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

Send us Fan MailAbout this episode: In this summer rewind episode, I revisit my conversation with the amazing Sue William Silverman about her craft book Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul. In it, we talk about the power of creative nonfiction, how to use metaphor, masks, and language to harness its power, and how this work can lead to personal growth.Episode Highlights4:00 Why We Write Creative Nonfiction 8:00 Metaphors in Creative Nonfiction Writing 24:00 Using Masks to Externalize the Narrator and Connect with Their Voice 30:00 Writing, Creativity, and Emotional Truth 36:00 Creative Nonfiction Writing and Personal Growth 42:00 Writing, Memoir, and Essay Collections.48:00 Writing, Resilience, and Self-ExpressionResources for this Episode: “Innocence & Experience: Voice in Creative Nonfiction” by Sue William Silverman“INTERVIEW & REVIEW: Sue William Silverman, Author of Acetylene Torch Songs” Crafting Meaning in Flash Nonfiction with Sue William Silverman How to Write a Memoir When You Don’t Remember with Sue William SilvermanSue’s Bio: Sue William Silverman is an award-winning author of nine works of nonfiction and poetry. Her new book, "Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader," is a collection of flash essays. Her book on the craft of writing, "Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul," won the 2024 IPPY Silver Award. Her memoir-in-essays collection, "How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences," won the gold star in Foreword Reviews INDIE Book of the Year Award. Other works include "Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction," made into a Lifetime TV movie; "Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You," which won the AWP Award; and "The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew." She’s co-chair of the MFA in Writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her media appearances include The View, Anderson Cooper-360, and PBS Books.Connect with Sue: Website: www.SueWilliamSilverman.comFacebook: @SueWilliamSilvermanInsta: @suewilliamsilvermanConnect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/ Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.comBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailJoin me and editor extraordinaire Lilly Dancyger for this summer rewind episode where we discuss her latest book, First Love, an intimate, electric collection of essays on friendship, identity, and what it means to grow into yourself in community. During our conversation, Lilly shares her sharp insights on the craft of memoir, why she bristles at the idea of writing as catharsis, and how she pushes back against the dead girl trope by keeping her cousin Sabina fully alive on the page. If you’ve ever wondered how to turn memory into art without falling into the trap of polishing your pain, this one’s for you.Episode Highlights3:36: The Problem of Connecting Memoir with Catharsis10:12: Essays as a Space for Play and Variation13:04: Showing Intimacy on the Page21:12: Zooming In and Zooming Out27:00: Pushing Against the Dead Girl Trope33:44: Strategies for Cleansing Your Creative Palette Resources for this Episode: “Canceling My Book Deal Was the Best Career Move I’ve Ever Made” by Lilly Dancyger“Why Your Memoir Won’t Sell” by Jane FriedmanMore Than True Crime with Sarah Perry Sign up for Find and Sharpen Your Memoir’s VoiceGet Your Free Human Design Report Ditch Your Inner Critic Now Lilly’s Bio: Lilly Dancyger is the author of First Love: Essays on Friendship, and Negative Space. Her work has been published by The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Playboy, and Rolling Stone, among others, and she writes the Substack newsletter The Word Cave. Dancyger lives in New York City, and teaches creative nonfiction in the MFA programs at Columbia University and Randolph College.Connect with Lilly: Website: https://www.lillydancyger.com/Substack: https://substack.com/@lillydancygerBlue Sky: @lillydancyger.bsky.socialInstagram: @lillydancyger on instagramConnect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/ Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.comBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailAbout this Episode: Have you ever felt like your creativity isn’t enough or that your artistic endeavors are secondary to everything on your to-do list? Have you tried all the strategies only to find yourself struggling with this yet again? Join me and my client, Carolyn Fallert, in this summer rewind episode, as we explore the impact of familial and cultural socializations and how strategies aren’t enough. You need to understand yourself. Get ready to discover the importance of understanding your unique operating system and how it should determine the strategies you use.  Resources for this Episode: We Need Your Art by Amie McNeeCarolyn’s SubstackWhat are the nine Enneagram types?The True Meaning of Success and the Multiple Paths to Publishing Your Book with Courtney MaumThe Art of Intimacy: Crafting Connections in Memoir and Essay with Lilly DancygerSign up for Find and Sharpen Your Memoir’s VoiceGet Your Free Human Design Report Ditch Your Inner Critic Now Episode Highlights1:40 The Number One Trick for Getting Unstuck6:40 Protecting Time and Your Creative Energy 7:31 Understanding Your Nature 17:20 Overcoming Your Conditioning22:50 Identifying Your WhyCarolyn’s Bio: Carolyn Fallert is a trauma-informed, feminist self-defense coach who shares everyday practices for moving through fear, standing in our powers, and finding safety within through her substack and in-person self-defense trainings. Her essays have been published in Spank the Carp and Points in Case. Prior to dedicating herself to writing and self-defense, she consulted for Fortune 500 companies and the Gates Foundation. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MPA-ID (Master of Public Administration in International Development) from Harvard Kennedy School. She’s writing a memoir about learning self-defense as a survivor of sexual assault.Connect with CarolynInstagram: @carolynfallertSubstack: https://yourpowers.substack.com/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/ Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.comBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailHave you been told you’re a people pleaser or found yourself saying yes when you meant no, without even thinking about it? Have a friend who struggles to express their feelings or share their preferences? If so, you might have encountered the fawning trauma response. Join me and Ingrid Clayton, author of Fawning the memoir Believing me, for this summer rewind episode where we unpack the misconceptions regarding this trauma response, share our experience strength and hope, and show you how to join the unfawning revolution she’s spearheading with her new book. Episode Highlights1:30: The Fawning Trauma Response5:51: The Problem of Co-dependence10:04: Complex Trauma’s Impact on Our Nervous Systems12:50: Fawning’s Influence on Writing 22:29: The Energetic Signature of Your Book28:45: The Unfawning Process43:45: The Role of Tears Resources for this Episode: What is the Fawning Trauma Response by Ingrid Clayton How to Stop Gaslighting Yourself with Ingrid ClaytonBelieving Me by Ingrid ClaytonGet Your Free Human Design Report Ditch Your Inner Critic Now Ingrid’s Bio: Ingrid Clayton is a licensed clinical psychologist with a Master’s degree in transpersonal psychology and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. She has maintained a thriving private practice in Los Angeles for over seventeen years, supporting individuals in healing trauma, reclaiming agency, and reconnecting to their authentic selves. She's the author of Fawning and Believing Me. Her work has been featured in Oprah Daily, The New York Times, Women’s Health, and Forbes, and she has appeared on podcasts and programs including 10% Happier with Dan Harris, Girls Gotta Eat, and NPR’s On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti. Her latest book, Fawning, addresses an often-overlooked piece of the fight-flight-freeze reaction to trauma—explaining what it is, why it happens, and how to help survivors regain their voice and sense of self.Connect with Ingrid:Website: https://www.ingridclayton.com/Instagram and YouTube: @IngridClaytonPhDGet a free copy of her PDF on the fawning response: https://www.ingridclayton.com/fawningtraumaresponseConnect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/ Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.comBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailHow do you define loneliness? How did the pandemic impact the way that you define and experienced it? What does success look like for you? What is one positive association you have with being alone? These are just a few of the questions Athena and I explore in this summer rewind episode that tackles the multiple facets of loneliness, how to decide what is for you and what is for the public, and how to create your own definition of success. Episode Highlights4:00 The Problem of Loneliness8:00 Establishing Intimacy Between Reader and Writer 11:00 The Skills of Being Honest16:00 Finding the Vessel for Your Story20:00 Defining Success for Yourself27:00 Digital Loneliness35:49 Intentional Isolation42:00 Loneliness and Hyper-independenceResources for this Episode: Cherry Picking Pleasure by Athena Dixon (part of her column in Open Secrets Magazine)The Incredible Shrinking Woman by Athena DixonGet Your Free Human Design Report Ditch Your Inner Critic Now Athena’s Bio: Born and raised in Northeast Ohio, Athena Dixon is an essayist and editor. She is the author of The Loneliness Files (Tin House), The Incredible Shrinking Woman (Split/Lip Press) and No God In This Room (Argus House Press). Her work also appears in The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic (Haymarket Books) and Getting to the Truth: The Practice and Craft of Creative Nonfiction (Hippocampus Book). She writes the monthly column Radical Pleasure for Open Secrets Magazine. Athena is an alumni of V.O.N.A., Callaloo, and Tin House and has received a prose fellowship from The Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing and a Second Book Residency from Tin House. She serves as the Nonfiction Editor for Split/Lip Press and a Consulting Editor for Fourth Genre Magazine.Connect with AthenaWebsite: https://athenadixon.com/Instagram: @the_muse_paperFacebook: @AthenaDevonDixonConnect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/ Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.comBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailIn this summer rewind episode, we revisit my conversation with Courtney Maum, author of Alan Opts Out, Before and After the Book Deal, and The Year of Horses. During our chat, we discuss writer mental health, the key ingredients in an author brand, what success really means and how you can achieve it, as well as the number one skill all authors need to cultivate. Episode Highlights3:00 The Importance of Protecting Your Mental Health6:45 The True Measure of Success15:00 Understanding Your Yesses and Nos19:50 Building Brand Assets for Your Author Platform28:50 Navigating the Realities of the Publishing Industry42:00 The Impact of Health Challenges on Our Identity60:00 Having Faith in YourselfResources for this Episode: Buy Alan Opts OutMaking Art Inside Delicious Darkness Last Night an ENT Saved My LifeExploring the Loneliness Epidemic with Athena DixonHow to Stop Gaslighting Yourself with Ingrid ClaytonGet Your Free Human Design Report Ditch Your Inner Critic Now Courtney’s Bio: Courtney is the author of six books, including ALAN OPTS OUT, the groundbreaking publishing guide that Vanity Fair recently named one of the ten best books for writers, BEFORE AND AFTER THE BOOK DEAL and the memoir THE YEAR OF THE HORSES, chosen by The Today Show as the best read for mental health awareness. A writing coach, director of the writing workshop “Turning Points,” and educator, Courtney's mission is to help people hold on to the joy of art-making in a culture obsessed with turning artists into brands. Passionate about literary citizenship, Courtney sits on the advisory councils of The Authors Guild and The Rumpus and runs a bestselling Substack on publishing conundrums. You can sign up for her weekly newsletter and online masterclasses at CourtneyMaum.comConnect with Courntey: Website: courtneymaum.comSubstack:https://substack.com/@courtneymaumInstagram: @cbmaumConnect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/ Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.comBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailIn this summer rewind episode, we revisit my conversation with writing instructor and author of The Courage to Heal, Laura Davis. During this episode, Laura and I discuss the healing power of writing, the difference between writing to heal and writing for a public audience, and the challenges Laura faced while writing her memoir, The Burning Light of Two Stars.Episode Highlights8:25 Dealing with the Emotional Rigors of Memoir Writing12:45: Writing to Heal21:00 Writing for Yourself versus an Audience34:45 Beginning Your Book46:50 Structuring Your Book and Including Primary ResourcesResources for this Episode: Free Ebook: Writing Toward Courage: A 30-Day Practice. Get Your Free Human Design ReportDitch Your Inner Critic Now Laura’s Bio: Laura Davis is the author of The Burning Light of Two Stars, The Courage to Heal, and five other groundbreaking books. In addition to writing books that inspire, the work of Laura’s heart is to teach. For more than twenty-five years, she’s helped people find their voices, tell their stories, and hone their craft. Laura has been published in Publisher's Weekly, Writer's Digest, CrimeReads, Brevity, and The New York Times, featured in Los Angeles Review of Books, and on QWERTY, Write-Minded, The Only One in the Room, and dozens of other podcasts. She's a featured speaker for The National Association of Memoir Writers and a popular teacher at The San Miguel Writers’ Conference and at Esalen in Big Sur. Learn about her workshops, classes, and international retreats, and read the first five chapters of her memoir at www.lauradavis.net.Connect with LauraWebsite: www.lauradavis.net Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurasaridavisFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewritersjourneyConnect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/ Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.comBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailAbout this episode:I am currently on break so I can focus on my writing and some much-needed rest. Until I return with new episodes on September seventeenth, I’ve curated a summer rewind series of fan favorites. This week’s episode with Lynn Shattuck and Alyson Shelton was recorded in October 2024 Back then, the Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope anthology was a dream they were working to fulfill. This month, the book celebrated its first birthday. The wisdom in this episode, which fueled the publication of this book, is as timely as ever. Resources Mentioned During This Episode:Buy The Loss of a LifetimeThere’s No Escape by Alyson SheltonWhat I Want You to Say When I’m Grieving by Lynn Shattuck: My 20-Year-Old Brother Died By Suicide. Here's Why I Almost Joined Him by Lisa Cooper EllisonLynn’s Where I’m From Poem Lisa’s Where I’m From Poem Alyson’s Where I’m From Poem Get Your Free Human Design Report Ditch Your Inner Critic Now Episode Highlights:3:23 Silent, Unacknowledged Grief7:45: The Impact of the Hierarchy of Grief12:23 The Benefits of Writing about Sibling Loss18:31: Grieving and Writing in Community23:49 Building the Sibling Loss Anthology32:48 Getting to Know Alyson and Lynn35:23 Lynn and Alyson’s Best Writing AdviceAlyson’s Bio: ALYSON SHELTON is an award winning screenwriter and essayist. Her writing is widely published at outlets including The New York Times, Ms. and The Rumpus. She’s deeply proud of her collaborations with other female creatives, most notably, the comic, Reburn  and the films, To Hold The Night and Eve of Understanding. She’s anthologized in Comics Lit Vol. 1 (Accomplishing Innovation Press), No Contact: Writers on Estrangement (Catapult), Root Cause: Stories of Health, Harm and Reclaiming Our Humanity (Editor: Jeannine Ouellette) and The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope (Contributor and Co-Editor). She’s best known for her Instagram Live series inspired by George Ella Lyon’s poem, Where I’m From which celebrated episode 200 in summer 2025 and its partner podcast, Where I'm From. The poem also provides the spine for her memoir in progress.Lynn’s Bio: Lynn Shattuck writes on topics like grief, parenting, and mental health. She was a columnist at Elephant Journal for ten years, where several of her essays on the topic of grief and sibling loss, and parenting went viral.Lynn co-founded the website lossofalifetime.com, a hub of resources and community for those who’ve experienced sibling loss. She co-edited the essay collection, The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, which was released in June 2025.Connect with LynnFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064888772287Substack: https://lynnshattuck.substack.com/Connect with AlysonWebsite: www.alysonshelton.comInstagram: @byalysonsheltonWhere I’m From poem project: https://www.alysonshelton.com/where-im-from.html#/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ByalysonsheltonConnect with the Loss of a Lifetime Sibling Loss GroupWebsite: https://www.lossofalifetime.com/Instagram: @lossofalifetimeBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailWhat do we carry with us from the people we love and lose, and how do we make a choice from the center of our grief? This week, I'm wrestling with these questions alongside memoirist Jill Christman, whose new book The Heart Folds Early is a fierce and tender exploration of the decision to end a pregnancy after a devastating diagnosis. Jill and I talk about how grief from an earlier loss shaped her path toward this choice, the craft of handling time and signposting in memoir, and why she believes memoir is an act of extraction, not accumulation.Episode Highlights05:31 Serial Memoir Method14:32 Writing To Many Audiences28:10 Making The Hard Decision33:49 Opposite World Exercise34:43 Disrupting Dark Spirals35:38 Finding Levity in PainResources for this Episode: Falling by Jill ChristmanBeautiful Things on Riverteeth MagazineGet Your Free Human Design Report Register for Build Better Memoir ScenesDitch Your Inner Critic Now Jill’s Bio: Jill Christman is the author of The Heart Folds Early: A Memoir (released March 2026 from the University of Nebraska Press). Christman’s other books include If This Were Fiction: A Love Story in Essays (2023 Foreword INDIES Silver Winner), Darkroom: A Family Exposure (winner of AWP Prize for CNF), and Borrowed Babies: Apprenticing for Motherhood. Her essays have appeared in many anthologies and in magazines such as Brevity, Creative Nonfiction, Fourth Genre, Iron Horse Literary Review, Longreads, and O, The Oprah Magazine. A 2020 NEA Literature Fellow, she teaches at Ball State University and serves as co-editor of River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative and Beautiful Things (a weekly online magazine of micro nonfiction). Visit her at jillchristman.com.Connect with JillWebsite: Jillchristman.comBluesky: @jillchristman.bsky.socialInstagram: @Jillchristmanwriter Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/ Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.comBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailWhat if understanding your characters (and your readers) came down to something as simple as a cup of coffee? In this episode, I sit down with author, writing coach, and rule-breaking storyteller Lindz McLeod to explore writing voice, character motivation, and the iceberg principle that makes stories hauntingly unforgettable. Lindz shares the simple but revelatory "coffee question" that unlocks who your characters really are, why the stories that move us most are the ones brave enough to leave things unsaid, and how writing — no matter the genre — is ultimately the language of emotions that connects us to our shared humanity. Episode Highlights07:04 Romance, Motivation, and Self Love16:27 Voice Icebergs and Craft Ambition31:39 Building a Craft Anthology34:22 Icarus on a Farm41:28 Collaboration and Closing AdviceResources for this Episode: Practicing Radical Acceptance with Zebib AbrahamCinema Worms: Hokum and MichaelFinding Your Voice and Crafting Stories that Ignite the Soul with Sue William SilvermanGet Your Free Human Design Report Ditch Your Inner Critic Now Lindz’s Bio: Lindz McLeod (she/they) is a queer Scottish writer whose short work has been published by Apex, Catapult, DIVA, Nightmare, and many more. Her longer work includes the award-winning short story collection TURDUCKEN, as well as books including THE UNLIKELY PURSUIT OF MARY BENNET, THE MISEDUCATION OF CAROLINE BINGLEY, and craft anthology AN HONOUR AND A PRIVILEGE. Her work has been taught in schools and universities, turned into avant-garde opera and animation, and optioned for television. She is currently in her final year of a PhD in Creative Writing. You can find Lindz waxing lyrical about books, cats, and her film podcast, Cinema Worms, on Bluesky at @lindzmcleod, Instagram @lindz.mcleod, and examples of her work can be found on www.lindzmcleod.co.ukConnect with Lindz: Website: https://lindzmcleod.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindz.mcleod/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lindsey.mcleod.90Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/ Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.comBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailAbout this episode: Have you ever said yes to something that felt like destiny, only to realize later it took you further from your goals? In this episode, I share a personal story about a writing group experience that taught me one of the most important lessons of my creative life: the difference between people-pleasing and truly following your gut. I break down what people-pleasing actually is, why we do it, and how it shows up in our writing and our lives in ways we don't always recognize, including through the fawning trauma response. Plus, I share the Achilles’ heel question that gets writers into more trouble than almost anything else. If you've ever said yes to something that felt like destiny only to find it took you further from your goals, this episode is for you.Resources for this Episode: The Fawning Trauma Response with Ingrid ClaytonFawning by Ingrid ClaytonThe Gifts of Adversity by Norman RosenthalGet Your Free Human Design Report Register for Build Better Memoir ScenesDitch Your Inner Critic Now Episode Highlights03:19 Defining People Pleasing06:46 Fawning Trauma Response12:34 How It Shows Up Writing15:58 Get Clear What You Want18:52 You Should Write Book Trap27:30 Wrap Up And Journal PromptLisa’s Bio: Lisa Cooper Ellison is an author, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of the Writing Your Resilience podcast. Working at the powerful intersection of storytelling and healing, she blends her writing expertise, clinical training, and soul-centered practices—including Akashic Records work and Human Design—to help writers turn their hardest experiences into art. Her essays—on sibling loss, grief, trauma healing, and the craft of writing—have appeared in The New York Times, HuffPost, and The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, among others. Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailAbout this episode: With a recent executive order expediting the review of psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, psychedelic therapy is moving from the fringes into the national conversation — and this week's episode couldn't be more timely. Whether you're curious about what psychedelic therapy is, how it works, or whether it's right for you, licensed marriage and family therapist, and certified psychedelic therapist Stacey Simmons is here to answer those questions and more. Even if you never plan to partake, you won't want to miss the practical takeaways Stacey shares that anyone can apply to their own healing journey.Resources for this Episode: Can You Trust Your Memories with Stacey SimmonsWhat If You’re Not Meant to Be the Hero with Stacey SimmonsThe Queen’s Path by Stacey SimmonsMushroom Pharmacy: A Practical Guide to Psychedelic Mushrooms by Stacey SimmonsWhat Is Holotropic BreathworkSerotonin Syndrome The Billionaire, The Psychedelics, and the Best-Selling Memoir Get Your Free Human Design Report Register for Build Better Memoir ScenesDitch Your Inner Critic Now Episode Highlights03:08 Mushroom Pharmacy Origins07:41 Psilocybin Set and Setting29:46 Integration That Sticks36:12 Who Should Avoid Psychedelics41:46 Memory Truth And ClosingStacey’s Bio: Stacey Simmons is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Psychedelic Therapist. She is a clinical supervisor at Hope Therapy Center in Burbank, California. Her practice focuses on creative professionals, where she works primarily with writers, directors, actors, and musicians. Her research focuses on creativity, archetypes, psychedelic psychotherapy, neuroscience and consciousness research. She is a volunteer researcher with the Semel Institute of Neuroscience at UCLA, as well as a researcher with the Trance Science Research Institute in Paris, France. She holds a PhD from the University of New Orleans, and a Masters degree from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California.Connect with Stacey:  Website: https://staceysimmonsphd.com/Facebook: @staceysimmonsphdInstagram: @staceysimmonsphdTikTok: @staceysimmonsphdBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailBuilding an author platform can feel overwhelming, especially when you're doing it alone, on a budget, and wondering if any of it is actually working. In this episode, I sit down with author and adoptee advocate Patricia Knight Meyer to explore a Human Design approach to platform-building that’s rooted in intuition, authentic connection, and knowing where to focus your energy. If you've ever felt like you're grinding away at your platform with nothing to show for it, this one's for you.Episode Highlights05:42 The Hidden Reality of Being an Adoptee15:54 The Pressure to Build a Platform (and What It Cost Her)21:16 The Human Design Reading Neither of Us Expected30:55 Saying Yes Before Feeling Ready41:03 Why Forcing Visibility Was Never the AnswerResources for this Episode: Build an Author Platform that Aligns with Your Design and Nervous SystemGet Your Free Human Design Report Register for Building Better Memoir ScenesDitch Your Inner Critic Now Patricia’s Bio: Patricia Knight Meyer is a journalist, adoption reform advocate, and Baby Scoop Era adoptee. Born in 1970 and trafficked on the black market via a shady attorney who later extorted her parents with the threat of taking her back, she obtained her first legal birth certificate at age 47—a journey she chronicles in her memoir WONDERLAND: Memoir of a Black-Market Baby (Unsolicited Press, November 2026). She founded the adoption blog My Adopted Life and YAYDNA Genetic Greeting Cards, serves on the board of the National Association of Adoptees and Parents (NAAP), hosts the 3rd Friday NAAP Happy Hour, is a sought-after speaker on adoption reform and adoptee rights, and leads memoir writing workshops.Connect with Patricia:  Instagram: @somebodys_baby and @patriciaknightmeyerFacebook: @patriciaknightmeyer and @wonderlandthememoirTikTok: @myadoptedlifeBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/myadoptedlife.bsky.socialSubstack: https://substack.com/@myadoptedlifeMedium: https://medium.com/@myadoptedlifeBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailAuthor platform doesn't have to mean performing for an algorithm or chasing followers who don't care about your work. In this episode, I break down what an author platform actually is, why the "magic formula" myth keeps so many writers stuck, and how to build a platform that grows alongside your nervous system–not against it. If you've ever felt like the standard advice just isn't made for you, I want you to know — you're right. There is a way that’s better for you. Episode Highlights:06:03 The Biggest Author Platform Myths10:03 What Does “Enough” Actually Look Like?13:01 Why Engagement Matters More Than Followers25:26 The Truth About Going Viral30:36 Building an Author Platform Without Burning OutResources for this Episode: My Brother Had Mental Health Issues and Committed an Awful Crime. But I Love Him. Building a Writing Career from Trauma with Tia LevingsHow Recovery Supports Memoir Writing and Book Marketing Tips with Laura Cathcart RobbinsBuilding A Writing Career without Social Media with Amelia HrubyBuild an Author Platform that Aligns with Your Design and Nervous SystemGet Your Free Human Design Report Ditch Your Inner Critic Now Lisa’s Bio: Lisa Cooper Ellison is an author, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of the Writing Your Resilience podcast. Working at the powerful intersection of storytelling and healing, she blends her writing expertise, clinical training, and soul-centered practices—including Akashic Records work and Human Design—to help writers turn their hardest experiences into art. Her essays—on sibling loss, grief, trauma healing, and the craft of writing—have appeared in The New York Times, HuffPost, and The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, among others.Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacooperellison/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/ Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.comBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailWhat does it really take to build a writing career out of your hardest story and stay whole while doing it? In this episode, I sit down with author Tia Levings, whose memoir A Well-Trained Wife has become an increasingly timely reckoning with religious trauma, patriarchy, and survival. With her second book I Belong to Me just hitting shelves, Tia pulls back the curtain on navigating back-to-back book launches, genre-hopping with intention, and growing a 110,000-follower platform without burning out or exploiting your own pain. If you've ever wondered how to turn a cooked story into a sustainable career, this conversation is for you.Episode Highlights:05:23 When Your Story Becomes the Work13:11 The Cost of Visibility and Finding Regulation24:25 Where Memoir and Self-Help Meet35:12 Doing the Work Without Getting Stuck in ItResources for this Episode: Order I Belong To MeGet Your Free Human Design Report Register for Build an Author Platform that Aligns with Your Design and Nervous SystemDitch Your Inner Critic Now Tia’s Bio: Tia Levings is The New York Times Bestselling author of A Well-Trained Wife, her memoir of escape from Christian Patriarchy. She writes about the realities of religious trauma, evangelical patriarchy, and the Trad wife life, decoding the fundamentalist influences in our news and culture. Her work and quotes have appeared in Teen Vogue, Salon, Newsweek, and the HuffingtonPost. She also appeared in the hit Amazon docu-series, Shiny Happy People. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, she is mom to four incredible adults and likes to travel, hike, paint, and daydream. Find her on social media @TiaLevingsWriter. Her second book, I Belong to Me, releases May 5, 2026.Connect with Tia: Read Tia Levings, Writer on Substack]Instagram: ⁠@tialevingswriter⁠⁠⁠TikTok: @tialevingswriter⁠⁠Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailWhat does it really take to get into a state of creative flow and what pulls us out of it? In this Editor's Round Table episode, I’m joined by fellow editors Sarah Chauncey and Lynn Shattuck to explore the Law of Increasing Flow: a framework built on presence, strategic rest, and stopping before you hit empty. Together we dig into the problem of tech distraction, the power of the subconscious mind, and why percolation–not pushing–is where so much of the real writing happens. If you've ever wondered why flow feels so elusive, this episode will leave you with both the insight and the practical tools to invite more of it into your life.Resources for this Episode: “The Critic, Cookies and a (Cautionary) Colonoscopy” by Lynn Shattuck“To Write More, Better and Faster, Do This One Thing” by Sarah ChaunceyCreative Intuition: The Skill That Makes Life and Work EasierIt’s not Your Money by Tosha SilverThe Walk for PeaceGet Your Free Human Design ReportDitch Your Inner Critic NowEpisode Highlights4:54 Constricted Writing Stories6:19 Law Of Increasing Flow8:46 Productivity Versus Creativity23:35 Nervous System PracticesConnect with Lynn: Website: www.lossofalifetime.comWebsite: www.lynnlshattuck.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064888772287Instagram: @lynn_shattuckConnect with Sarah: Substack: https://sarahchauncey.substack.com/Counterintuitive Guide: https://counterintuitiveguide.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahkchauncey/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarah.k.chaunceyLynn Shattuck writes on topics like grief, parenting, and mental health. She was a columnist at Elephant Journal for ten years, where several of her essays on the topic of grief and sibling loss, and parenting went viral. Lynn co-founded the website lossofalifetime.com, a hub of resources and community for those who’ve experienced sibling loss. She co-edited the essay collection, The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, which was released in June 2025.Sarah Chauncey is a nonfiction writer, developmental editor, and writing coach. Over her decades of experience, she’s written more than 100 articles for a variety of outlets, including Writer's Digest, Jane Friedman, Tiny Buddha, Lion’s Roar, and Modern Loss. Sarah is the author of P.S. I Love You More Than Tuna, the first gift book for adults grieving the loss of a pet. She also writes the Substacks “Resonant Storytelling” for writers and “The Counterintuitive Guide to Life,” about developing inner skills for a shifting planet. Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailAbout this episode: Have you ever come to a point in your life where giving up was the way forward? If so, how was that different from defeat?  In this episode, I unpack what healthy surrender really means, how it can actually strengthen rather than diminish your sovereignty, and how to practice it in both the big and small moments of your life. If the word "surrender" has ever felt triggering or like defeat, this episode will change the way you see it.Resources for this Episode: Healing Ancestral Trauma: How Family Constellations Free You from Inherited StoriesGet Your Free Human Design Report Register for Find and Refine Your Memoir’s Narrative ArcDitch Your Inner Critic Now Episode Highlights00:00 Surrender Is Not Giving Up01:58 What It Really Means to Surrender17:10 A Daily Practice of Letting Go23:46 Holding Boundaries with CompassionLisa’s Bio: Lisa Cooper Ellison is an author, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of the Writing Your Resilience podcast. Working at the powerful intersection of storytelling and healing, she blends her writing expertise, clinical training, and soul-centered practices—including Akashic Records work and Human Design—to help writers turn their hardest experiences into art. Her essays—on sibling loss, grief, trauma healing, and the craft of writing—have appeared in The New York Times, HuffPost, and The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, among others. Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast ProductionBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailAbout this episode: This week, I’m joined by Jeannine Ouellette, author of The Part that Burns and a writing instructor whose deepest passion is using writing to connect us with our humanity. She sees the craft of writing as so much more than the words on the page, and I couldn’t agree more. We talk about how writing is a practice that helps you show up more fully in your own life, and how you can do this by finding your writing voice, writing close to the lived experience, and exploring from a place of discomfort. And you won’t want to miss our conversation about our shared obsession with a particular punctuation mark that we are absolutely claiming regardless of what anyone else thinks.Resources for this Episode: Voice First: A Writer’s Manifesto by Sonya HuberAcetylene Torch Songs by Sue William SilvermanInnocence & Experience: Voice in Creative Nonfiction by Sue William SilvermanFinding Your Voice and Crafting Stories that Ignite the Soul with Sue William SilvermanWriting Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma“The Fourth State of Matter” by Jo Ann BeardGet Your Free Human Design Report Register for Find and Refine Your Memoir’s Narrative ArcDitch Your Inner Critic Now Episode Highlights00:00 The Question That Opens Everything04:33 On Voice (and Finding Yours)15:27 Writing as a Living Practice29:33 The Quiet Work of Finding Joy Again32:57 Craft as a Way of BeingJeannine’s Bio: Jeannine Ouellette’s lyric memoir, The Part That Burns, was a Kirkus Best Indie Book and a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award in Women’s Literature. Her other books include Mama Moon and The Good Caregiver with Robert Kane, M.D. Her essays and short fiction have appeared widely in journals and anthologies, including Narrative, North American Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, Masters Review and more. Her bestselling Substack, Writing in the Dark, explores writing as a metaphor for life and attention as a pathway to becoming. She teaches writing at the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop and the University of Minnesota and her craft book, One Word at a Time: A Creative Practice for Transforming Your Writing and Your Life, is forthcoming from Penguin.Connect with Jeannine: Substack: https://writinginthedark.substack.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeannine.ouellette.7Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msjeannineouellette/?hl=enConnect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast ProductionBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailIn this Ask Me Anything session, writer and advocate Meagan Justus brings two questions that so many writers are quietly wrestling with. 1st: when you keep circling the core of your story without being able to reach it, do you shape what you have or keep writing until you get there? And 2nd: when your story involves people or institutions with power, how do you protect yourself while still telling the truth? Together, we dig into why writers circle their stories, how changing names doesn't protect you legally, what the vetting process actually looks like, and what the unfolding controversy around Amy Griffin's memoir The Tell can teach us about the publishing process. Resources:The "but/therefore" principleThe Queen’s PathThe Beat Sheet Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick FlynnSome Ether by Nick FlynnThe Ticking Is the Bomb by Nick FlynnThe Liar's Club by Mary KarrCherry by Mary KarrLit by Mary Karr https://authorsguild.org/How Can I Avoid Lawsuits When Writing Memoir?Legal Vetting for Manuscripts to Manage RiskThe Billionaire, The Psychedelics, and the Bestselling Memoir by Katherine Rosman & Elisabeth EganLawsuit Accuses Writer of Using Classmate’s Story in Best-Selling Memoir by Katherine Rosman & Elisabeth EganExamples of Hermit Crab Essays  Get Your Free Human Design Report Find and Refine Your Memoir’s Narrative ArcDitch Your Inner Critic Now Connect with Meagan: https://www.creativelyvisible.com/https://substack.com/@creativelyvisibleMeagan Justus is a writer and advocate exploring the messy middle of chronic illness, disability, and trauma. Through essays and storytelling, she works to make invisible struggles visible and a little less lonely. Her writing blends honesty, humor, and the occasional chocolate metaphor to explore resilience, self-advocacy, and the stories we discover while living through life’s hardest chapters.Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailWhat if the stories we tell about ourselves aren't really ours,  and what if we could finally trace them back to where they began? This is something I’ve been asking myself for years, and today I’m excited to share a few ways you can answer those questions for yourself through Family Constellations work. This week’s guest, Tania Gonzalez-Ortega, is a Family Constellations practitioner with twenty-five years of experience in energy work. During our conversation, we explore the benefits and challenges of the dark night of the soul, how some of what we experience during the dark night isn’t ours, and how we can work with those connections in ways that allow us to live our fullest, most empowered lives.Episode Highlights07:31 The Lessons Inside the Dark Night11:37 The Trauma That Was Never Yours17:16 What Happens in a Constellation Session22:43 When Writing Becomes Healing28:25 The Ripple Effect of Healing Your LineageResources from this Episode: Story Alchemy with Lisa Cooper Ellison on the New Earth Consciousness PodcastWaldorf Education ModelWhat is Family Constellations TherapyThe Dark Night of the Soul, poem by St. John of the CrossDark Night of the Soul by St. John of the CrossGet Your Free Human Design Report Sign up for Find and Refine Your Memoir’s Narrative ArcDitch Your Inner Critic Now Tania’s Bio: Tania Gonzalez-Ortega has been practicing energy work for over 25 years. Her background spans ancestral healing, nervous system regulation, and deep emotional integration. She’s studied in India and the United States and guided hundreds of clients through profound personal transformation. Tania is also a financial educator who helps women and families build real wealth in a balanced, ethical way. Her work bridges two worlds most people keep separate: Inner transformation and financial structure. Yet true sovereignty requires both. She lives in the mountains of Washington State with her husband and son on 64 acres of land that constantly reminds her that stability and growth can coexist.Connect with Tania: Facebook: facebook.com/taniamamaInstagram: instagram.com/@newearthconsciousnessYouTube: youtube.com/@newearthconsciousnessBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailWhat if the key to unlocking your creativity wasn't about doing more but about finally understanding who you are? In this episode, trauma therapist Jessica Eure and I explore how Human Design is transforming the way we work, create, and heal. From decoding your body graph to learning why you say yes when you mean no, this conversation is a masterclass in radical self-acceptance. Whether you are a trauma survivor trying to reclaim your creative life or a writer searching for more energy and focus, this episode will give you a new map for understanding yourself as well as the practical tools to use it.Episode Highlights00:00 Why Human Design Isn’t What You Think05:10 The Moment You Start Trusting Yourself Again16:45 Where You’re Still Operating from Conditioning21:52 How Human Design Changes Your RelationshipsResources for this Episode:Toward a postmaterialist psychology: Theory, research, and applicationsNeurofeedbackGet Your Free Human Design Report Register for Find and Refine Your Memoir’s Narrative ArcDitch Your Inner Critic Now Connect with Jessica: Websites: www.jessicaeure.comwww.virginianeurofeedback.comEmail: [email protected]’s Bio: Jessica Eure is a mental health counselor and educator working at the intersection of nervous system repair and consciousness. She is the co-founder of Virginia Center for Neurofeedback, where she integrates QEEG-guided neurofeedback and trauma-informed psychotherapeutic approaches to support regulation, resilience, and deep healing. Alongside her clinical work, Jessica has spent 25+ years studying reiki, chakra systems, tarot, astrology, contemplative traditions, and more recently, Human Design, weaving these frameworks into her understanding of identity, purpose, and personal transformation.Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailResources for this Episode: Get Your Free Human Design Report Ditch Your Inner Critic Now Do you feel aligned, or are you burning out? It’s a question we must ask ourselves repeatedly during the year of the fire horse. In today’s episode I share the simple Human Design tool you already have at your disposal that can help you stay in alignment as you live your life’s purpose whether you’re wrestling with the big issues or daily decisions. Episode Highlights02:00 The “Am I On Track?” Question04:30 Why Alignment Prevents Burnout06:30 Using Emotions as Your Compass11:00 My People-Pleasing Pattern (Real Story)19:10 Satisfaction vs. Excitement (What Actually Matters)Lisa’s Bio: Lisa Cooper Ellison is an author, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of the Writing Your Resilience podcast. Working at the powerful intersection of storytelling and healing, she blends her writing expertise, clinical training, and soul-centered practices—including Akashic Records work and Human Design—to help writers turn their hardest experiences into art. Her essays—on sibling loss, grief, trauma healing, and the craft of writing—have appeared in The New York Times, HuffPost, and The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, among others.Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailWhat if the condition that made your life unmanageable was also the source of your greatest gifts? In this episode, I sit down with Atash Yaghmaian, a therapist, activist, and author of My Name Means Fire, to explore how writing became the bridge between her many parts, her trauma, and ultimately her freedom. Atash lives with dissociative identity disorder (DID), and shares what that means: not as something to be feared, but as a brilliant survival mechanism that carried her through war, revolution, and abuse in her native Iran. We explore the power of writing from your parts, how reading can be an act of solidarity, and why inner harmony makes you a better human, writer, and friend to the world.Episode Chapters03:02 Coming Out With Dissociative Identity Disorder11:10 Writing a Memoir With Multiple Voices21:25 From the Iranian Revolution to Finding Freedom37:09 Healing the Inner Child Through Writing42:14 DID as Protection, Healing, and ActivismResources for this Episode: Books to Read on IranA Different Side of the Self: On Finding Freedom By Telling My Story in English by Atash YaghmaianFind and Refine Your Memoir’s Narrative ArcDitch Your Inner Critic Now Atash’s Bio:  Atash Yaghmaian is the author of “My Name Means Fire.” She is a writer and a psychotherapist whose stories and articles about mental health and Iran have appeared in LitHub, Ms. Magazine, The New York Daily News, The Mighty, and Thrive Global, among others. Born in Tehran, Atash migrated to the United States alone at the age of 19, fleeing war, trauma, and abuse. She blogs at atashyaghmaian.com.Connect with Atash: Website: www.atashyaghmaian.comInstagram: @ayhealingYouTube: @AtashYaghmaianBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailWould you like to know when to say yes or no, how to tell which piece of feedback is right for you or your book, or how to proceed with greater ease? If you’re working on a book, would you like to spend more time having your characters tell you what to write and less time trying to figure it out? Find out how your intuition can do all of these things and how connecting with it is easier than you think. Episode Highlights01:42 The Voice You Keep Ignoring02:57 What Intuition Actually Is (and Isn’t)05:27 That Quiet Whisper You Can’t Shake07:12 Gut Feeling or Fear? How to Tell11:32 Get Out of Your Head, Into Your Body15:27 Stop Forcing It, Let Answers Come17:10 Journaling That Builds Self-Trust18:53 The Dream That Changed Everything22:16 Signs… or Coincidence?25:36 Test Your Intuition Today27:46 Follow What Feels Alive30:19 A Practice to Come Back to YourselfResources for this Episode: Intuition 101: Developing Your ClairsensesDitch Your Inner Critic Now Lisa’s Bio: Lisa Cooper Ellison is an author, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of the Writing Your Resilience podcast. Working at the powerful intersection of storytelling and healing, she blends her writing expertise, clinical training, and soul-centered practices—including Akashic Records work and Human Design—to help writers turn their hardest experiences into art. Her essays—on sibling loss, grief, trauma healing, and the craft of writing—have appeared in The New York Times, HuffPost, and The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, among others.Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailHow do you keep the faith when your nervous system is fried, your heart is tired, and the world feels like too much? In this editors’ roundtable episode, I’m  joined by Kristin Sancken and Lynn Shattuck for an honest conversation about what actually helps when times are tough. Together, they share personal stories of losing faith in creative projects, the hidden cost of valuing product over process, and the gentle, sustainable strategies they use to care for themselves during hard seasons. This episode explores how to honor the season you’re in, lean into community, and choose care in a culture that tells us to go it alone.Episode Highlights01:57 When It All Falls Apart: The “Empire Strikes Back” Season03:54 Kristen’s Season of Care and Surrender05:56 When the Story Goes Quiet: Lynn’s Memoir Pause07:47 Lisa’s Dark Night of the Soul12:36 Holding Onto Faith When It Feels Slippery13:30 The Power of DadderDays25:24 How Laying an Egg Can Return You To Your Body27:31 Trusting the Cycles We’re In31:36 Journal Prompts + Voices from the CommunityResources for this Episode:Functional Anatomy of the Female PerineumCan You Trust Your Memories? What Neuroscience Reveals About Trauma, Story & Healing |Stacey SimmonsDitch Your Inner Critic NowKristin’s Bio: Kristin Thomas Sancken was born in Panama, raised in Mexico, and came of age in Minnesota before settling in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she lives with her husband, two children, and an exuberant Golden Retriever. Her writing has earned numerous awards and appeared in publications including The Guardian, HuffPost, and Columbia Journal. You can find more of her writing at her Substack, Sanctuary of the Holy Others.Lynn’s Bio: Lynn Shattuck writes on topics like grief, parenting and mental health. She was a columnist at Elephant Journal for ten years, where several of her essays on the topic of grief and sibling loss and parenting went viral. Lynn co-founded the website lossofalifetime.com, a hub of resources and community for those who’ve experienced sibling loss. She co-edited the essay collection, The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, which was released in June of 2025.Connect with Kristin:Website: http://www.sancken.com/Instagram: @ktsancken_writerThreads: @ktsancken_writerConnect with Lynn: Website: www.lossofalifetime.comWebsite: www.lynnlshattuck.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064888772287Instagram: @lynn_shattuckBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailWhat do you do when the memory you need most for your memoir is the one you can’t quite reach? You listen to this week’s guest, Sue William Silverman. Sue is the award-winning author of nine works of nonfiction and poetry and co-chair of the MFA in Writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She joined me for a deeply honest, craft conversation about what to do when you can’t remember, how to work with fragmented memory, how to use structure, voice, and sensory detail to tell the emotional truth of your story, and how to trust yourself even when certainty is impossible. If you’ve ever felt stalled by memory gaps, afraid of getting it “wrong,” or unsure how to write what you can’t fully recall, this episode will give you both permission and practical tools to keep going. Let’s dive in.Episode Highlights04:48 Writing Memoir When Memory Feels Unstable05:48 From Bad Fiction to Honest Storytelling07:13 The Five Senses Trick for Unlocking Memories09:38 Emotional Truth vs. Perfect Facts20:29 Writing the Gaps: What You Don’t Fully Remember27:30 What You Cut (and Why It Matters Later)30:55 You Don’t Have to Fit Your Whole Life in One Book33:47 Finding the Voice That Can Tell the StoryResources for this Episode: Books by Sue William Silverman: Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the ReaderBecause I Remember Terror Father, I Remember YouAcetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the SoulLove SickHow to Survive Death and Other InconveniencesWriting Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma by Melanie BrooksThe Part That Burns by Jeannine OuellettePlaying with Dynamite by Sharon HarriganThe Queen’s Path by Stacey SimmonsFinding Your Voice and Crafting Stories that Ignite the Soul with Sue William SilvermanCan You Trust Your Memories? with Stacey SimmonsDitch Your Inner Critic Now Sue’s Bio: Sue William Silverman is an award-winning author of nine works of nonfiction and poetry. Her new book, "Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader," is longlisted for the 2026 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. Sue has appeared on such programs as The View, Anderson Cooper 360, and PBS Books. She’s co-chair of the MFA in Writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.Connect with Sue: Website: https://www.suewilliamsilverman.com/Facebook: @SueWilliamSilvermanInstagram: @suewilliamsilvermanBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailListeners, do you ever wonder if your memories are real? Are you writing a memoir and struggling to remember something—or worrying that what you’re sharing might not be “the truth”? Today on Writing Your Resilience, I’m joined by psychotherapist and neuroscience nerd Stacy Simmons for a powerful conversation about memory, trauma, and storytelling. We explore why memory isn’t a recording device, how traumatic memories get fragmented in the brain, what “reconstituted memories” really are, and how writers can work with their memories in ways that heal rather than re-traumatize. Get ready to dive into a conversation that reveals why memory is fragile, not like a flower but like a bomb. Episode Highlights: 4:34: The Types of Memories Memoirists Need to Know12:16: Can Your Bodies Be In Your Memories? The Limitations of Science19:48: What to Do with Trauma Memories and How to Keep from Retraumatizing Yourself  27:33: Navigating Your Conscious Memories35:41: Trusting Early Memories Resources from This Episode: What If You’re Not Meant to Be the Hero with Stacey SimmonsThe Adverse Childhood Experience Survey TestMushroom Pharmacy: A Practical Guide to Psychedelic Mushrooms by Stacey SimmonsWhat Happened to You by Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce PerryHysterical PodcastMcMartin Preschool CaseThe Debate on Repressed Memories Identify Your Memoir’s Essential QuestionDitch Your Inner Critic NowStacey’s Bio: Stacey Simmons is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Psychedelic Therapist. She is a clinical supervisor at Hope Therapy Center in Burbank, California. Her practice focuses on creative professionals, where she works primarily with writers, directors, actors, and musicians. Her research focuses on creativity, archetypes, psychedelic psychotherapy, neuroscience, and consciousness research. She is a volunteer researcher with the Semel Institute of Neuroscience at UCLA, as well as a researcher with the Trance Science Research Institute in Paris, France. She holds a PhD from the University of New Orleans, and a Masters degree from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California.Connect with Stacey:Website: https://staceysimmonsphd.comFacebook: @staceysimmonsphdInstagram: @staceysimmonsphdTikTok: @staceysimmonsphdBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan Mail Writers, are you writing about trauma and wondering how detailed to get or how to connect the dots when your story feels scattered? The solution might be a memoir in essays that allows you to write about powerful discreet moments that are loosely connected by associations. If that's you, you are in for a treat because this week on the Writing and Resilience Podcast, I'm joined by Melissa Fraterrigo, author of the Perils of Girlhood, named one of literary hub's, 100 notable small press books of 2025.During our conversation, we explore the differences between memoir and memoir and essays, how to use memory as a portal to story, and how learning to trust your reader can help you decide what to share and what to leave out. Let's dive in.  Episode Highlights6:24: The Drivers of Self-Esteem We’re Not Discussing  9:53: Understanding Memoirs in Essay versus Traditional Memoirs17:00: How to Use Memory as a Portal to Story22:15: The Secret to Treating All Characters Well24:40: Tips for Navigating Traumatic Material in Your Essay34:35: The One Unexpected Gift Writing Gives YouResources for this Episode: Identify Your Memoir’s Essential QuestionDitch Your Inner Critic Now Melissa’s Bio: Melissa Fraterrigo’s memoir, The Perils of Girlhood was published by the University of Nebraska Press in Fall 2025, and named by Literary Hub as one of “100 Notable Small Press Books of 2025.” She is also the author of the novel Glory Days (University of Nebraska Press), and the story collection The Longest Pregnancy (Livingston Press). She teaches creative writing at Purdue University and is the founder of the Lafayette Writers’ Studio in Lafayette, Indiana. Please visit melissafraterrigo.com and lafayettewritersstudio.com.Connect with Melissa: Website: melissafraterrigo.com@melissafraterrigoFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissa.fraterrigoSubstack: https://substack.com/@melissafraterrigoLafayette Writers Studio: lafayettewritersstudio.comBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailThis week, I’m joined by Wendy Dale, the author of The Memoir Engineering System, for a conversation that will change the way you think about structure, scenes, and what actually makes a memoir work. We talk about why “this happened, then this happened” isn’t a story, how connected events create momentum, and why your job as a memoirist isn’t just to show—but to transport your reader. If you’ve ever felt stuck in the messy middle, overwhelmed by pages, or unsure how to shape your lived experience into a compelling narrative, this episode is for you.Episode Highlights03:04 Wendy's Background05:50 The "This Happened Then This Happened Problem09:37 What Makes a Good Memoir12:07 The Secret to Becoming a Great Writer16:26 The Most Important Elements a Writer Must Consider26:03 What Readers Really Want 33:15 The Real Work Scenes Must DoResources for this Episode: Story Cure: A Book Doctor's Pain-Free Guide to Finishing Your Novel or Memoir by Dinty MooreSurvival Math: Notes on an All-American Family by Mitchell JacksonWhat My Bones Know by Stephanie FooIdentify Your Memoir’s Essential QuestionDitch Your Inner Critic Now Wendy’s Bio: Wendy Dale is the founder of Memoir Writing for Geniuses. She offers coaching and classes for newbies and professionals to write their memoirs using principles instead of a process of trial and error. Her memoir Avoiding Prison and Other Noble Vacation Goals was published by Three Rivers Press, a division of Penguin Random House. She is also the author of the book The Memoir Engineering System, the result of 15 years of research, which details a six-step process that allows writers to craft their memoirs from the ground up with no structural errors. Her motto is “Make your first draft your final draft.”Connect with Wendy:Website: www.geniusmemoirwriting.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@memoirwritingforgeniusesSign up for Revise Your Memoir series: https://bit.ly/4ooLTDiBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailAs we step into 2026, many writers feel ready to begin—yet remain stalled or exhausted from the year before. In this episode, I show you how to reclaim momentum through creative alignment and the one thing you must do to harness your success. We explore the three essential things every writer must do: shed limiting beliefs, build supportive habits, and set boundaries that honor who you’re becoming—so you can step into the year with clarity, sovereignty, and authentic momentum.Episode Highlights1:53: Why Your Momentum is Flagging or Lagging6:09: Shedding Unhelpful Beliefs12:33: Modifying Your Habits16:34: Evaluating Your Relationships28:10: The Most Important Practice to Cultivate in 2026Resources for this Episode: What’s Up with the Year of the Fire HorseWelcome to the Year of Fire Horse 2026: Exploring Chinese Zodiac Horse's Cultural Meanings & TraditionsWhat Are You Ready to ShedIdentify Your Memoir’s Essential QuestionDitch Your Inner Critic Now Lisa’s Bio: Lisa Cooper Ellison is an author, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of the Writing Your Resilience podcast. Working at the powerful intersection of storytelling and healing, she blends her writing expertise, clinical training, and soul-centered practices—including Akashic Records work and Human Design—to help writers turn their hardest experiences into art. Her essays—on sibling loss, grief, trauma healing, and the craft of writing—have appeared in The New York Times, HuffPost, and The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, among others.Sign up for Revise Your Memoir series:  https://bit.ly/4ooLTDiGet a taste of the series by signing up for Identify Your Memoir’s Essential QuestionBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailIn this encore conversation, author and teacher Melanie Brooks and I explore the lifelong impact of silence—within our families, our communities, and our writing lives. Drawing from her memoir, A Hard Silence, Melanie shares how unspoken truths shaped her understanding of grief, identity, and faith, and what it took to finally claim her voice on the page. Together, we discuss how silence keeps writers stuck, the power of finishing the stories that haunt us, and how narrative medicine helped her weave two complex narratives into one.Episode Highlights2:55: The pain of living with secrets5:54: Navigating anticipatory grief15:45: The transformative power of finishing your story20:00 The magic of timing and the stories we tell ourselves26:00 The influence of narrative medicine on Melanie’s story30:00 Marrying two stories into one37:00 Melanie’s best writing adviceResources for this Episode: My Family Kept My Dad's Secret For Years. I Wasn't Prepared For What Telling The Truth Would Mean.Interrogating the Cost of Silence and Finding My VoiceDitch Your Inner Critic Now Melanie’s Bio: Melanie Brooks is the author of A Hard Silence: One Daughter Remaps Family, Grief, and Faith When HIV/AIDS Changes It All (Vine Leaves Press, September 2023) and Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma (Beacon Press, 2017). She teaches professional writing at Northeastern University and creative nonfiction in the MFA program at Bay Path University in Massachusetts. She holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast writing program. She recently completed a Certificate of Narrative Medicine at Columbia University. Her work has appeared in Psychology Today, the HuffPost, Yankee Magazine, the Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, Creative Nonfiction, and other notable publications. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, two children (when they are home from college), and two Labs.Connect with Melanie:Website: melaniebrooks.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/melanie.brooks.1690Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melaniejmbrookswriterX: https://twitter.com/MelanieJMBrooksLinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/melanie-brooks-504826121Book: https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-hard-silence-one-daughter-remaps-family-grief-and-faith-when-hiv-aids-changes-it-all-melanie-brooks/20151761?ean=9783988320209Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailJoin me and Pushcart Nominee, TedX Speaker, and multi-passionate creative, Acamea Deadwiler for this encore episode where we talk about normalized violence, how our attachment styles can influence the way we approach our memoirs, and the importance of connecting with your inner compass. During our conversation, you’ll also learn what transcendental meditation is and how Acamea used her TM practice while writing her memoir, Daddy’s Little Stranger.Acamea’s bio: Acamea Deadwiler is a Pushcart Prize nominated memoirist and essayist who received praise from Publishers Weekly and authored the memoir, Daddy’s Little Stranger. Her work has appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, North American Review, and Beyond Words Literary Magazine, among other publications. Acamea’s media features include the New York Post, Cosmopolitan, Bustle, and the FOX television network. She is also a TEDx speaker. Currently residing in Nevada, Acamea is an Indiana native. She is a fellow in the MFA program at Randolph College.Resources Mentioned During This Episode:How Different Attachment Styles Affect RelationshipsWhat is Transcendental MeditationDitch Your Inner Critic NowSign Up for Revise Your Memoir Episode Highlights1:00 The Stories We Carry7:00 Dealing with Normalized Violence11:29 Choosing the Right Moments When Trauma Is High15:30 Writing About Abandonment18:00 Attachment Styles and Storytelling24:12: Essay Collections vs Memoir28:00 Writing About Bad Behavior35:19 Transcendental Meditation and Writing41:50 Connecting With Your Inner Compass43:00 Acamea’s Best Writing AdviceConnect with Acamea: Instagram - @acameaTwitter - @acamealdWebsite - acameadeadwiler.comBook - Daddyslittlestranger.comBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailJoin me and Andrea Firth for this encore episode of the writing your resilience podcast where we explore what personal essays are, how writers can uncover their essay’s aboutness, and how to develop resilient editing practices. As an added bonus, learn the inside scoop on how to get published on the Brevity Blog. Episode Highlights4:00 The Difference Between Memoir and Personal Essay7:00 Exploring the Inciting Incident for Your Essays14:00 Common Struggles Essayists Have: Aboutness21:00 The Power of the Braided Essay25:00 Resilient Editing and Workshopping34:00 Submitting to the Brevity BlogResources Mentioned During This Episode: The Beauty of a Busted Fruit by Natalie DiazSecret Words by Andrea FirthBroken Glass by Andrea FirthOld John by Andrea FirthBrevity Blog Submission GuidelinesSnot-Bubble-Cry Dance Parties that Boost Your Creativity by Lisa Cooper EllisonLooking at an Eclipse: A Braided Essay About Braided Essays by Lilly DancygerDitch Your Inner Critic Now Andrea’s Bio: Andrea A. Firth is a writer, editor and educator living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is an Editor at Brevity Blog and cofounder of Diablo Writers’ Workshop where she teaches creative writing and provides developmental editing. Andrea has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Saint Mary’s College of California. She was a finalist for The Missouri Review's 2021 Perkoff Prize in nonfiction, and her work has appeared in Dorothy Parker’s Ashes, Allium, The Coachella Review among others. Learn more about her and read her recent work at www.andreaafirth.com.Connect with Andrea: Website: https://www.andreaafirth.com/Substack: Everything Essay! with Andrea FirthInstagram: @andreaafwriterFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrea.firth.58LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreafirth/Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailJoin me and Hannah Sward, author of Strip: A Memoir, for an encore episode where we go behind the scenes of her writing process—how she wrote her first draft by hand, in one long, unfiltered sentence; how she found the courage to put her full truth on the page; and how she distilled years of experience into a memoir that moves with incredible precision and power. You’ll also learn transcription tricks, sex scene-writing tips, the unexpected doors publishing your book can open, and some somatic techniques for navigating your vulnerability.Episode Highlights4:46 Hannah’s memoir writing process10:16 Transcription tips17:47 Somatic strategies for writing vulnerable scenes, including sex scenes23:35: Placing insights into your book24:37 Tricks for writing concisely 28:57 The post-publication life of your book 34:39 Writing what’s next Resources for this Episode: “My life after meth: Learning to open and close the curtains” by Hannah Sward“The Sharp Edge of A Shell” by Hannah Sward“Making Even The Smallest Mistake Filled Me With Terror. Then 2 Little Words Changed My Life.” by Lisa Cooper EllisonDitch Your Inner Critic Now Hannah’s Bio: Hannah Sward, daughter of the late poet Robert Sward, is the IPPY Gold winning author of Strip: A Memoir. For the past 25 years, Sward’s work has been widely published in literary journals in the US, Canada, and the UK. Her most recent work can be read in the LA Times, HuffPost, The NY Times (Tiny Love Stories) and The Rumpus (Voices on Addiction). Sward is on the board at Right to Write Press, a nonprofit that supports emerging incarcerated writers. She believes strongly in good literary citizenship and is actively involved in the literary community. She lives in Los Angeles where she is working on her next book. Learn more at hannahsward.comConnect with Hannah: Website: hannahsward.comIG: @hannahswardauthorThreads: @hannahswardauthorBlueSky: summerjar.bsky.socialBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailWhat happens when you commit to showing up—again and again—for your writing life? In this special bonus recording in celebration of my 100th episode,, I reflect on ten years of creative work and the ten lessons I learned about growth, resilience, rest, and trusting your own process. If you’re questioning your path, feeling stuck, or wondering whether your effort matters, this episode will remind you why it does.Episode Highlights2:48: The Most Important Thing to Know6:04: Failing Up versus Floundering9:03: The Counterintuitive Nature of ProgressResources for this Episode: Quantity Leads to QualityGratitude Leads to GreatnessDitch Your Inner CriticRevise Your MemoirLisa’s Bio: Lisa Cooper Ellison is an author, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of the Writing Your Resilience podcast. Working at the powerful intersection of storytelling and healing, she blends her writing expertise, clinical training, and soul-centered practices—including Akashic Records work and Human Design—to help writers turn their hardest experiences into art. Her essays—on sibling loss, grief, trauma healing, and the craft of writing—have appeared in The New York Times, HuffPost, and The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, among others.Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailHave you been trying to fit your life story into the hero’s journey and find it’s just not working? What if it doesn’t fit the mold because you were never meant to be the hero, but rather you were meant to be the queen? In this 100th episode of Writing Your Resilience, I’m joined by Stacey Simmons, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Psychedelic Therapist, and author of The Queen’s Path. Together, we explore sovereignty, archetypes, and why so many women’s stories end before they ever claim their full power.Episode Highlights4:35: Understanding Sovereignty9:25: The Hero’s and Heroine’s Journey15:30: Blindness and Entering the Divide22:05: Our Curses and Marks25:15: The Dangers of the Queen’s Path31:20: Exercise: MIPEs, MISORs, and Our Commitments38:33: Sovereignty Is for Everyone41:52: Psychedelics and SovereigntyResources for this Episode: The 5 Elements of Dramatic Structure: Understanding Freytag’s PyramidDefinition of an ArchetypeStacey’s  Bio: Stacey Simmons is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Psychedelic Therapist. She is a clinical supervisor at Hope Therapy Center in Burbank, California. Her practice focuses on creative professionals, where she works primarily with writers, directors, actors, and musicians. Her research focuses on creativity, archetypes, psychedelic psychotherapy, neuroscience and consciousness research. She is a volunteer researcher with the Semel Institute of Neuroscience at UCLA, as well as a researcher with the Trance Science Research Institute in Paris, France. She holds a PhD from the University of New Orleans, and a Masters degree from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California.Connect with Stacey: Website: https://staceysimmonsphd.com/Facebook: @staceysimmonsphdInstagram: @staceysimmonsphdTikTok: @staceysimmonsphdBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailWhat if the pressure to “find the silver lining” is actually keeping you from healing?In this episode, Dr. Risa Riger and I unpack the subtle—and sometimes harmful—ways toxic optimism, avoidance, and “bouncing back” culture disconnect us from our own truth. Together, we explore what real resilience looks like, why honesty must come before hope, and how trusting your capacity to be with discomfort can transform the way you meet your life.Episode Highlights2:13: The Self-Owned Mindset3:50: The Problem with Silver Linings7:44: The Fallacy that Everything Happens for a Reason12:15: Building Self-Literacy19:11: The Unsustainability of Bouncing Back26:10: Cultivating Self-Trust Resources for this Episode: Disruptive Conversation with Acamea Deadwiler Disruptive Conversation with Dana Cohen M.D. Disrupting the Inner Critic: Writing Change and the Self-Owned Mindset with Dr. Risa RygerWriting to Heal with Laura DavisSign Up for Revise Your Memoir Dr. Ryger’s Bio: Dr. Risa Ryger is a Clinical Psychologist, International Speaker, Author, Founder of 93% Consulting, and the Creator of The Self-Owned Mindset(TM). As an Expert in Change, she knows that positive change can happen at any point. Her goal is to help women build confidence and self-trust to powerfully step forward into their lives through developing their Self-Owned Mindset.” Dr. Ryger has held clinical appointments including Professional Associate of Psychiatry at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Clinical Instructor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Cornell University Medical College. She has served as a Consulting Psychologist for Victim Services NYC and on the Advisory Council of Mindfulness Without Borders. She has presented to Microsoft, Mastercard, CitiBank, United Bonds UAE, National Alliance on Mental Illness, and Her Justice. She is a contributing author for Mind Body Green, Thrive Global, and The Female Quotient. She hosts a weekly Instagram Live Series, Disruptive Conversations with Dr. Risa Ryger, to highlight female disruptors in their fields. Her debut book on The Disruptive Self-Ownership Process(TM) is set to launch in early 2026. Dr. Ryger earned her Master of Science, Master of Philosophy, and Doctorate from Columbia University. She is the proud mother of two amazing daughters and lives in NY with her husband and two dogs, Penelope and Sammy – the dog who smiles.Connect with Dr. Ryger:  Instagram: www.instagram.com/dr.risarygerWebsite: https://www.drrisaryger.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-risa-ryger-69a47a21/Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailMany writers find themselves wrestling with experiences that fall outside linear time, logic, or the way stories are “supposed” to unfold. In this final Ask Me Anything episode of 2025, I sit down with my student Linda to talk about how to weave the spiritual, the uncanny, and the beyond-belief into memoir with clarity, groundedness, and literary intention. From magical realism to lyric memoir, we explore the craft choices that honor your truth while still guiding your readers. Episode Highlights2:24: Writing About the Spiritual and Mystical6:12: Magical Realism in Memoir11:11: Tackling the Mystical Through the Lyric MemoirResources for this Episode: Ditch Your Inner Critic NowTelling the Truth: Memoir, Myth and Magical Realism10 Lyrical Memoirs That Will Enchant YouBeloved by Toni Morrison (novel)The Warrior Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston (memoir)On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (autofiction)Craving Spring by Anne Batchelder (memoir)We The Animals by Justin Torres (autofiction)Be with Me Always by Randon Billings Noble (lyric memoir/essay collection)The Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward (lyric memoir)The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch (lyric memoir)My Name Means Fire by Atash Yaghmaian (memoir)The Queen’s Path by Stacey SimmonsLinda McKittrick’s bio: Linda is an avid rancher and gardener, former HIV/AIDS, and hospice social worker, living in the Sonoran Desert. She is currently working on a memoir. When she is not writing she enjoys seed saving, creating in the kitchen, and participating in citizen science projects for bats and fireflies.Connect with Linda: Email: [email protected] Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailHolidays can bring out the best—and the hardest—parts of being human. In this special Thanksgiving episode of Writing Your Resilience, I share stories from joyful celebrations and heartbreakingly difficult years to remind you that whatever you’re feeling today—gratitude, grief, or something in between—it’s all welcome. Together, we’ll explore how art can help us hold the complexity of the season, find meaning in the dark, and transform our experiences into something beautiful.Episode Highlights1:30: Thanksgiving Reflections: The Highs and Lows04:15: Embracing Your Feelings5:10: The Power of Art: Frida Kahlo's Inspiration7:00: Practical Advice for a Challenging Thanksgiving8:14: Gratitude and ResilienceResources for this Episode: Ditch Your Inner Critic NowFrida Kahlo’s ArtworkLisa’s Bio: Lisa Cooper Ellison is an author, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of the Writing Your Resilience podcast. Working at the powerful intersection of storytelling and healing, she blends her writing expertise, clinical training, and soul-centered practices—including Akashic Records work and Human Design—to help writers turn their hardest experiences into art. Her essays—on sibling loss, grief, trauma healing, and the craft of writing—have appeared in The New York Times, HuffPost, and The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, among others.Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailListeners, have you been struggling to pick yourself up after experiencing one—or maybe many—rejections of your work? It’s an experience that can make you feel so alone, but I want to be the first to say that we’ve all experienced the self-doubts and even shame a big rejection can create. In this week’s episode, Lynn Shattuck, Kristin Sancken and I share our personal rejection experiences, how to reframe the “no’s” you’ve received, and how to pick yourself back up when the writing life feels tough.Episode Highlights:3:12: Writing Rejection Stories12:06: Understanding the Tier of Rejection19:53: Capturing the Joy of Writing22:09: Navigating Our Disappointments36:11 What If The Work That’s Been Rejected Is Still a Yes for YouResources:Ditch Your Inner Critic NowThe Art of Intimacy: Crafting Connection in Memoir and Essay with Lilly Dancyger Giving Up on Giving UpHow To Read Between The Lines of Your RejectionsWhat Is Polyvagal TheoryThe Emotional Freedom TechniqueThe Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, edited by Lynn Shattuck and Alyson Shelton“Half-Life” by Lisa Cooper Ellison, published in The Kenyon ReviewKristin’s Bio: Kristin Thomas Sancken was born in Panama, raised in Mexico, and came of age in Minnesota before settling in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she lives with her husband, two children, and an exuberant Golden Retriever. Her writing has earned numerous awards and appeared in publications including The Guardian, HuffPost, and Columbia Journal. Lynn’s Bio: Lynn Shattuck writes on topics like grief, parenting and mental health. She was a columnist at Elephant Journal for ten years, where several of her essays on the topic of grief and sibling loss and parenting went viral. Lynn co-founded the website lossofalifetime.com, a hub of resources and community for those who’ve experienced sibling loss. She co-edited the essay collection, The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, which was released in June of 2025.Connect with Kristin: http://www.sancken.com/Instagram & Threads: @ktsancken_writerConnect with Lynn: www.lossofalifetime.com, www.lynnlshattuck.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064888772287Instagram: @lynn_shattuckBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailIf you’ve ever sat down to meditate—especially at a writing retreat—and thought, “I suck at this,” this episode is for you. In this solo conversation, I unpack five common myths about meditation that leave writers feeling frustrated, ashamed, or “bad” at being still. From the belief that you must stop thinking to the idea that meditation has to happen on a cushion with your eyes closed, I gently dismantle the misconceptions keeping you from finding your calm–including the fact that sometimes meditation isn’t good for you. Episode Highlights3:15: What Meditation Really Is6:54: Why You’ve Been Told to Meditate8:48: Two Reasons We Believe We Suck at Meditation9:14: Myth One: The Goal of Meditation is to Stop Thinking13:12: Myth Two: Meditation Takes a Long Time16:36: Myth Three: I Have to Do Something Special17:51: Myth Four: You Have to Sit to Mediate20:24: Myth Five: Meditation is Always Good for YouResources for this Episode: The Power of Writing RitualsSoles of the Feet MeditationVipassana meditationPeace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat HanhInsight TimerLisa’s Bio: Lisa Cooper Ellison is an author, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of the Writing Your Resilience podcast. Working at the powerful intersection of storytelling and healing, she blends her writing expertise, clinical training, and soul-centered practices—including Akashic Records work and Human Design—to help writers turn their hardest experiences into art. Her essays—on sibling loss, grief, trauma healing, and the craft of writing—have appeared in The New York Times, HuffPost, and The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, among others.Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailListeners, what role does the body play in your book? Is it something you use to show the story—or is it the portal to the story itself? In this episode, I talk with Nina Lichtenstein, author of Body, My Life in Parts, a memoir in essays that uses the body as both structure and storyteller. Together, Nina and I explore how writing through the body can deepen our understanding of self, belonging, and resilience. As we prepare for this enlivening conversation, I invite you to take a deep breath, wiggle your toes and get ready for a conversation about what it means to write—and live—in a body. Let’s jump in.Episode Highlights2:00: The Power of Writing in Response to Body Parts8:15: Tips for Crafting a Strong Live Reading9:53: The Skin We Have in Our Stories13:48: Navigating Time and Revelation in Essay Writing21:29: Dealing with Tender Material28:25: Navigating a Book LaunchResources for this Episode: Lucille Clifton’s poem “Homage to My Hips”“On Blurbs That Matter and How I Did It.” by Nina Lichtenstein“Skin in the Game” by Nina LichtensteinNina’s Bio: Nina is a native of Oslo, Norway, now living in Maine. She holds a PhD in French literature from UCONN, an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine, and is a “recovering academic.” Her writing has appeared in Tablet Magazine, Kveller, Brevity Blog, Lilith Magazine, The Washington Post, HuffPost, and AARP, among other places. She has blogged as The Viking Jewess (since 2014) now on Substack. Her work has been anthologized and her book, Sephardic Women's Voices: Out of North Africa was published in 2017. Nina is the founder and director of Maine Writers Studio and co-founder/co-editor of In a Flash Literary Magazine. She has three grown Viking Jew sons, all over 6'4" tall with the middle names Thor, Balder, and Odin. She has gleefully discovered pickleball, loves to kayak and hike, and does yoga to calm her monkey mind.Connect with Nina: https://www.mainewritersstudio.com/https://www.ninalichtenstein.com/https://ninablichtenstein.substack.com/https://www.instagram.com/vikingjewess/https://www.facebook.com/ninalich/https://inaflashlitmag.substack.com/Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailHave you ever wondered how a single moment—a glance, a mistake, a shimmering flash of memory—can hold the power of an entire story? Or how the smallest details of an ordinary life can reveal something vast about who we are and what we long for? In this episode, I talk with award-winning author Sue William Silverman about her newest book, Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader. Together, we explore the art of flash nonfiction—those short, revelatory pieces that illuminate our obsessions and turn ordinary moments into profound reflections on love, loss, and self-forgiveness.Episode Highlights3:35: Why Title This Selected Misdemeanors6:36:Playing with Unifying Devices in Your Books 11:18: Understanding Flash Nonfiction16:20: Creating Alternative Essay Constructions 22:10: Finding Specificity and Moving Away from Abstraction 30:43: Sue’s Writing Advice for Surviving 2025 and BeyondResources for this Episode: About Finding Your Voice and Crafting Stories that Ignite the Soul with Sue William SilvermanAcetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul by Sue William SilvermanSue’s Bio: Sue William Silverman is an award-winning author of nine works of nonfiction and poetry. Her new book, "Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader," is a collection of flash essays. Her book on the craft of writing, "Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul," won the 2024 IPPY Silver Award. Her memoir-in-essays collection, "How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences," won the gold star in Foreword Reviews INDIE Book of the Year Award. Other works include "Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction," made into a Lifetime TV movie; "Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You," which won the AWP Award; and "The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew." She’s co-chair of the MFA in Writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her media appearances include The View, Anderson Cooper-360, and PBS Books.Connect with Sue: Website: www.SueWilliamSilverman.comFacebook: @SueWilliamSilvermanInstagram: @suewilliamsilvermanBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailToday, we’re diving into a topic that trips up so many writers—vulnerability. How much should you share? When does honest writing become oversharing? And why does your most powerful work sometimes feel like it completely sucks? If you’ve ever been told your story isn’t raw enough—or that it’s too raw—you’re not alone. In this episode, I’ll break down the two extremes writers fall into, share a framework for finding the right kind of vulnerability, and show you how to use uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure to create stories that feel true, resonant, and safe for both you and your readers.Episode Highlights2:32: Defining Vulnerability3:54: Uncertainty, Risk and Emotional Exposure in Storytelling5:24: When Your Work Isn’t Vulnerable Enough7:03: Crafting Compelling Scenes 8:15 When Your Writing Is Too Raw 10:56: What Do Your Readers Really Want15:00: The Most Important Question to Ask Yourself 18:11: The Secret Reason You Think Your Writing SucksResources for this Episode: The Fawning Trauma Response with Ingrid Clayton Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailThis week, we’re kicking off a new Editors’ Roundtable segment on the podcast, where I dig into key writing issues with the two trauma-informed editors I’m training—Kristin Sancken and Lynn Shattuck. In our first conversation, we explore metaphors—what they are, how to craft them, and how to recognize the ones that truly sing on the page. Let’s dive in.Episode Highlights5:23: What Is a Metaphor7:15: Exercises For Creating Metaphors9:40: Metaphors We Love (or Hate)18:00: Our Writing Strategies23:57: Discovering What Works32:00 Navigating the Metaphor of HomeResources for this Episode: Sanctuary of the Holy Others Substack by Kristin SanckenOxygen: A Parlor Trick by Kristin Sancken (see page 19)Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope edited by Lynn L. Shattuck and Alyson SheltonWhy I Rang the Cancer Bell by Lynn ShattuckThe Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan KamaliGroup: How One Therapist and A Circle of Strangers Saved My Life by Christie TateOur Double Time by Michael O’SiadhailEssay on Creating Hermit Crab Essays by Randon Billings NobleDitch Your Inner Critic Now MasterclassKristin’s Bio: Kristin Thomas Sancken was born in Panama, raised in Mexico, and came of age in Minnesota before settling in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she lives with her husband, two children, and an exuberant Golden Retriever. Her writing has earned numerous awards and appeared in publications including The Guardian, HuffPost, and Columbia Journal. You can find more of her writing at her Substack, Sanctuary of the Holy Others.Lynn’s Bio: Lynn Shattuck writes on topics like grief, parenting and mental health. She was a columnist at Elephant Journal for ten years, where several of her essays on the topic of grief and sibling loss and parenting went viral. Lynn co-founded the website lossofalifetime.com, a hub of resources and community for those who’ve experienced sibling loss. She co-edited the essay collection, The Loss of a Lifetime: Grieving Siblings Share Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope, which was released in June of 2025.Connect with Kristin: http://www.sancken.com/Instagram: @ktsancken_writerThreads: @ktsancken_writerConnect with Lynn: www.lossofalifetime.comwww.lynnlshattuck.com FacebookInstagram: @lynn_shattuckBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailWhich memories shimmer inside you? Which ones refuse to let you go? Those luminous, haunting moments are often the raw ingredients of the story you’re truly meant to tell. In this episode of Writing Your Resilience, I sit down with newsletter follower and memoirist Marianna Marlowe, author of A Portrait of a Feminist as she shares how she used shimmering memories to craft her memoir-in-essays that explores memory and identity through a feminist lens. Together, we talk about her writing process, what feminism really means, how to write from a feminist perspective, and the surprising ways feminist self-care shows up in a writer’s life.Episode Highlights2:20: Writing as Both Pleasure and Contribution 11:17: Constructing a Memoir-in-Essays Through a Feminist Lens15:21: The Role of Identity in Storytelling17:58: The Power of the Gaze23:00: The Difference Between Memoir and Academic Writing 28:37: Feminist Self-Care Resources for this Episode: Safekeeping by Abigail ThomasShimmering Images: A Handy Little Guide to Writing Memoir by Lisa Dale NortonWhat They Don’t Tell You About Menopause with Dr. Mary Claire Haver on The Marie Forleo podcast Buy Portrait of a FeministMarianna’s Bio: Marianna Marlowe is a Latina writer who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. After devoting years to academic writing, her focus now is creative nonfiction that explores issues of gender identity, feminism, cultural hybridity, intersectionality, and more Her short memoir has been published in Narrative, Hippocampus, The Woven Tale Press, Eclectica, Sukoon, and The Acentos Review, among others. She’s the author of Portrait of a Feminist and Portrait of a Mestiza, which will be published in March, 2026.Connect with Marianna: Facebook: marianna.marloweInstagram: mariannamarlowe_memoirWebsite: mariannamarlowe.comBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailHave you ever wondered what it really means to grieve a friend—someone dazzling, flawed, and deeply loved? Or how laughter, silence, and even text messages can become part of the story we tell about those we’ve lost?In today’s episode of Writing Your Resilience, I talk with writer Eirinie Carson about her breathtaking debut memoir The Dead Are Gods and her forthcoming novel Bloodfire, Baby. Together, we explore how writing can both preserve and transform our grief, why it’s so important to show loved ones in their full humanity, and what it means to let go of a story that once felt like holding on to the person themselves. Plus, Eirinie will share one of the most surprising things she learned about how we structure a book and the conversations it encourages as well as what gets silenced. Episode Highlights2:50: The Power of Capturing Your Memories4:15: Writing for an Audience8:30: Holding Space for Your Experiences11:26: The Challenges of Releasing a Grief Memoir 21:00: The Relationship Between Laughter and Grief 25:00: How Your Book’s Structure Impacts the Way You Market It Resources for this Episode: Preorder Bloodfire, BabySkunk AnansieEirinie’s Bio: Eirinie Carson is a Black British writer living in California. She is a mother of two children and sits on the board of The Writers Grotto in San Francisco. Her work has appeared in LitHub, Mother Magazine, The Notre Dame Review, Mortal Mag, Electric Literature, The Sonora Review and others.  She was the NEA Distinguished Fellow at the Hambidge Center, and she and her work have been supported by Mesa Refuge, Hedgebrook and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Eirinie's first book, The Dead Are Gods (Melville House, 2023), was critically acclaimed by Oprah Daily, Nylon Magazine, Shondaland and The Washington Post as well as winning a Zibby Award. It was also named one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2023.Connect with Eirinie:Website: www.eiriniecarson.comInstagram: @eirinieeeeBluesky: @eirinieee.bsky.socialTiktok: @eirinieeeeBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailHave you ever wondered if what you’re doing is truly aligned with your soul’s purpose? Or maybe you’ve had that nagging feeling that something’s off—that you’re not quite on the right track. How do you know when it’s time to stay the course, and when it’s time to pivot so you can do more of what you love and let go of what no longer serves you? In today’s very personal episode of Writing Your Resilience, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my own writing and business life to share the pivot strategy to better align my business and claim more of my writing time.  Episode Highlights3:00: Heeding Your Inner Call8:00: Identifying Your Guiding Principles 18:54: Crafting Your Symbol and Tagline 21:54: Clarifying Your Why and How33:00: Conquering Your (My) Greatest Fear Resources for this Episode: Check Out My New Website“3 Ways I’m Gently Reinventing My Work Right Now” on Off the Grid with Amelia HrubyBuy Your Attention Is Sacred Except On Social MediaBuilding a Writing Career Without Social Media with Amelia HrubyUsing Human Design to Break Through Writing Blocks with Maha MamishLeaning into the Mystery of Our Stories with Brett Will TaylorThe Legend of the PhoenixMindy at Fairy Tale Social A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings The Part that Burns by Jeannine Ouellette Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailThis week, we’re talking about something our culture often dismisses but your writing life desperately needs: rest. In this episode, I’ll share why rest matters, how you can create more of it—even when life feels full—and the surprising lessons I learned during my own summer break. Grab your pen and notebook and get ready to explore the radical power of doing less.Episode Highlights1:26: Why I Decided to Take a Month Off5:30: Connecting with Your Inner Compass10:23: The 3 S’s of Rest 15:23: Why Doing Less Can Lead to More 18:15: My Biggest Takeaways21:44 Three Ways to Capture Your Best Ideas Resources for this Episode: Learn about Marie ForleoTips for Improving Your Sleep HygieneJulia Cameron on the Benefit of Morning Pages Do You Need a Rest Before You Rest by Tia LevingsBuilding Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan MailHave you been told you’re a people pleaser or found yourself saying yes when you meant no, without even thinking about it? Have a friend who struggles to express their feelings or share their preferences? If so, you might have encountered the fawning trauma response. Join me and Ingrid Clayton, author of Fawning, and the memoir Believing Me, as we unpack the misconceptions regarding this trauma response, share our experience, strength, and hope, and show you how to join the unfawning revolution she’s spearheading with her new book. Episode Highlights1:30: The Fawning Trauma Response5:51: The Problem of Co-dependence10:04: Complex Trauma’s Impact on Our Nervous Systems12:50: Fawning’s Influence on Writing 22:29: The Energetic Signature of Your Book28:45: The Unfawning Process43:45: The Role of Tears Resources for this Episode: What is the Fawning Trauma Response by Ingrid Clayton How to Stop Gaslighting Yourself with Ingrid ClaytonBelieving Me by Ingrid ClaytonIngrid’s Bio: While Ingrid has a clinical background, she believes there is no theory, diagnosis, or therapy that can replace the power of shared experience. Her memoir, Believing Me, is written from the heart, where all our hurt lives—so it speaks the same language. In addition to raising her beautiful son, Ingrid believes that gaining the courage to write Believing Me is her greatest achievement to date. Her latest book, Fawning, addresses an often-overlooked piece of the fight-flight-freeze reaction to trauma—explaining what it is, why it happens, and how to help survivors regain their voice and sense of self. Connect with Ingrid: Website: https://www.ingridclayton.com/Instagram and YouTube: @IngridClaytonPhDGet a free copy of her PDF on the fawning response: https://www.ingridclayton.com/fawningtraumaresponseGet a copy of Believing Me: https://www.ingridclayton.com/booksOrder your copy of Fawning now: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/779579/fawning-by-dr-ingrid-clayton/ Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedInProduced by Espresso Podcast Production