Live Conversation Recap: ADHD, Diet, and Finding Your Voice

I had the pleasure of going live with Christie Sausa, a writer from Medium who shares powerful insights about ADHD and neurodivergence. What started as a conversation about diet and ADHD became a deep dive into authenticity, friendship challenges, and finding tools that actually work for our brains.

The Power of Food as Medicine

I shared my journey of discovering that my debilitating migraines were connected to wheat sensitivity—something my neurologist dismissed but that transformed my health when I trusted her own experience. We both reflected on how elimination diets in childhood helped with ADHD symptoms, and how the medical system often jumps to pharmaceuticals before exploring lifestyle interventions.

The conversation reminded me that healing isn't just about what we eat—it's about sleep, movement, community, and yes, even spirituality. As Christie beautifully put it:

And as I get older, I realize more and more that it's not just what you eat. It's not how you move, but it's also how you feel in the world and in your body.

The Friendship Struggles of Neurodivergent Adults

One of the most resonant parts of our conversation was about friendships and ADHD. We talked about rejection sensitivity, the constant apologizing, and that feeling of being "too much" or "not enough." Christie shared how she used to chase anyone who would put up with her, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of relationship strain.

The solution? Learning to stop apologizing for who we are. As one of my friends told me: "Love means never having to say you're sorry"—not about mistakes, but about being your authentic self.

Finding Grounding in Ritual

Christie introduced me to her newest project: using tarot cards as a morning ritual and self-care tool for ADHD brains. Not for fortune-telling, but as a way to slow down, connect with emotions, and start the day with intention instead of racing anxiety.

This resonated deeply with my belief in the power of ritual and community practices to ground us in our increasingly disconnected world.

The Creative Process with ADHD

We also dove into the practical side of creating content with ADHD. Christie's approach to writing long-form articles? Breaking everything into small pieces, giving herself permission to stop when needed, and editing ruthlessly. Most of her writing time is actually editing—cutting out repetition and rambling to serve readers who, like us, have limited attention spans.

What Surprised Me

Throughout our conversation, what stood out was a commitment to authenticity. I realized that I’m not trying to be like everyone else online—I am intentionally creating calm, grounding content in a world that's "loud and heavy."

This reminded me why I love the Substack community. We're not chasing viral moments; we're building genuine connections and sharing what actually matters.

Join Me for Rooted Word Circle

Speaking of grounding practices, if this conversation resonated with you, I'd love to have you join my next Rooted Word Circle on Wednesday, August 27th at 12pm EDT.

It's a 30-minute live guided writing exploration where we start with grounding, create a community poem together, and often discover writing topics for the week ahead. It's become a beautiful monthly practice of creativity and connection.

You can sign up through buy me a coffee here.

Thank you Sherry Taveras, Shruthi Vidhya Sundaram, Andy Eberwein, and many others for tuning into my live video with Christie Sausa, MS! Your presence and comments make these conversations so much richer. You can always join me for my next live video in the app.

What resonated most with you from our chat? Any topics you’d love to hear Christie and I discuss? I'd love to hear in the comments below.

If this resonated and you want to further support my work, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription. By doing so you gain access to perks like my Nature Therapy Daily Journal and Rewild Your Heart mini-course. Your generosity allows me to do what my soul came here to do, and for that I am immensely grateful.

Rooted Word Circle

🌿 The next Rooted Word Circle is coming soon!Join me on Wednesday, August 27th at 12:00 p.m. EDT for a 30-minute guided writing exploration.August’s theme is “Joy as Service”—an invitation to explore how joy can be both sacred and supportive, a gift we offer ourselves and the world.

Bring your journal, a cozy drink, and your wild heart. 💫

Click the button below to find out more and sign up for Rooted Word Circle :

Wandering onward,SamWandering Willow 🌿Reconnecting Through Nature

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

Wandering Willow is a space for reflection, rewilding, and deep connection—with yourself, nature, and the stories that shape your life. Rooted in Forest Therapy and a passion for storytelling, you'll find musings on nature’s wisdom, the heart’s wild truth, and the journey of remembering who you are.🌿 Weekly Posts are freshly foraged each Wednesday and delivered at 8 a.m. Eastern Time—no carrier pigeons were harmed in the making of this newsletter.

Earlier today, I gathered live with the radiant and wise Sherry Taveras from Momtemplative for a special live video conversation on writing, community, and the tender act of being witnessed. This gathering was part of a heart-led offering that blooms into the upcoming Rooted Word Circle—a space for gentle creativity and shared presence.

✨ You're invited to join the next Rooted Word Circle on Wednesday, May 21st at Noon EDT. Sign up here ⬇️⬇️⬇️

We gathered to talk about something close to both our hearts: writing, community, and the tender act of being witnessed.

It was part laughter, part truth serum, and entirely nourishing.

We talked about how writing often begins in solitude—in those quiet rooms inside ourselves, in the corners where no one else looks. And yet, something extraordinary happens when we step out of that solitude and into shared space. When we write together, something takes root.

Sherry spoke beautifully about returning to writing after becoming an empty nester, how Substack has become a place of reconnection for her. She reminded us that even if we feel rusty or unsure, our words still matter. That longing to be heard? It's sacred. And the courage to show up anyway? That's where transformation begins.

For me, writing was always an inner pull. A compulsion I didn’t fully understand but followed anyway. I began with what I now know as prose-poetry, soft and unstructured, more feeling than form. Substack felt like an unexpected gift—a space where I could simply show up and share, without needing a niche or polished plan. Just stories. Just truth.

We laughed about how hard it is to food blog (seriously—major applause to anyone who does!) and how surprising it was to discover we could simply... write our lives. And people might read. And respond.

That led us to talk about what it means to be truly witnessed. Not critiqued, not fixed—just seen. We both shared how transformative it was to receive a comment that felt deeply felt, like someone had taken our words into their own heart and let them bloom there. (Special shout-outs to Keith Fey and Alexander Lovell, PhD, whose generous words gave us both the courage to keep going.)

This is why I’m creating the Rooted Word Circle. A quiet, nourishing space to gather, write, and share (or not share) what arises. No pressure. Just presence. Just being together.

Writing can feel like a solitary climb—but when we add in a little play, some curiosity (and maybe even a few metaphorical bubbles along the way), it becomes something else. Something softer. Lighter. Maybe even joyful.

Sherry and I both agreed: writing is a path toward healing. Not because it fixes us, but because it makes space for us.

Because when we write alongside others, we start to realize we were never alone to begin with.

Thank you to everyone who joined us live. And to those who couldn’t make it, I hope this post feels like a cozy seat in the circle.

If you’re longing for a space to write and be witnessed, you're warmly invited to the next Rooted Word Circle. Come exactly as you are. No experience needed. Just bring your heart…paper and pen couldn’t hurt either.

With bubbles and bouncy-house dreams,

SamWandering Willow🌿 Reconnecting Through Nature

PS: Got thoughts on writing in community? Ever been surprised by what comes out when you write with others? I'd love to hear in the comments.

PPS: You can support my work (and coffee habit) here:

PPPS: Thank you Libby Walkup, Deanna Thomas, j.e. moyer, LPC, Neil Cunningham, and many others for tuning into my live video with Sherry Taveras! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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

This post is an AI summary using my writing voice, based on the transcript of the live video chat.

On Earth Day, I found myself in good company: Corie Feiner, some beautiful humans from Substack, and the quiet companionship of poems, memories, and the hum of the forest within me.

I shared a bit about how I became a Forest Therapy Guide—not because I had a grand plan, but because the internet whispered something sacred into my soul one day during a desperate rabbit hole dive. Forest bathing. I’d never heard of it before, but something in me said: this is for you. And just like that, the path unfolded. Or maybe I wandered off the path and found something better.

Wandering Willow—the name of my Substack—emerged from that moment of remembering. Remembering writing, remembering nature, remembering myself. I had written as a teenager, scribbled poems through my twenties, but somewhere in my thirties, I got lost. Forest therapy helped me return. Or maybe writing returned to me, like an old friend showing up at the door with a flask of tea and a story to tell.

Before this, my path was winding: pastry school, food service (which will absolutely humble you), an office job, and a soul-numbing position in the title industry that had me helping banks reclaim homes. I thought I could separate myself from the weight of that work. I couldn’t.

And then came nature—soft, persistent, and wildly honest.

Forest therapy doesn’t require a deep forest. A single tree in a parking lot will do. It’s about presence. Slowing down. Listening. Letting a dragonfly guide you to the mud.

“Recipe for Good Mud” was born during one of my solo wanders in training, a poem that practically wrote itself as I followed the signs—literal and metaphorical—left by nature. It’s a reminder that we can return. That even in a world of notifications and noise, there is a quiet place waiting.

Another poem, “Letting Go”, came from my window—ivy clinging to trees, showing me what I needed to learn about clinging, releasing, and becoming water again. Nature doesn’t always require our physical presence. It meets us where we are. We are nature. Drinking water, eating food, existing in a body—we are already participating.

And “Any Wings Will Do”—a simple longing to fly, inspired by watching vultures (which, yes, took me a minute to identify—your forest therapy guide is still learning, okay?). It was my reminder that no matter the shape or color, flight is flight. We just need the willingness to rise.

I’m not in the woods every day. Sometimes I’m curled up inside, letting the basil plant by my desk remind me of the sun. And that counts. A houseplant. A cat. A breeze through an open window. The earth isn’t asking us to be perfect. Just present.

We ended the gathering with a quote from Robin Wall Kimmerer that still lives in my chest:

“Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate.

But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond.”

If you’ve been feeling far from the land, or far from yourself—know that it’s okay to start small. A breath. A window view. A poem. A seed.

You are already part of this world, wild and precious.

And if you write a Dear Dirt poem (thank you, Sharon Olds, for the prompt), tag me and Corie Feiner . We’d love to read it. Let’s remember together.

Wandering onward,

Sam

PS Thank you Tamy Faierman M.D., Tim Jagodzinski, Andrew Shell, and many others for tuning into my live video with Corie Feiner! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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

Thank you Teri Leigh 💜, Angela Bigler, and many others for tuning into my live video withDr. Axel Meierhoefer 🏕️🔥 and Courtney Cunningham! Join me for my next live video in the app.

The Power of Conviction: Investing, Balance, and Trusting Your Choices

In any journey—whether in life, investing, or personal growth—conviction and balance are critical. Throughout our discussion, a recurring theme emerged: the ability to trust in well-reasoned choices despite external pressures and uncertainties.

If you are convinced and convicted, this is what I believe in.

-Dr. Axel Meierhoefer

That belief, that deep-rooted confidence, is what sustains us when doubt creeps in. It’s easy to be swayed by fear, by the noise of the market, or by the opinions of others, but if our choices are backed by solid reasoning, we can stand firm. This applies not just to investments, but to every decision we make.

Yet, conviction must be paired with strategy.

Hope is not a strategy.

We can’t rely on blind optimism to carry us forward. A solid plan, a deep understanding of risks and rewards—these are what provide true security. In investing, this means knowing why we hold onto something, recognizing when to buy and when to sell, and understanding that dips and fluctuations are part of the process. In life, it means setting intentions and following through, rather than merely wishing for outcomes.

Equally important is balance.

Balance is key.

Placing everything into one stock, one belief, one path, leaves us vulnerable. Diversification—whether in investments, in how we spend our time, or in the dreams we pursue—creates resilience. When we spread our energy wisely, we allow ourselves the flexibility to adapt and grow.

And in all of this, we must remember to celebrate progress.

I think what we are often missing is to celebrate our small wins.

It’s easy to fixate on what hasn’t gone right, on what still needs to be done. But taking time to acknowledge even the smallest victories builds momentum. It shifts our perspective from scarcity to abundance, from fear to trust.

Life, like investing, is a long game. Some days the market dips, some days we stumble, but if we hold onto our convictions, if we move with strategy and balance, we are always moving forward.

Axel said it best when he said that this chat was just the tip if the iceberg. If you feel called to go deeper into your relationship with money, join us at The Abundant Money Mindset.

Click below to join us! 👇

May all your wanderings lead you back to your true nature, one of abundance.

-Sam

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

Thank you Teri Leigh 💜, Kathleen Thorne RN, LMT, and many others for tuning into my live video with Teri Leigh 💜 and Courtney Cunningham! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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

I did not know it was recording when it said it was “connecting” LOL.

Playing around with the live feature from the Substack app. Watch if you are bored and want to see my cats.

See how ridiculous I am.

Should I do more live videos? What do you wanna chat about?

Let me know in the comments.

Join me for my next live video in the app

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Burden is the word. Though I much prefer the word to be “bird.” (The bird is the word, always.)

This past week has felt very heavy. ... My season of winter, of rest and of doing nothing. Which is really, truly something.

If you are interested in a Nature and Forest therapy session, I am offering a remote session on Saturday August 5, 2023 at 1:00pm EDT via Google Meet. Click here to register and look for 05-Aug-2023 | 1 pm - 2:30 pm Eastern (EST) | English | Guided by Samantha Messersmith

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

This story has been put off for a while now. Neglected, too much, too vulnerable. Hey wait, I know those feelings. It does feel a little raw around the edges for me.

If you are interested in a nature and forest therapy session, I am offering a remote session on Saturday August 5, 2023 at 1:00pm EDT via Google Meet. Click here to register and look for 05-Aug-2023 | 1 pm - 2:30 pm Eastern (EST) | English | Guided by Samantha Messersmith

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

Glimmers are embodied moments where our presence is the pleasure. Summer brings many glimmers, a lot of which are food related. Exploring some of my favorite glimmers in today's episode.

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When life gives you thorns, reach for the berries. What is a bramble anyway? Listen to find out.

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