Episode Title: Pause for Peace: What to Do — featuring a poem by Joyce Sutphen

Episode Description: In this Midweek Pause for Peace, Laura Davis shares a poem that arrived as a personal reminder: that even in a world spinning toward chaos, one thing remains in our hands — what we choose to pay attention to. Joyce Sutphen's "What to Do" is a poem that wanders gently through uncertainty and arrives somewhere luminous. Paired with peaceful imagery, this episode offers a midweek breath and an invitation to notice what is still worth seeing.

What Laura Covers in This Episode:

Why this poem landed for Laura as a reminder of what remains within our control, even now

How Sutphen moves from restlessness and searching toward a single, clarifying moment of attention

The quiet power of paying attention as an act of resistance, renewal, and soul-keeping

An introduction to Joyce Sutphen — former Poet Laureate of Minnesota and author of more than ten books of poetry

About Host Laura Davis: Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."

Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.

Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.

Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.

About Joyce Sutphen: Joyce Sutphen grew up on a farm in Minnesota and earned a PhD in Renaissance drama from the University of Minnesota. She is the author of more than ten books of poetry and served as Poet Laureate of Minnesota from 2011 to 2021. Her honors include the Barnard Women's Poets Prize, the Minnesota Book Award, and a McKnight Artist Fellowship. Learn more about her work at: http://www.joycesutphen.com/

CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVIS

Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.

The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.

Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/

Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title

Join Laura Davis in Baja: A Memoir Retreat on the Sea of Cortez

Episode Description

Laura Davis invites writers to step away from daily life and into nine transformative days on the shores of Baja, Mexico. In this episode, Laura shares the vision behind The Art of Memoir: Baja — a retreat blending generative writing, craft instruction, and community on the turquoise waters of the Sea of Cortez. Laura discusses what draws writers to this remote stretch of coastline, and what becomes possible when a story finally gets the time and space it deserves.

What Laura Covers in This Episode

The dream so many writers carry — to tell their story, understand themselves, and leave a legacy

What makes The Art of Memoir retreat different from a typical writing workshop

The rhythm of retreat days: generative morning sessions followed by structured feedback

Why "finding the story beneath the story" is central to Laura's teaching approach

The setting: La Ventana, Baja California Sur, and why this particular coastline matters

The people and details that shape the retreat experience beyond the writing sessions

What past participants have said about how the retreat changed their relationship to their story

Episode Highlights

Laura opens with the question every writer eventually has to answer: what does your story deserve?

A look inside the daily structure — writing sessions, free afternoons, and feedback circles

Laura explains the concept of "slowing down where it hurts" and why it matters for memoir

A description of La Ventana's transformation from sleepy fishing village to a place of reflection

Laura introduces her co-host for the retreat and the role they'll play throughout the nine days

What happens beyond the page — the experiences woven into the week that support the writing

Firsthand reflections from writers who've attended past retreats with Laura

Laura's closing invitation to writers considering whether this is their moment

About Host Laura Davis

Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping writers find and shape their stories. She is the author of the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars, winner of the BookLife Prize in 2021, and co-author of the bestselling The Courage to Heal. Laura leads writing classes, workshops, and international retreats through The Writer's Journey LLC, guiding writers of all levels — not only memoirists — toward more vivid, resonant work. Her retreats are known for the safe, generative container she creates, one that allows writers to access material they didn't know they had access to.

Resources Laura Mentions

The Art of Memoir: Baja Retreat — May 14–22, 2027

The Burning Light of Two Stars — Laura's award-winning memoir

The Courage to Heal — Co-authored by Laura Davis

The Writer's Journey Substack

Laura Davis's website — classes, books, workshops, and retreats

Key Takeaways from This Episode

Giving your story dedicated time and space can unlock material you didn't know was there.

Generative writing practice is one of the most powerful tools for surfacing memory and breaking through blocks.

A memoir isn't just a record of events — it's built from scene, summary, and musing woven together.

The right setting can be part of the creative process, not just a backdrop to it.

A small, intimate group creates the safety writers need to write and share without self-censoring.

Episode Call-to-Action

Writers ready to give their story the room it needs are invited to learn more about The Art of Memoir: Baja and reserve their place — space is limited to 14 writers.

Connect with Laura Davis

Website: lauradavis.net

Substack: laurasaridavis.substack.com

The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.

You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title: Pause for Peace: Instructions on Not Giving Up — featuring a poem by Ada Limón

Episode Description: In this Midweek Pause for Peace, Laura Davis brings a poem by Ada Limón — former U.S. Poet Laureate and the first Latina to hold that position — that finds in the natural world an answer to the question we are all quietly asking. "Instructions on Not Giving Up" does not offer easy comfort. It offers something better: the sight of a tree deciding, after everything winter did to it, to leaf out anyway. Paired with peaceful imagery and a writing prompt, this episode is an invitation to find your own instructions.

What Laura Covers in This Episode:

Why Limón's vision of the natural world arriving after winter speaks so directly to this particular moment

How a poem can model resilience without demanding it — offering permission rather than prescription

The writing prompt Laura offers alongside this poem: an invitation to write your own instructions on not giving up

An introduction to Ada Limón, 24th Poet Laureate of the United States and National Book Critics Circle Award winner

About Host Laura Davis: Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."

Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.

Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.

Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.

About Ada Limón: Ada Limón is an acclaimed American poet and the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States, serving from 2022 to 2025 — the first Latina to hold the position. Known for her exploration of the intersection of nature, humanity, and personal emotion, she has published six books of poetry, including The Carrying, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. Learn more about her work at adalimon.com: https://adalimon.com/

CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVIS

Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.

The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.

Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/

Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/

 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title:

Middle Age Feels Endless — Until It Ends: Laura Davis on Turning 70

Episode Description:

As her 70th birthday approaches, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis pauses to reckon with a passage she didn't expect to feel this deep. Drawing on more than three decades of teaching people to tell the truth about their lives, Laura turns that same unflinching honesty on herself, exploring what it means to step out of the "alpha time" of middle age and into a new, less-charted stretch of life. It's a reflective, personal episode about identity, invisibility, and what gets released when the busier self finally lets go.

What Laura Covers in This Episode:

The unexpected weight of her upcoming 70th birthday, and why it feels different than she anticipated

A shift she's noticed inside herself — away from "compelled to do" and toward spaciousness

The grief and uncertainty that come alongside relief when a driven identity starts to loosen

What it meant to be the "nucleus" of family life for decades, and what changes when that role fades

Cultural invisibility and no longer being "the target demographic"

A long-running family tradition and what its evolution has taught her about aging

Where her ongoing Camino de Santiago training fits into how she's thinking about time, health, and mortality

Episode Highlights:

Laura names the internal shift she's been feeling: the part of her "compelled to do" losing its hold

A friend's line lands hard: "Middle age feels endless — until it ends"

Laura describes what it was like to be at the center of her family's orbit for over thirty years

She reflects on becoming culturally invisible as younger generations move to center stage

A beloved family ritual — the post-Thanksgiving walk to the beach — becomes an unexpected marker of time passing

Laura shares where she is physically right now, including a recent ten-mile training hike

She names the deeper trajectory she's newly aware of, without flinching from it

The episode closes on what gratitude looks like from this new vantage point

About Host Laura Davis:

Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping people find and tell their true stories. She is the author of the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars, winner of the BookLife Prize, and co-author of the groundbreaking The Courage to Heal. Laura runs The Writer's Journey LLC, offering online writing classes, workshops, and international retreats — including her Creative Camino pilgrimage program — and hosts The Writer's Journey podcast and Substack, where she writes candidly about the craft of writing and the experience of a life fully lived.

Resources Laura Mentions:

The Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis

Laura Davis's Books

Creative Camino Pilgrimage

The Writer's Journey on Substack

Laura Davis's website

Key Takeaways from This Episode:

A major birthday can surface a felt sense of identity change long before the number itself sinks in.

Letting go of a "compelled to do" self can bring relief and grief at the same time — both are valid.

Long-held family roles evolve, and noticing that shift is part of honoring it.

Cultural invisibility is a real and disorienting part of aging — naming it out loud takes some of its power away.

Physical vitality, like training for a pilgrimage, can be both a gift and a reminder of life's fragile, finite arc.

Episode Call-to-Action:

Listeners moved by Laura's reflections are invited to sit with their own relationship to time, identity, and the passages they're moving through — and to consider capturing those reflections in writing. Laura's Substack offers weekly essays and prompts for exactly this kind of exploration.

Connect with Laura Davis:

Substack: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/

Website: https://lauradavis.net/

The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.

You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/

The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title: Pause for Peace: Small Pleasures — featuring a poem by James Crews

Episode Description: In this Midweek Pause for Peace, Laura Davis shares a poem that arrived as a personal reminder: that attention itself is something we still get to choose. James Crews' "Small Pleasures" doesn't ask us to look away from what is hard — it asks us to notice what else is also there. Paired with peaceful imagery, this episode is a midweek invitation to lean, even slightly, toward whatever small beauties are within reach.

What Laura Covers in This Episode:

Why this poem landed for Laura as a reminder that directing her attention remains within her control

How Crews holds darkness and tenderness side by side — without minimizing either

The quiet practice at the heart of this poem: learning to gather what is good from the life immediately around us

An introduction to James Crews — editor of beloved bestselling anthologies and author of four prize-winning collections of poetry

About Host Laura Davis: Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."

Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.

Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.

Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.

About James Crews: James Crews is the editor of several bestselling anthologies, including The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection and Joy and How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope, which has over 100,000 copies in print. He has been featured in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, The Christian Science Monitor, and on NPR's Morning Edition. James is the author of four prize-winning books of poetry — The Book of What Stays, Telling My Father, Bluebird, and Every Waking Moment — and a book of short essays, Kindness Will Save the World: Stories of Compassion and Connection. He also speaks and leads workshops on kindness, mindfulness, and writing for self-compassion, and lives with his husband on forty rocky acres in the woods of Southern Vermont. Read his work and subscribe to his poems on Substack: https://jamescrews.substack.com/ and learn more about his books and teaching on his website: https://www.jamescrews.net/

CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVIS

Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.

The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.

Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/

Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/

 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title

The Photo Challenge That Just Kept Going

Episode Description

Laura Davis returns with an update on the daily photo challenge she introduced last winter. What started as a 100-day commitment with a friend has taken on new dimensions, including a second participant and a fresh set of discoveries. Laura reflects on what she found when she looked back at months of daily images, and how the practice has continued to evolve.

You can see the photos described in this podcast episode here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/8feb3699-80e5-43d0-8817-92e8f7620e2b

What Laura Covers in This Episode

A quick recap of how the original 100-Day Project concept works

An update on where the challenge stands now, well past the original 100 days

The simple rules that have kept the practice sustainable

How a friendship and an impromptu photography lesson on a pilgrimage sparked the original idea

The decision point at day 99 and what came next

What Laura discovered when she reviewed her second hundred images

How a second friend joined the practice and added her own creative voice

The role of community, accountability, and small daily commitments in creative life

Episode Highlights

Laura revisits the origin of the 100-Day Project and the well-known author's virtual creative hour where she first encountered it

The specific three rules that have kept the challenge sustainable over many months

A story from the Camino de Santiago involving tortilla de patatas, pimientos de Padrón, and an unplanned photography lesson

The moment on day 99 when Laura asked her friend a simple question, and the answer that kept the project going

What Laura discovered when she looked back at her second hundred images and realized what the practice had quietly become

How a chance conversation over a game of mahjong led to a second version of the same challenge with a different friend

The way two people photographing the same moment can create an unexpected "conversation"

Laura's reflection on what centers a day around "one tiny beautiful thing"

About Host Laura Davis

Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping people find their voice through the written word. She is the author of the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars, winner of the 2021 BookLife Prize, and co-author of the landmark bestseller The Courage to Heal.

Laura teaches writing in all its forms through weekly classes, workshops, and retreats around the world, and leads international pilgrimages, including her Creative Camino program on the Camino de Santiago. She is the host of The Writer's Journey podcast and writes a companion Substack publication exploring the craft of writing, creativity, and living a full, examined life.

Resources Laura Mentions

Suleika Jaouad's Isolation Journals — creative hour sessions

Michael Bierut and the 100-Day Project (Design Observer)

The Courage to Heal by Laura Davis and Ellen Bass

The Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis

Laura's Creative Camino pilgrimage program

Commonweal Cancer Help Program, Bolinas, California

The Writer's Journey Substack

Key Takeaways from This Episode

A simple, repeatable creative practice can offer stability and possibility, especially during difficult seasons of life

An accountability partner can make the difference between abandoning a creative practice and sustaining it

Keeping the rules of a creative challenge minimal makes it far more likely to last

Looking back at a body of daily creative work can reveal patterns and shifts a person didn't consciously notice while living them

Creative practices can expand naturally, drawing in new participants and taking on a life of their own

Episode Call-to-Action

Listeners are encouraged to consider starting their own version of a 100-day creative practice, choosing any medium that appeals to them, and reaching out to a friend to join as an accountability partner. Laura invites listeners to subscribe to The Writer's Journey on Substack to follow along with future updates on the ongoing photo challenge and other reflections on creativity and craft.

Connect with Laura Davis

Listeners can follow Laura's writing, classes, retreats, and pilgrimages at lauradavis.net, and subscribe to The Writer's Journey for regular essays, curated poems, and updates on Laura's creative life.

The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.

You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/

Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title: Pause for Peace: Loving in a Broken Time — featuring a poem by Frederick Joseph

Episode Description: In this Midweek Pause for Peace, Laura Davis brings a poem that looks directly at the wreckage of our moment — and finds something glowing in the rubble. Frederick Joseph's "Loving in a Broken Time" neither flinches from the mess nor surrenders to it. Paired with peaceful imagery, this episode offers a midweek breath for anyone who needs a reminder that love and hope still have something to say.

What Laura Covers in This Episode:

Why Laura was drawn to this poem's rare ability to hold unflinching honesty and tenderness at the same time

The thread of hope Joseph weaves through a landscape that doesn't pretend the world is anything other than broken

How poetry can serve as a nervous system reset — even, and especially, when it names hard truths

An introduction to Frederick Joseph, a three-time New York Times and USA Today bestselling author whose work spans poetry, nonfiction, and young adult fiction

About Host Laura Davis: Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."

Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.

Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.

Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.

About Frederick Joseph: Frederick Joseph is a three-time New York Times and USA Today bestselling author from Yonkers, New York, whose work spans poetry, nonfiction, children's literature, and young adult fiction. His books include the poetry collection We Alive, Beloved; the bestselling nonfiction titles The Black Friend and Patriarchy Blues; the collaborative volume Better Than We Found It; and the acclaimed YA novel This Thing of Ours. He is the recipient of both the Letter Review Poetry Prize and Essay Prize, and has been recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and honored with the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Vanguard Award, among many other honors. Visit him at: https://frederickjoseph.com/ and on Substack at https://frederickjoseph.substack.com/

CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVIS

Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.

The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.

Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/

Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/

 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title

The Work I Am Not at Liberty to Quit: A Writing Prompt That Gets to the Heart of What Matters

Episode Description

In this episode, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis shares one of her most powerful and enduring writing prompts—a favorite she's returned to again and again in more than twenty years of teaching. Drawing on a beloved essay-turned-poem as inspiration, Laura invites listeners into a prompt designed to strip away the noise and get straight to the core of what a person is here to do. She reads her own raw, deeply personal response, offering a rare glimpse into her own creative and emotional life.

What Laura Covers in This Episode

The essay Laura uses as a launching pad for one of her most resonant writing prompts

Why this particular prompt cuts through surface-level answers to reach something truer

Laura's own unfiltered response to the prompt, touching on family legacy, marriage, creativity, and presence

How repetition and rhythm can become a writing tool for emotional excavation

The difference between what we do and what we are not at liberty to quit

Why Laura believes this prompt works for writers at any stage, on any subject

Episode Highlights

Laura introduces the essay-turned-poem that inspired this week's prompt and explains why it resonates so deeply with writers

She reveals the exact prompt she gives her students: "The work I am not at liberty to quit"

Laura reads her own response, beginning with a raw, repeated line about opening her heart

She reflects on inherited anxiety, ancestral legacy, and the pull toward stillness

Laura explores what she's learned about love and marriage from a place of hard-won self-awareness

She names the habit she considers the "antithesis" of her real work—and why she keeps circling back to it

Laura shares a story about a friend's parenting philosophy that changed how she thinks about saying yes

The episode closes with an invitation for listeners to try the prompt themselves

About Host Laura Davis

Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping writers uncover and tell their most essential stories. She has written seven books, including her BookLife Prize-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars, and co-authored the groundbreaking The Courage to Heal. Laura teaches online writing classes, workshops, and international retreats through The Writer's Journey, including her Creative Camino pilgrimage program through Spain. She writes and podcasts weekly at The Writer's Journey, sharing prompts, craft techniques, and reflections on the writing life.

Resources Laura Mentions

"An Address to My Fellow Faculty Who Have Asked Me to Speak About My Work" by A. Papatya Bucak, published in Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction

Laura's memoir, The Burning Light of Two Stars

The Writer's Journey Roadmap — Laura's weekly writing prompts

The Writer's Journey Substack and podcast

Key Takeaways from This Episode

A single, well-chosen writing prompt can bypass the surface and lead straight to essential truth

Repetition of a phrase or line can be used deliberately to build emotional momentum on the page

Naming what you're "not at liberty to quit" can clarify priorities far more effectively than a goals list

Writers can use another writer's work as a springboard without losing their own voice

The habits that feel most productive—like multitasking—can sometimes be the biggest obstacle to real creative and emotional work

Episode Call-to-Action

Listeners are invited to try the prompt for themselves: "The work I am not at liberty to quit." Laura encourages writers to let the phrase repeat, follow it wherever it leads, and share their reflections or an excerpt of their writing in the comments on Substack.

Connect with Laura Davis

Subscribe to The Writer's Journey on Substack: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/

Learn about Laura's classes, books, workshops, and international retreats: https://lauradavis.net/

The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.

You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title: Pause for Peace: Pray for Peace — featuring a poem by Ellen Bass

Episode Description: In this Midweek Pause for Peace, Laura Davis shares a poem by her longtime friend and co-author Ellen Bass — a poet whose work, Laura says simply, sings. "Pray for Peace" is a poem that refuses to keep the sacred confined to temples and kneeling benches. Paired with peaceful imagery, this episode offers a midweek reminder that prayer, in its broadest and most human sense, is hiding in plain sight — in every ordinary act of an ordinary day.

What Laura Covers in This Episode:

Why Laura chose this particular poem by her longtime collaborator and friend Ellen Bass, and what makes Bass's voice so distinctive

How "Pray for Peace" expands the very definition of prayer — and why that expansion matters right now

The way Bass weaves the mundane and the sacred together until the line between them disappears

An introduction to Ellen Bass — Guggenheim Fellow, Chancellor Emerita of the Academy of American Poets, and one of the most celebrated poets writing today

About Host Laura Davis: Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir "The Burning Light of Two Stars," which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book "The Courage to Heal."

Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners' emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.

Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.

Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis' signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.

About Ellen Bass: Ellen Bass is a poet and teacher who earned her MA in creative writing from Boston University, where she studied with Anne Sexton. Her poetry collections include Mules of Love, The Human Line, Like a Beggar, and Indigo (2020), and her poems appear regularly in The New Yorker, American Poetry Review, and many other journals. She co-edited the first major anthology of women's poetry, No More Masks!, and her nonfiction books include the groundbreaking The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and Free Your Mind: The Book for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth. A Chancellor Emerita of the Academy of American Poets, Bass founded poetry workshops at Salinas Valley State Prison and the Santa Cruz, California jails, and teaches in the MFA writing program at Pacific University. Her honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Lambda Literary Award, the Pablo Neruda Prize, and four Pushcart Prizes. Visit her at: https://www.ellenbass.com/

CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVIS

Join Laura's Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis' Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system's need for calm.

The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.

Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/

Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title: Our Time Will Come: Keep Fighting with Joy

Episode Description: Some words stop you in your tracks. In this episode, Laura Davis shares a passage from J. Drew Lanham — MacArthur Fellow, wildlife biologist, and poet — that has strengthened her again and again. It names the fire, the fuel, and the only rain that matters.

What Laura Covers in This Episode:

A passage from J. Drew Lanham that Laura returns to when she needs steadying

Why joy is not escape — it's the backing fire

A brief introduction to Lanham and his MacArthur Fellowship-winning work

Key Takeaways:

Despair is the fuel. Joy is the rain. Write, sing, paint, shout for it.

Fireproof your heart — and keep the ember glowing.

Our time will come. Fight joyfully until it does.

About J. Drew Lanham: Joseph Drew Lanham is an American author, poet, and wildlife biologist awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2022. Learn more about his work here.

Connect with Laura Davis:

Substack: laurasaridavis.substack.com

Website & Retreats: lauradavis.net

The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more. You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/

Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe