By Amy Hallberg
5
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The podcast currently has 101 episodes available.
From Amy: I had hopes of my audiobook being one thing, and instead it's another. It's my memoir on coming to deeper awareness of the role I play in my homeland, inside institutions, and how I couldn't stay there, and how I let myself wander and grieve. Anyway, I've said it before and I'll say it again. A book comes into the world in exactly the timing it wants to. The paperback came out on April 21, 2023.
This audiobook wanted to come into the world on November 22, 2024.
Listening to it in this light, I've thanked my former self for writing her story. It contains many things perfectly timed for this time, in ways that I could not have anticipated them landing so fully.
And so although I had already agreed with K.O. Myers that I would share this Foreword and another chapter coming out as podcast episodes to celebrate the release of Tiny Altars, the audiobook, I had no idea how to introduce them until Election Day had come and gone. There are many takeaways and many ways to proceed, too many to list here, especially since my book is not about politics but the context of one woman's life, specifically mine. The takeaway I unpack in this introduction is the one that Tiny Altars has been pointing me to for several years now, as a white Minnesota woman born into a mainstream Christian Protestant tradition. It's the message contained in this Foreword:
It's time to tell your story and stop counting on others (more interesting or worthy) to give you permission.
This Foreword is the frame for my book. Every story has one. Don't forget it. Thanks for listening.
Let me also introduce you to K.O. Myers, the producer of this episode and my Tiny Altars audiobook.
K.O. Myers is the founder an lead editor of Particulate Media, a full-service audio production company that helps podcasters and audiobook presenters sound more professional without sacrificing their authenticity.
https://particulatemedia.com
https://www.facebook.com/particulatemedia
https://genvexed.bsky.social
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and creative mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
From Amy: I have been a fan of Linda's gorgeous imagery ever since I met her in an online writing forum. At the time, we were both publishing our books with birds on the cover. The thing about poetry is, sometimes, especially at a moment like now—one week out from pivotal presidential elections in the United States—where the rhetoric has gotten QUITE LOUD, and it's already been a LOUD nearly-decade, our nervous systems need a break. We need soothing words that speak to our humanity. And so this episode is intentionally timed for right now... Beyond that, I love talking with Linda about how she works her magic, and I suspect you will love to hear what she says too.
Linda Flaherty Haltmaier is an award-winning author and the Poet Laureate Emeritus of Andover, MA. Named the winner of the Robert Frost Poetry Prize, she is known for her “sensational imagery, her deft ear for the music of language, and her emotional sonar for sounding the depths of love (and anger).” Her new collection, Shadows Set to Burn, was recently honored with the 2024 International Book Award for Narrative Poetry. Her debut collection, Rolling up the Sky, claimed the Homebound Publications Poetry Prize and her follow-up, To the Left of the Sun, was the winner of the American Bookfest Award for Poetry. Additional accolades include winning the JuxtaProse Poetry Prize and the Palm Beach Poetry Festival Competition, as well as Finalist honors for the Princemere Poetry Prize, the New Millennium Award for Poetry, the Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize, the Tucson Festival of the Book Literary Award, and more. Nominated for four Pushcart Prizes, Linda’s work has been featured widely in journals and anthologies. A graduate of Harvard, Linda leads poetry workshops, gives readings, and promotes poetry on the North Shore of Boston where she lives with her husband and daughter.
https://www.instagram.com/linda.thepoet/
Buy Linda's book here & write a review
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and creative mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
From Amy: I met Sonya at a Minneapolis bookstore, where she was reading from her latest collection of essays. Her writing voice is engaging. But it's the multiplicity of roles she occupies as a writer that fascinates me: from established professor of creative writing and published author, to her embrace of various voices still waiting to be released. For the people in my audience who long to write but feel constricted by "what's permitted," this conversation just may feel freeing.
We end with three promising writing prompts to try for yourself.
Sonya Huber is the author of eight books, including the new essay collection, Love and Industry: A Midwestern Workbook as well as the writing guide, Voice First: A Writer’s Manifesto, and an award-winning essay collection on chronic pain, Pain Woman Takes Your Keys and Other Essays from a Nervous System. Her other books include the Supremely Tiny Acts: A Memoir in a Day, Opa Nobody, Cover Me: A Health Insurance Memoir, and The Backwards Research Guide for Writers. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Brevity, Creative Nonfiction, The Atlantic, The Guardian, and other outlets. She teaches at Fairfield University and in the Fairfield low-residency MFA program.
www.sonyahuber.com
https://www.instagram.com/sonyahuber/
The What Happened Project
The Three Words That Almost Ruined Me As A Writer: Show, Don't Tell
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and creative mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
From Amy: Gin Hammond is a friend of a friend, and when I heard about Returning the Bones, Gin's fictionalized account of her beloved Aunt Bebe, I very much wanted to talk with her. Gin had one request: that we release it before elections because this book's themes are so timely. Twenty days out from Election Day, that's what I'm doing. I highly recommend the audiobook.
1946. Bebe Hammond, a shy bookworm with a wild imagination yearns to find her own voice in the world, but is held captive by the expectations of her family and the realities of the Jim Crow south. When faced with an odds-defying opportunity, does she risk her life in the fight for Civil Rights, or abandon her home, and fiancé, and flee to Paris to live a life she's always dreamed of? Returning the Bones is a novel that will transport you through many miles, perspectives, and epiphanies.
Gin Hammond is an award-winning Harvard University/Moscow Art Theatre graduate, as well as an actor, writer, director, and has performed onstage both nationally and internationally. A certified teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework ®, Gin teaches voice and speech, public speaking, voice-over, and accents and dialect. Gin received a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for The Syringa Tree and NEA grants for multiple plays. She is also co-founder of the Meditations for Actors mobile app. Her book, Returning the Bones, is a National Indies Excellence Finalist and a Gold Winning INDIES Book of the Year winner.
www.returningthebones.com
www.instagram.com/returningthebones
www.instagram.com/livingincognegromovie/
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and creative mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
From Amy: Terry Newby and I met in the spring of 2023 and found resonance between our writing that led us to trade books. We wanted to explore what it was to write about real people related to us, Terry in historical fiction and plays, me in creative nonfiction, specifically memoir. This is the third and final episode that resulted from that conversation. While Terry and I write different genres, the fact remains that we're writing around similar troublesome themes in American history, a history that is very much still playing out in modern-day patterns. We simply come to our understandings from different vantage points. Mine came through a longtime study of German literature as a lens on challenges closer to home, and I talk about that narrative path. But it wasn't until I read Isabel Wilkerson's Caste that I finally had a name for what I've seen all along in my homeland.
Terrance C. Newby is an attorney, novelist, and playwright based in St. Paul, Minnesota. His plays The Cage, The Body Politic, Reunion Forever, and The Piano Teacher have been professionally staged in Twin Cities theaters.
Terry's novel, Dangerfield's Promise, was published in April 2022, and has received five-star reviews from the Seattle Book Review, Manhattan Book Review, Chicago Book Review, and the Midwest Book Review, among others. Terry is currently working on a sequel to Dangerfield's Promise.
Terry's LinkedIn
Terry has two upcoming plays being staged. See you there?
Little Rock 1942: The true story of a civil rights lawsuit that brought Thurgood Marshall to St. Paul, and led to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision
October 3 & 4, 7 pm | October 5, 2 pm, 2024. Landmark Center, St. Paul, MN.
https://www.landmarkcenter.org/history-play/
Our Dearest Friends (the second play of the night)
Thu, Nov 21, 2024 7:00 PM Sun, Nov 24, 2024 2:00 PM. The Hive Collaborative, St. Paul, MN.
https://www.thehivecollaborativemn.com/events/a-woman-over-forty
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and creative mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
From Amy: Terry Newby and I met in the spring of 2023 and found resonance between our writing that led us to trade books. We wanted to explore what it was to write about real people related to us, Terry in historical fiction and plays, me in creative nonfiction, specifically memoir. This is the second of three episodes that resulted from that conversation. While Terry writes about real people using fiction to convey larger truths, he wondered what it's like when the people I write about are real people, and my contract with a reader of creative nonfiction says that anything I write about has to have happened. The very fact that I'm writing about any events or relationship already tells you that everything wasn't simply perfect. (Because... boring.) How we treat real people in writing is a question I regularly navigate with writers. Terry and I talk about how I navigate that in my work.
Terrance C. Newby is an attorney, novelist, and playwright based in St. Paul, Minnesota. His plays The Cage, The Body Politic, Reunion Forever, and The Piano Teacher have been professionally staged in Twin Cities theaters.
Terry's novel, Dangerfield's Promise, was published in April 2022, and has received five-star reviews from the Seattle Book Review, Manhattan Book Review, Chicago Book Review, and the Midwest Book Review, among others. Terry is currently working on a sequel to Dangerfield's Promise.
Terry's LinkedIn
Terry has two upcoming plays being staged. See you there?
Little Rock 1942: The true story of a civil rights lawsuit that brought Thurgood Marshall to St. Paul, and led to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision
October 3 & 4, 7 pm | October 5, 2 pm, 2024. Landmark Center, St. Paul, MN.
https://www.landmarkcenter.org/history-play/
Our Dearest Friends (the second play of the night)
Thu, Nov 21, 2024 7:00 PM Sun, Nov 24, 2024 2:00 PM. The Hive Collaborative, St. Paul, MN.
https://www.thehivecollaborativemn.com/events/a-woman-over-forty
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and creative mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
From Amy: Terry Newby and I met in the spring of 2023 and found resonance between our writing that led us to trade books. We wanted to explore what it was to write about real people related to us, Terry in historical fiction and plays, me in creative nonfiction, specifically memoir. This is the first of three episodes that resulted from that conversation. In Terry's case, the relative was Dangerfield Newby, a newly-emancipated black Virginian determined to buy his wife and children out of slavery, and the first of John Brown's men to be killed in the ill-fated raid on Harper's Ferry. Dangerfield's modern counterpoint is fictitious surgeon Michael Turner, who becomes a surrogate for Terry in tracking his ancestor Dangerfield's path. Through this novel, Terry brought historical circumstances to life for me on many levels, and I'm excited to share our discussion.
Terrance C. Newby is an attorney, novelist, and playwright based in St. Paul, Minnesota. His plays The Cage, The Body Politic, Reunion Forever, and The Piano Teacher have been professionally staged in Twin Cities theaters.
Terry's novel, Dangerfield's Promise, was published in April 2022, and has received five-star reviews from the Seattle Book Review, Manhattan Book Review, Chicago Book Review, and the Midwest Book Review, among others. Terry is currently working on a sequel to Dangerfield's Promise.
Terry's LinkedIn
Terry has two upcoming plays being staged. See you there?
Little Rock 1942: The true story of a civil rights lawsuit that brought Thurgood Marshall to St. Paul, and led to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision
October 3 & 4, 7 pm | October 5, 2 pm, 2024. Landmark Center, St. Paul, MN.
https://www.landmarkcenter.org/history-play/
Our Dearest Friends (the second play of the night)
Thu, Nov 21, 2024 7:00 PM Sun, Nov 24, 2024 2:00 PM. The Hive Collaborative, St. Paul, MN.
https://www.thehivecollaborativemn.com/events/a-woman-over-forty
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and creative mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
A note from Amy about this excerpt from Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival
Every book, like every child, seems to arrive in its own divine timing and have its own significant birthday, and this is especially true for this memoir of history witnessed in real time. Because I had abruptly ended my teaching career midyear, I was available to be an up-close observer of a remarkable period in America, as a longtime student of 20th century German literature and film.
And that's just a taste of my curriculum vitae.
I always intended to release an audiobook of Tiny Altars, originally published in paperback and ebook in April 21, 2023. (On the anniversary of Prince's passing, a significant event in my book and for Minnesotans. Among other reasons.) For whatever reason, this audiobook production didn't align until early 2024. As in, it steadfastly refused to get going—until it did. All year, I've slowly but surely recorded and listened to every chapter, bringing this version to life, in collaboration with K.O. Myers at Particulate Media.
Recently, K.O. and I have been weighing which chapters I'd like to excerpt here first, on my podcast.
As I've revisited my own words aloud, it has fascinated me to recognize JUST HOW TIMELY AND RELEVANT this book has become in the summer of 2024. So much so that when my beloved Joe Biden (I saw him speak in Minneapolis when he was campaigning for Barack Obama's second term) stepped down from his candidacy for reelection as President of the United States, passing the torch to Kamala Harris, we both knew this was the section for me to start with. K.O. set about producing the episode for me.
That was even before my beloved Minnesota Governor Tim Walz joined the ticket. You won't see his name in my book. It's too late to add him to this episode. But he's in it. Along with this, our Minnesota Nice culture, once again in the world's spotlight.
Yesterday Kamala and Tim accepted the nomination, and it occurred to me that today, the third day of the DNC in Chicago, is exactly the right day to release this episode. Two notes on its content: My book is about finding personal responsibility and freedom in my American homeland, and this chapter is about my personal and political lineage.
I do mention two characters. My aunt "Vivian" and my paternal grandmother "Doris" are significant elders to me.
I believe that Tiny Altars, my audiobook, will premiere on October 3, 2025—leading up to the election.
But we'll see!
Thanks for listening now.
Love, Amy
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and creative mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
Amy chats with Erica Jones about embodied writing. They discuss the healing process through writing, and how their collaboration brings together their unique expertise in writing and somatic nervous system work. In particular, Erica shares her journey of processing trauma through storytelling.
NOTE from Amy: In this episode, Erica and I talk about a book and an upcoming writing retreat. We originally thought the retreat might happen this fall, but if you listen to the episode, it's clear that our bodies know this timeline is fluid. We'll keep you posted.
Erica Jones is a Transformational Coach, Multidimensional Healer, Musician, Author, and Mystic. A passionate explorer and voracious researcher, Erica lives in the intersection between science and spirituality. Her practical, evidence-based approach is a blend of 22 years of professional training and experience, inspired by her living connection with spirit. Clients call her the goddess of understanding, she has a keen ability to translate the wonders of the world, the wisdom of the body, and the whispers of the soul into actionable, aligned steps towards a life of passion and purpose. Erica’s background as a massage therapist, health educator, bodywork practitioner, sound healer, somatic practitioner, trauma-informed coach, podcast host, author, and retreat leader has helped clients around the United States, ranging from Olympic athletes, CEOs, directors of nonprofits, and community leaders, with a focus on helping high-performing women to come home to the themselves and experience feeling welle, within.
Erica's Substack
https://www.instagram.com/wellewithin
https://open.substack.com/pub/wellewithin
https://m.facebook.com/wellewithin/
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and creative mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
In this episode of Courageous Wordsmith, author and story coach Amy Hallberg reflects on her personal and professional journey over the past year, marked by the decision to re-center her business and hire a virtual assistant, Brooke Roy.
Amy discusses the importance of finding collaborative partners, learning from missteps, and understanding her own creative and working style through the lens of Human Design. The episode features a candid conversation with Brooke about her life-changing trip to Egypt and its metaphoric significance in their working relationship and creative process.
The episode underscores the necessity of support, authenticity, and courage in embodying one's voice.
Brooke Roy, is a virtual assistant and medical intuitive. She is a Reiki Master and has been on this journey of self-exploration and wellness for almost 20 years. She believes we can help our over health by being aware of our emotions and surroundings. Brooke's passion is providing people with insights through her medical intuitive readings. You can find Brooke on FB & IG.
Schedule a Medical Intuitive Reading
Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and creative mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.
Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers
Work with Amy 1:1
The podcast currently has 101 episodes available.