On the 59th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Julie Zickefoose. Julie is a writer and artist who illustrates her own books (Saving Jemima, Baby Birds, The Bluebird Effect). She is an Advising Editor for BWD Magazine and a naturalist at home in the Appalachian foothills of Ohio, where every day she roams the 80-acre wildlife sanctuary she lives on—a wellspring for her writing and art.

Her contribution to a beautiful movie I watched, In Pursuit of Silence, utterly captivated me, so I was thrilled to have the chance to talk. In this enlivening conversation, Julie shares her journey from just about making ends meet to becoming an author and illustrator living on her own sanctuary. She imparts important lessons along the way, such as gratitude for life, borne out of her observations of the hardship of nature and from the deaths of her father and her husband.

We explore the emotional relationships she has cultivated with the birds she has rehabilitated, as well as the importance of relationships with animals in realising more connection in our lives. She also touches on the significance of silence, solitude, and unstructured time and space for her creative process and for following her own nature.

This entire conversation was good for my soul; it is inspiring to be in the company of someone who so fully follows and embraces their own nature with such conviction. This episode will reinforce gratitude for simply existing and surviving, and open you up to possibilities for more love and connection in our lives, whether with other animals or humans, as well as what can happen if you simply trust your own nature.

Subscribe for weekly episodes, every Tuesday, and check out my YouTube channel (link below) for clips and shorts.

Contact me at [email protected] to book a free consultation (30 minutes) for one-on-one coaching programs or to hear about corporate workshops I am offering to build trust and connection amongst executives.

Running Order:

03:40 Seeking silence and allowing serendipity
07:45 Following your own nature and trust
12:20 Freedom and not being confined to a structure
16:20 Being kind to ourselves as life emerges
18:57 The impact and influence of losing loved ones
23:25 Gratitude for life and rehabilitating birds
28:15 Experiencing emotional and physical connections with birds
35:28 The stunning levels of love we can feel with animals
41:00 The importance of trusting our feelings, not just what we can measure
45:55 What we can learn from animals in seeing our own value
48:25 The importance of unstructured time and space
53:38 The worst thing that can happen to your career
57:40 What is a good life for Julie?

For further content and information check out the following:

- For the podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos

- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/

- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/

- Julie's Website: https://www.juliezickefoose.com/

- Julie's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliezickefoose/