Most conversations on the Travel Writing Podcast look, in one way or another, at the professional world of writing, travel, and publication.

But not everything worth writing is meant to be read. And the value of your writing cannot be accurately determined by the fickle media ecosystem.

Sometimes, you write for yourself. To explore an idea. To purge an emotion. To confront a truth. To document a transformation. And yes, sometimes those lines blur.

Valley Haggard is an expert in guiding writers to look inside, not outside, and summon the courage to confront the deeper challenges of confidence and self-worth that dog so many writers, from beginners all the way to published authors.

Valley joins the travel writing podcast to share her journey - through pain, addiction, and healing - and her advice to writers struggling with the internal aspect of the craft. She will be leading the Writer's Workshop in East Africa, facilitated by the Global Livingston Institute, and we look forward to publishing many of the resulting stories in Intrepid Times.