Hungry Authors

77. Embracing the Gift in Spiritual Memoir with Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew


Listen Later

Our writing is a gift – both to ourselves and others. That’s what Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew teaches, and we loved getting to explore these ideas in this week’s episode! In this wide-ranging conversation about spiritual memoir, we cover:

  • Balancing marketability with honoring the complexity and authenticity of our experience
  • The author’s “horseshoe” relationship with the reader in memoir
  • Staying faithful to the gifts that you receive—and that you give—in your writing
  • Does not finishing really mean failing at our book?
  • Loving your writing for its own sake, not for what it “does”
  • Links mentioned:

    • Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie TED Talk: “The Danger of a Single Story
    • Dolly Alderton’s memoir, Everything I Know About Love 
    • Amy Poehler’s memoir, Yes, Please!
    • Lewis Hyde’s book, The Gift
    • https://www.elizabethjarrettandrew.com/ 
    • The Eye of the Heart Center Writing Community – “The Gifts of Writing” Course
    • Get Elizabeth’s book, The Release
    • Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew is the author of Swinging on the Garden Gate: A Memoir of Bisexuality & Spirit, now in its second edition; the novel Hannah, Delivered; a collection of personal essays, On the Threshold:  Home, Hardwood, and Holiness; the chapbook, A Map to Mercy, due out in 2025; and three books on writing: Writing the Sacred Journey:  The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir; Living Revision: A Writer’s Craft as Spiritual Practice, winner of the silver Nautilus Award; and The Release: Finding Creativity and Freedom After the Writing is Done.  She is a founding member of The Eye of the Heart Center for Creative Contemplation, where she teaches writing as a transformational practice and hosts an online writing community.  She is a recipient of two Minnesota State Arts Board artists’ fellowships, the Loft Career Initiative Grant, and is a Minnesota Book Awards finalist.  She lives in Minneapolis with her wife, daughter, and two rambunctious cats.  You can learn more about Elizabeth at www.elizabethjarrettandrew.com and www.spiritualmemoir.com.

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store

      Hungry AuthorsBy Ariel Curry & Liz Morrow

      • 5
      • 5
      • 5
      • 5
      • 5

      5

      34 ratings


      More shows like Hungry Authors

      View all
      The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers by Joanna Penn

      The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers

      608 Listeners

      Helping Writers Become Authors by K.M. Weiland

      Helping Writers Become Authors

      963 Listeners

      The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience by Kelton Reid

      The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

      207 Listeners

      Writing Excuses by Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler

      Writing Excuses

      1,284 Listeners

      The Lazy Genius Podcast by Kendra, The Lazy Genius

      The Lazy Genius Podcast

      6,004 Listeners

      The Next Right Thing by with Emily P. Freeman

      The Next Right Thing

      5,424 Listeners

      Writer's Routine by Dan Simpson

      Writer's Routine

      292 Listeners

      Worklife with Adam Grant by TED

      Worklife with Adam Grant

      9,235 Listeners

      Chasing Life by CNN

      Chasing Life

      8,169 Listeners

      Fiction Writing Made Easy by Savannah Gilbo

      Fiction Writing Made Easy

      1,365 Listeners

      Best Laid Plans by Sarah Hart-Unger

      Best Laid Plans

      745 Listeners

      The Shit No One Tells You About Writing by Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra

      The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

      686 Listeners

      We Can Do Hard Things by Glennon Doyle and Audacy

      We Can Do Hard Things

      40,873 Listeners

      Essential Guide to Writing a Novel by James Thayer

      Essential Guide to Writing a Novel

      345 Listeners

      The Jamie Kern Lima Show by Jamie Kern Lima

      The Jamie Kern Lima Show

      2,316 Listeners