in This EpisodeJulia Fehrenbacher's complete poem "The Most Important Thing"Making a home inside yourself: a shelter of kindness where everything is forgivenWelcoming all that has been banished and buriedThe transformative power of radical self-acceptanceA peaceful visual meditation paired with meaningful poetryAbout Host Laura DavisLaura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured PoetJulia Fehrenbacher is a poet, an author, a life coach, a teacher, a regular practicer of yoga, and a sometimes-painter. She is most at home by the ocean and in the forests.Learn more about Julia Fehrenbacher at her website: https://juliafehrenbacher.com/CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVISJoin Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasavisdavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

 Episode Title:The Portal in the Wound: Finding Spaciousness When My Body Narrows the PathEpisode Description:In this deeply personal episode, acclaimed memoirist and writing teacher Laura Davis shares a profound exploration of living and writing through her second breast cancer diagnosis, eighteen years after her first. Laura unpacks a single intuitive sentence that arrived unbidden—"My life feels rich and expansive in its diminishment"—revealing how physical limitations can open unexpected doors to creativity, connection, and spiritual depth. Drawing on 35+ years of teaching experience and her award-winning memoir work, Laura demonstrates the power of deep, intuitive writing while offering writers a masterclass in mining personal hardship for universal truths.What Laura Covers in This Episode:The moment of intuitive writing that produced an unexpected truth about her current realityNavigating a second breast cancer diagnosis and the uncertainties of treatment decisionsMemories of chemotherapy treatment from 1997 and the power of community supportHow physical diminishment naturally redirects life force into new creative channelsThe concept of neuroplasticity applied to adult adaptation and personal growthFinding richness through daily photography practice, deepened friendships, and meditationWriting as an accessible creative practice during physical limitationsEmbracing uncertainty, impermanence, and the aging body with graceThe intersection of spiritual practice and the writing lifeHow raw truth and vulnerability create the most powerful memoir writingEpisode Highlights:The Portal of Intuitive Writing Laura shares how a single sentence—"My life feels rich and expansive in its diminishment"—arrived through text message and immediately resonated through her bones, demonstrating the primal power of deep, intuitive writing that accesses truths the conscious mind hasn't yet understood.Cancer's Uncertain Return Eighteen years after her first breast cancer diagnosis, Laura faces the possibility of chemotherapy again. She describes the physical reality of post-surgical recovery and waiting for Oncotype DX test results that will determine her treatment path, showing how even "small" cancers remain unpredictable.The 1997 Chemotherapy Journey Laura vividly recalls her first cancer treatment: eight patients in cushy recliners facing each other, the IV drips of poison, the head-shaving ceremony surrounded by singing friends, chemical menopause, and the months when food tasted like rusty nails. She lost 40 pounds while strangers praised her "sexy" weight loss.The Village That Showed Up Laura remembers the incredible community support that sustained her family during treatment: parents driving her children to school, meals delivered multiple times weekly, free massage and bodywork, friends tracking insurance claims, and companions at chemotherapy appointments. She describes this as "the best part of having cancer."Neuroplasticity as Life Philosophy Drawing an analogy to infant brain development, Laura explains how physical diminishment naturally redirects her life force into new channels—more writing, daily photography exchanges, deeper conversations, expanded spiritual capacity, and meditation on death and impermanence.Writing From the Sickbed Laura reveals how writing has become her accessible creative practice during recovery, demonstrating that some of our most powerful work emerges when we're blocked from our usual activities and forced to channel energy differently.The In-Your-Face Cancer Patient Laura describes her choice to be visible during treatment—walking around town bald, wearing only a beanie when cold, refusing wigs, wanting people to see "what cancer looks like." She taught writing throughout her treatment year, creating circles where raw truth resonated.Gifts Hidden in Diminishment Laura explores the surprising joys emerging from limitation: quiet stillness, new sources of pleasure, deepened listening capacity, perspectives that tip into the vast, and the wisdom of accepting an aging body and winding-down productivity.About Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience guiding writers to craft powerful, transformative memoirs. Her award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars won the 2021 BookLife Prize and has touched readers worldwide with its raw honesty and literary craft. As host of The Writer's Journey podcast, Laura shares the deep, intuitive writing practices she's dedicated her life to, helping writers access truths that resonate through their bones and souls.Laura teaches internationally and leads transformative writing retreats, including "The Art of Memoir" and "Flourishing as We Age" at Villa Maria del Mar in Santa Cruz, California. Her approach combines technical excellence with spiritual depth, encouraging writers to mine their most difficult experiences for universal wisdom. Laura is the author of seven books and brings both personal vulnerability and professional mastery to every episode, demonstrating that our most challenging life passages can become our most powerful writing material.Resources Laura Mentions:Writing Retreats:"Flourishing as We Age" weeklong writing workshop at Villa Maria del Mar, Santa Cruz, California (Spring dates available)Information: https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/Key Takeaways from This Episode:Trust Intuitive Writing: The most powerful truths often arrive through spontaneous writing that bypasses the conscious mind. When a sentence resonates through your bones, follow it through the portal it opens—even when you don't yet understand its full meaning.Physical Limitations Redirect Creative Energy: Like neuroplasticity in infant development, when blocked from usual activities, our life force naturally flows into new channels. Diminishment in one area can create unexpected richness in others—deeper writing, meaningful connection, spiritual expansion.Vulnerability Creates the Strongest Memoir: Laura's willingness to share raw, unfiltered truth about cancer, aging, and uncertainty demonstrates that our most difficult experiences become our most powerful writing material. Writers serve readers by refusing to sanitize hardship.Community Support Transforms Hardship: The village that shows up during crisis—bringing meals, driving children, tracking insurance, sitting beside you during treatment—can become the unexpected gift within suffering. Let people show up for you.Write What You Can When You Can: Writing is an accessible practice even during physical limitation. Some of our best work emerges from the sickbed, the recovery period, the times we're forced to slow down and channel our energy differently.Episode Call-to-Action:If this episode resonated with you, Laura invites you to:Explore Your Own Limitations: Take ten minutes to free-write about an area where your life feels diminished right now. Without censoring, follow the thread to discover what might be expanding as a result. Look for a place neuroplastic adaptation might be happening in your own life.Practice Daily Creative Commitment: Whether photography, a single sentence, a voice memo, or a sketch, commit to one small creative act each day. Find a friend to exchange with for accountability and connection.Consider the Flourishing Retreat: If you're navigating aging, illness, loss, or any major life transition, explore Laura's weeklong "Flourishing as We Age" writing workshop at Villa Maria del Mar in Santa Cruz. Join Laura and three other master teachers and a vibrant community of women using story, ritual, and deep listening to discover inner freedom and wisdom. Participants range from their fifties to ninety-one.Learn more at https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/Connect with Laura Davis:Subscribe to The Writer's Journey Newsletter: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ Receive regular posts, beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Explore Laura's Work: https://lauradavis.net/ Learn about writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats.Listen to More Episodes: Subscribe to The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis wherever you listen to podcasts.Follow Laura's Writing Wisdom: Join as a free or paid subscriber to support Laura's work and receive exclusive content for writers and memoirists seeking to deepen their craft.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:Pause for Peace: Nikita Gill's "Reasons to Live Through the Apocalypse" – Celebrating What We Love and CherishEpisode Description:In this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares British-Indian poet Nikita Gill's heartfelt poem "Reasons to Live Through the Apocalypse," a beautiful invitation to name the things we still love, savor, and cherish in this world. Laura pairs this uplifting poem with peaceful imagery to offer listeners a moment of gratitude and grounding amid life's uncertainties.What Laura Covers in This Episode:Nikita Gill's complete poem "Reasons to Live Through the Apocalypse"The power of naming what we love: sunrises, people yet to meet, songs of love and revolutionFinding beauty in simple moments: walks in the woods, butterflies, the moon in all her formsA writing prompt inviting listeners to create their own lists of reasons to liveA peaceful visual meditation paired with meaningful poetry to calm the nervous system.About Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured Poet:Nikita Gill is a British-Indian poet, playwright, writer and illustrator living in the south of England. She writes poetry collections and novels in verse that explore themes of mythology, folklore, and female experience, and has a large online following, particularly on Instagram. Gill has published eight collections of poetry and is the editor of the poetry anthology SLAM!Connect with Nikita Gill on Substack: https://nikitagill.substack.com/about Follow Nikita on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikitagillwrites/ or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikita_gill/?hl=enWriting Prompt:Make your own list of reasons to live through the apocalypse.CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVISJoin Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasavisdavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

COMPLETE PODCAST SHOW NOTESEpisode Title: Things I Didn't Know I Loved: How Focusing on Small Pleasures Helps Writers Navigate Challenging TimesEpisode Description: In this episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis explores a transformative writing prompt that helps writers find grounding during times of fear and uncertainty. Drawing from master teacher Deena Metzger's book Writing for Your Life, Laura shares how the deceptively simple exercise "Things I Didn't Know I Loved" goes far beyond standard gratitude lists to reveal intimate truths about our lives. Through student examples and her own 50-item list, Laura demonstrates how attention to overlooked details can become a powerful antidote to today's chaos and a pathway to joy.What Laura Covers in This Episode:The origin of the "Things I Didn't Know I Loved" writing prompt from Deena Metzger's Writing for Your Life.How this prompt differs from traditional gratitude lists by focusing on overlooked rather than obvious blessings.A complete reading of student Shoshana Helman's creative and surprising response to the prompt.Laura's own extensive 50-item list, ranging from practical pleasures to profound life experiences.How the exercise helped Laura's writing students feel grounded and centered despite living with fear and uncertainty.The therapeutic power of focusing on small, specific details in our daily lives.Why list-making can serve as a powerful precursor to longer, more developed writing pieces.How this exercise reveals intimate truths about the writer and creates windows into their inner world.Episode Highlights:The Prompt That Goes Deeper: Laura introduces a writing exercise from Deena Metzger that asks writers to dig beyond obvious gratitudes and instead identify small, easily overlooked pleasures in their lives—things they didn't consciously know they loved until they stopped to notice.A Student's Surprising List: Laura shares student Shoshana Helman's beautifully crafted response, which includes unexpected items like "the ding that announces an incoming text," "showering in the dark," and the profound closing entries about readiness and living a good life.Laura's Personal Inventory: Laura reveals her own 50-item list, offering intimate glimpses into her life through details like her c-pap travel pillow, the white streak in her hair from chemotherapy, motion theatre practice, and the Spanish pronunciation of her name.The Universal Response: When Laura's students completed this exercise, they reported feeling grounded and centered, discovering that focusing on small pleasures provided relief from the fear and chaos of current events.Lists as Windows to Self: Laura explains how list-making exercises in her classes consistently reveal deep truths about the writers who create them, serving as both creative warm-ups and profound self-discovery tools.The Compulsion to Continue: Both Laura and her students found they couldn't stop writing once they started, with ideas continuing to flow even after the timed exercise ended—a sign of the prompt's power to unlock authentic expression.From Ordinary to Extraordinary: Laura's list demonstrates how the exercise transforms mundane details like paper towels as napkins, organized freezers, and heated toilet seats into meaningful acknowledgments of life's small luxuries and hard-won wisdom.Connection Through Specificity: When students shared their lists in small groups, the specific, intimate details created powerful connections and offered windows into each writer's unique experience of being alive.About Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience guiding writers to tell their most important stories. Her award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars won the prestigious BookLife Prize in 2021, cementing her reputation as both a masterful memoirist and an expert on the craft of personal narrative.As a writing instructor, Laura specializes in helping students access deep truths through carefully crafted prompts and exercises. She teaches regular writing classes, offers private coaching sessions, and leads transformative international writing retreats that combine creative practice with cultural immersion. Laura believes in the power of specific details, authentic voice, and the courage required to examine our lives with honesty and compassion.Resources Laura MentionsBooks:Writing for Your Life by Deena Metzger (source of the "Things I Didn't Know I Loved" prompt)The Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis (award-winning memoir, BookLife Prize Winner 2021)International Writing Retreat:Write, Travel, Transform: Cuba (April 13-26, 2026) - A 14-day writer's journey combining daily writing practice with cultural exploration in Cuba, featuring meetings with local historians, artists, and cultural practitioners.Learn more: https://lauradavis.net/cuba/Websites and Publications:Laura's Substack: The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis (https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/)Laura's main website: https://lauradavis.net/Key Takeaways from This Episode:Dig Beneath Surface Gratitude: The most powerful appreciation lists go beyond obvious blessings to uncover small, easily overlooked pleasures that genuinely enhance daily life but rarely receive conscious acknowledgment.Specificity Creates Connection: The more specific and detailed your list becomes—from "the rounded edges of my favorite teacup" to "counting cash and facing all the bills in the same direction"—the more it reveals authentic truths about who you are and creates genuine connection with readers.Lists as Therapeutic Practice: During times of fear, chaos, and uncertainty, intentionally focusing attention on small pleasures and everyday luxuries can provide emotional grounding and restore a sense of calm and gratitude.Let the Writing Continue: When a prompt feels generative and ideas keep flowing even after the designated writing time ends, honor that creative momentum rather than artificially stopping—it's a sign you've tapped into something meaningful.Small Exercises Yield Big Insights: Simple list-making exercises can serve dual purposes as both warm-up activities that prepare writers for longer work and as stand-alone pieces that offer profound windows into the writer's inner world and values.Episode Call-to-ActionReady to try this transformative writing exercise yourself? Set a timer for 20 minutes and create your own "Things I Didn't Know I Loved" list. Remember to dig beneath obvious gratitudes and look for small, overlooked pleasures in your daily life. Don't censor yourself—let the list flow naturally, and notice what surprising truths emerge about what brings you joy and comfort.Share a few items from your list in the comments section of The Writer's Journey to connect with other writers exploring this prompt. Your specific details might inspire someone else or help them feel less alone in their own experience.If this episode resonates with you and you want to deepen your writing practice under Laura's guidance, explore her regular writing classes, private coaching sessions, and transformative international retreats at https://lauradavis.net/. Connect with Laura Davis:Subscribe to The Writer's Journey: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ (receive regular posts, curated poems, nature photos, and essays on life and the craft of writing)Main Website: https://lauradavis.net/ (information on writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats)Engagement: Click the heart, leave comments, and share posts to help new readers discover The Writer's JourneyThe Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode TitlePause for Peace: Dawna Markova's "I Will Not Die an Unlived Life" – A Declaration of Living FullyEpisode DescriptionIn this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, host Laura Davis shares author and psychotherapist Dawna Markova's transformative poem "I Will Not Die an Unlived Life," a powerful declaration about choosing to inhabit our days fully and risk our significance. Laura pairs this inspiring poem with peaceful imagery to offer listeners a moment of courage and reflection on what it means to truly live.What Laura Covers in This EpisodeDawna Markova's complete poem "I Will Not Die an Unlived Life"The choice to not live in fear of falling or catching fireWhat it means to truly inhabit our days and allow living to open usBecoming less afraid and more accessible through intentional livingLoosening the heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promiseThe courage to risk our significance in the worldThe transformative power of choosing to live fully rather than merely existingA peaceful visual meditation paired with meaningful poetry for nervous system regulationAbout Host Laura DavisLaura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured PoetDawna Markova followed her precious grandmother's footsteps to become a midwife, but rather than babies, she helps birth possibilities within and between people. She has lived many incarnations in the past seven decades as an author, teacher, psychotherapist, researcher, executive advisor, and organizational fairy godmother. One of the creators of the best-selling Random Acts of Kindness series, Dawna is the author of many other inspirational books, including: I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion; Reconcilable Differences: Connecting In a Disconnected World; Collaborative Intelligence: Thinking With People Who Think Differently; A Spot of Grace: Remarkable Stories Of How You DO Make a Difference.Learn more about Dawna Markova at her website: https://dawnamarkova.com/CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVISJoin Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasavisdavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE TITLE: Crossing the Border into Aging: When Identity Unravels and the Body Speaks UpEPISODE DESCRIPTION: In this episode, Laura Davis explores the transformative passage into aging as a border crossing—a threshold where long-held identities begin to unravel and the body demands attention in new ways. Inspired by a writing prompt from Pádraig Ó Tuama, Laura shares her own experience of watching familiar roles and definitions fall away like an old sweater that no longer fits. She examines how fear, uncertainty, curiosity, and discomfort accompany this natural process of molting into a different future, and why staying present without a clear map forward requires both courage and patience.WHAT LAURA COVERS IN THIS EPISODE:·       Recognizing when habitual identities no longer fit who you're becoming·       The physical and emotional experience of identity unraveling in later life·       Navigating the borderlands between who you were and who you're becoming·       Meeting fear and uncertainty as natural companions in life transitions·       Learning to sit with the raw, open feeling of being without defining labels·       Trusting the natural molting process that makes space for new ways of beingABOUT HOST LAURA DAVIS:Laura Davis is an acclaimed memoir writing teacher and author with over 35 years of experience guiding writers to craft compelling personal narratives. She is the author of seven books, including her award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars, winner of the 2021 BookLife Prize. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking classic The Courage to Heal. Through her weekly Zoom classes, domestic and international retreats, and The Writer's Journey newsletter on Substack, Laura helps writers develop the skills and confidence to tell their most meaningful stories. Her teaching emphasizes authentic voice, embodied writing, and the courage to explore difficult territory with honesty and craft.KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:1.     Aging involves crossing borders where familiar identities dissolve—what felt comfortable and defining can suddenly feel constricting and ill-fitting.2.     The body often speaks up first, signaling when old ways of being no longer serve the person you're becoming.3.     Uncertainty about the future isn't something to fix but rather a natural state to inhabit during profound life transitions.4.     The discomfort of shedding identities creates raw, open space where new possibilities can eventually emerge.5.     Staying present with the molting process, rather than rushing to define what comes next, honors the natural rhythm of transformation.RESOURCES LAURA DAVIS MENTIONED:·       Pádraig Ó Tuama's writing prompt on borders from "The Borders We Cross" (Poetry Unbound) https://poetryunbound.substack.com/p/the-borders-we-cross·       The Writer's Journey newsletter on Substack https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/·       Laura's weekly writing Zoom classes: https://lauradavis.net/writing-classes/·       The Art of Memoir retreat, November 3-7, 2025, Villa Maria del Mar, Santa Cruz https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/·       Laura's memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars https://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars/New episodes of The Writer's Journey podcast release weekly. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform to receive memoir writing wisdom, reflections on the creative life, reflections on aging and life, and inspiration for telling your most important stories.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode TitlePause for Peace: Aftermath - A Poem of Hope and Collective HealingEpisode DescriptionIn this Midweek Pause for Peace episode, Laura Davis shares "Aftermath" by Charleston poet Paula Gordon Lepp. This powerful poem invites listeners to imagine what comes after the crumbling of empires.What Laura Covers in This EpisodeHow shifting focus beyond daily crises can help us envision possibilities for renewal and restoration in difficult timesThe choice to respond to societal collapse through compassion and mutual aid rather than isolation or self-preservationWhy shared adversity reveals our common humanity and creates opportunities for genuine connection across all dividesThe transformative potential of collaborative reconstruction About Host Laura DavisLaura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.About the Featured PoetPaula Gordon Lepp is a Charleston, West Virginia poet who is "just trying to do my part to make the world a tiny bit better."Connect with Paula Gordon Lepp: https://www.facebook.com/paulaglepp/CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVISJoin Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasavisdavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title: The Sanctuary of Three Empty Weeks: Facing Cancer, Solstice, and the Unfamiliar Territory of Doing NothingEpisode Description: In this deeply personal episode, acclaimed memoirist and writing teacher Laura Davis shares a vulnerable winter solstice meditation written just days before her cancer surgery. Drawing from a writing prompt by her teacher Carolyn Brigit Flynn, Laura explores what it means to surrender all identities, face medical uncertainty, and discover the unexpected gift of three weeks with an empty calendar. With her characteristic honesty and lyrical prose, Laura transforms a cancer diagnosis into a profound teaching about rest, restoration, and the courage to simply be.What Laura Covers in This Episode:The experience of preparing for cancer surgery and surrendering all identitiesConfronting medical procedures and the vulnerability of becoming just a bodyHer second cancer surgery in eighteen years and what that meansThe unexpected gift of three weeks with no plans during the winter holidaysThe challenge of learning to rest when your mind craves productivityCreating a winter solstice prayer for healing and restorationEmbracing emptiness as sanctuary rather than voidThe spiritual practice of meeting each agenda-less day with curiosityAllowing recovery, integration, and spaciousness during the darkest time of yearEpisode Highlights:The Stripping Away: Laura describes the powerful ritual of surrendering everything—clothes, possessions, and all her identities as teacher, author, mother, grandmother, wife—to become simply a body preparing for surgeryFacing Cancer Again: Eighteen years after her first breast cancer surgery, Laura returns to Stanford Hospital for a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy, confronting both medical reality and deeper questions about identityThe Gift You're Not Sure You Can Cherish: While others celebrate holidays with parties and gatherings, Laura faces three weeks of completely empty calendar—a gift she's learning to embraceThe Solstice Invitation: Laura frames her recovery time as a spiritual practice aligned with winter solstice, using darkness and stillness as teachersResisting the Siren Pull: With characteristic self-awareness, Laura acknowledges her mind's habits of "generating and creating and doing" and her commitment to resisting those familiar patternsThe Glory of Discovery: Laura reframes the discomfort of not knowing what to do as an opportunity for discovery, sanctuary, and the essential balm of healingA Prayer for Being: The episode culminates in Laura's beautiful invocation to rest, restore, sleep, nourish, taste emptiness, and embrace each unfolding momentWriting as Healing Practice: Laura demonstrates how responding to writing prompts can transform personal crisis into profound meditation and meaning-makingAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed memoir writing teacher and author with over 35 years of experience helping writers find their authentic voice and transform personal experiences into compelling narratives.She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars (BookLife Prize Winner 2021) and co-author of the groundbreaking The Courage to Heal.Laura hosts The Writer's Journey podcast, leads weekly Zoom memoir writing classes, and offers international writing retreats. Her teaching philosophy centers on creating safe spaces for vulnerable sharing and using storytelling as a path to healing and self-discovery. Laura's work has touched thousands of writers worldwide, helping them craft honest, powerful stories from their lived experiences.Resources Laura MentionsCarolyn Brigit Flynn - Laura's writing teacher who provided the winter solstice writing prompt. https://www.carolynbrigitflynn.com/Flourishing as We Age: A Writing Retreat for Women - June 1-7, 2026, Santa Cruz, California - An oceanfront retreat using story, deep listening, and ritual to welcome change, build resilience, and hold grief and gratitude simultaneously. https://lauradavis.net/ https://lauradavis.net/flourishing/And if you're ready to begin your memoir writing journey, explore Laura's weekly Zoom classes and other offerings at lauradavis.net.Connect with Laura Davis:Website: https://lauradavis.net/Substack Newsletter: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Podcast: The Writer's Journey with Laura DavisMidweek Pause for Peace: Laura's poetry and peaceful imagery seriesWriting Classes: Weekly Zoom memoir writing classesRetreats: International writing retreats including The Art of Memoir https://lauradavis.net/The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe