Memoir Body, Healing Story with Janelle Hardy

In this episode, I tell a tale. The Frog King. Sit back and enjoy having a story told to you.

Let your body and your soul soak up the essence of the story magic and medicine.

After the story I share some memoir-writing and transformational healing prompts if you'd like to work with the story magic, apply it to your own life stories, and see where it takes you.

It's episode #113 and I'm chatting with Verónica Márquez, a researcher, somatic facilitator and the Founder of Between Us - a global community that explores and teaches how to turn sensitive topics and conversations into opportunities for growth and deeper connection.

I first met Vero in a women's leadership circle, and was really struck by her steady, gentle but determined nature. "What a marvelous woman!" I thought. And, I was a little envious - she was facilitating dinner parties with depth, with strangers, in a way that I'd often dreamed of starting, but hadn't had the courage to initiate.

So, I invited her to have a one-on-one friends conversation, and enjoyed it so much I invited her on the podcast.

Here's a little more about Vero and her work:

Each month, Between Us explores a different theme through intimate gatherings worldwide. At the end of the month, all the facilitators share what they learned on that topic, and then write an article with the key insights. So far, they have facilitated close to 500 gatherings in almost 40 cities worldwide. They are currently writing their first book.

Verónica teaches "confident and compassionate" communication trainings and also facilitates conversations on highly sensitive topics such as abortion and politics – where she brings people with different views to truly listen to one another.

Prior to this work, Verónica spent over a decade working as a qualitative researcher where she traveled the world talking to people about all kinds of different topics - from understanding the financial needs of ultra high net-worth individuals in Singapore to uncovering what prevents diabetic patients in Toronto from taking their medication.

She holds an M.A. in Marketing Communications and is trained in executive coaching, neuro-linguistics programming, Gabor Maté's Compassionate Inquiry, Reiki, and meditation.

She is originally from Venezuela (3/4 European and 1/4 indigenous roots) and now lives in Miami with her two kids and English husband.

It was so lovely to connect with Verónica, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in.

Website: https://everythingbetweenus.com

Learn our global insights from 500 gatherings across 37 complex topics: https://everythingbetweenus.com/journal

Confident and Compassionate Communication - free monthly call sign up: https://betweenus.mykajabi.com/free-monthly-calls

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

In this brief episode, I offer you a body-based writing prompt that sources from your scars.

Take in the exploration, then set and timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy!

For more offerings like this, go to my website, janellehardy.com.

In this episode, I tell a tale. A Baba Yaga tale.

Sit back and enjoy having a story told to you. But if you haven't listened to part 1 - go to episode 108 and listen to that one first!

Let your body and your soul soak up the essence of the story magic and medicine.

After the story I share some memoir-writing and transformational healing prompts if you'd like to work with the story magic, apply it to your own life stories, and see where it takes you.

It's episode #110 and I'm chatting with memoirist Rebekah Taussig, a Kansas City writer and educator with her doctorate in Creative Nonfiction and Disability Studies.

I found Rebekah in my usual way, by clicking interesting links. One click led to another, and I landed on her marvelous Instagram account, Sitting Pretty. She'd just published her memoir of the same name, and had made a post about a sticker giveaway. I signed up and received some lovely stickers at my address in northern Canada, and then, a year later, walking into a bookstore, I saw her book on the shelf. I bought it, devoured it, and, on the off-change she might be interested in a podcast conversation, e-mailed to invite her on.

Obviously, she said yes, and here we are! So, a little more about her…

Rebekah lives with her fussy family of tenderhearted snugglers.

She's spent most of her life immersed in the world of writing and reading – as a student, teacher, and human – because she believes that the words we use and the stories we tell matter.

She grew up writing angsty poems in a fat notebook, songs on her guitar, and slip-stream fiction with protagonists who were always rebelling against the system.

What started as instinct evolved into an academic study and eventually became a way of seeing the world. She's always looking for the powerful connection between the cultural narratives we tell and the world we live in, from physical spaces and economic opportunities to social roles and interpersonal relationships.

She earned a PhD in Creative Nonfiction and Disability Studies from the University of Kansas, and she writes personal essays that participate in the stories being told about disability.

She also runs an Instagram account, @sitting_pretty, where she regularly crafts "mini-memoirs" that explore what it means to live in my particular (disabled, female) body.

Her memoir in essays, Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body is out now with HarperOne.

The book is born from the most personal place, swaddled in academic knowledge, and shaped by the voice she's been honing online for years. It provides a nuanced portrait of a body that looks and moves differently than most.

It was so lovely to connect with Rebekah, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in.

Website: www.rebekahtaussig.com

Instagram: @sitting_pretty

In this brief episode, I offer you a body-based writing prompt that sources from the heart.

Take in the exploration, then set and timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy!

For more offerings like this, go to my website, janellehardy.com.

In this episode, I tell a tale. A Baba Yaga tale.

Sit back and enjoy having a story told to you.

Let your body and your soul soak up the essence of the story magic and medicine.

After the story I share some memoir-writing and transformational healing prompts if you'd like to work with the story magic, apply it to your own life stories, and see where it takes you.

It's episode #107 and I'm chatting with coach Kendra Cunov, who has been studying, facilitating, and (most importantly) practicing Authentic Relating, Embodiment Practices & Deep Intimacy Work for over fifteen years, and has pioneered some of the most cutting edge relational work on the planet.

I met Kendra in a leadership program, and was really struck by her ability to notice and ask about undercurrents in the conversations and stories. Plus, she's just an all around cool person. So I figured we'd have an excellent conversation, and here we are!

Here's a little more about Kendra, in her own words:

I was born at San Francisco Zen Center & spent the first 7 years of my life exploring the mountains & rivers of Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. The connection that time gave me to Wilderness, and the experience of being surrounded by people who were consciously engaging their lives, have both had a profound & life-long impact on me.

I spent most of my teenage summers living at Tassajara, and returned to live & practice there as an adult for several years.

Another strong influence on my life was my mother.

My mother is a strong woman, who raised me solo, while following her passion of becoming a teacher. We didn't have a lot of money, but she created a rich life, full of beauty & experience. I watched her make conscious choices that often went against the grain, in order to create the life she wanted for herself & for me. From her, I learned fierce determination & that Joy has many paths.

I left the monastery & moved to San Francisco in 1999, in pursuit of a practice as deep, but which *included* relationships with other people in a more direct way. This has continued to be my life's path & why I am so passionate about Intimacy, Expression & Authentic Relating.

The experience of trailblazing & evolving the practice of Circling, and cultivating the AuthenticSF community has been life-changing. Not always fun or easy. A path that took everything I had & gave everything in return.

As they say: You can either choose to stop, or life will force you to stop.

And when my marriage (to my business partner & best friend) fell apart when our son was 1 year old, I was forced to stop & let everything go to rediscover who I was, at my core.

Today, I have two extraordinary children, who are far & away my greatest and most humbling teachers; my ex-husband & I are fantastic partners in co-parenting & have a better relationship than ever; I am truly Home: living & loving with my partner (who is also my daughter's father), connected to Wilderness & tending Earth every day.

I know who I am, and at the same time I am ever-changing & always evolving. Some of my sharper edges have become smoother & I am quicker to laugh at my quirky self.

It was so lovely to connect with Kendra, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in to our conversation!

Kendra's website: kendracunov.com

In this brief episode, I offer you a body-based writing prompt that sources from the feet.

Take in the exploration, then set and timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy!

For more offerings like this, go to my website, janellehardy.com.

In this episode, I tell a tale. A Selkie (seal woman) tale.

Sit back and enjoy having a story told to you.

Let your body and your soul soak up the essence of the story magic and medicine.

After the story I share some memoir-writing and transformational healing prompts if you'd like to work with the story magic, apply it to your own life stories, and see where it takes you.

To start your own personal mythmaking, and work with me, go to www.janellehardy.com and get started. I'm looking forward to connecting more deeply with you.