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What does it mean to write the truth when your story includes trauma—and how do you do it without retraumatizing yourself or your readers?

That’s what I’ll explore with this week’s guest, Beth Docherty—a trauma-informed healthcare educator, musician, and emerging memoirist—as she shares her journey from research chemist to advocate for safer, more compassionate care. Together, we dive into one of the most important questions memoirists ask: How do we write about hard truths in ways that are honest, responsible, and healing? Get your notebook, open your heart, and get ready to explore nervous system regulation while writing, what your readers really need from you, and how to know when your story is ready for the world.

Episode Highlights

• 2:19: Balancing Truth and Care for the Reader
• 4:45: Understanding Your Window of Tolerance
• 8:31: Attending to Your Audience’s Needs 
• 16:06: Making Sense of Your Story
• 18:00: Preventing Overexposure
• 20:46: Author and Speaker Self-Care

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

• The Moth
• The Power of Writing Rituals | Building a Resilient Writing Practice (Pt 1)
• Managing Your Creative Energy | How to Write What Matters Every Day (Pt 2)
• Working with Your Inner Critic | How to Make It Your Creative Ally (Pt 3)
• Finish Strong & Plan Your Next Writing Session | Building a Resilient Writing Practice (Pt 4)

Beth’s Bio: Beth Docherty is a chemist, musician, writer, and a passionate advocate. She is the Principal of The TRUST Project, a research and outreach initiative dedicated to educating medical professionals and students about the connections between trauma, health, and well-being. Beth lectures nationally at universities, conferences, medical facilities and public events, speaking on the importance of trauma-informed care. She is an active member of the Physical and Behavioral Health Action Team of the HEAL PA initiative, which aims to implement trauma-informed practices across Pennsylvania. Beth has also testified in legislative hearings to advocate for the rights of sexual assault and crime surviv

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less
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Free Your Writing Voice, Fuel Your Motivation is a 12-week course designed to help you reconnect with the creative spark that brought you to the page in the first place. https://lisacooperellison.com/free-your-writing-voice-find-your-motivation/

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This is the 75th episode of the Writing and Resilience Podcast, and I would not have made it this far without your generous support of this podcast and my work. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Now, about today’s episode. What if the key to writing through pain isn't pushing harder, but rather being radically kinder to yourself? That's what I'll explore with Dr. Risa Ryger, clinical psychologist, international speaker and founder of 93% Consulting. We explore what it really means to change and write through pain, not from a place of brutal self-judgment, but from a place of self-trust, curiosity, and compassion. 

If you're navigating trauma in your writing, wrestling with your inner critic, or wondering how to begin without overwhelming yourself, this conversation is here to support you. Get ready to feel seen, affirmed, and gently challenged. 

Episode Highlights

• 2:11: Starting from the Place of Not Knowing
• 4:31: Disruption Isn’t Destruction
• 5:55: Pain in the Change Process
• 14:22: Don’t Get Stuck in the Binary
• 18:24: The Self-Owned Mindset 

Resources Mentioned During this Episode: 

• Disruptive Conversation with Tia Levings
• Disruptive Conversation with Lisa Cooper Ellison
• Disruptive Conversation with Madonna Williams
• How to Stop Gaslighting Yourself with Ingrid Clayton

Dr. Ryger’s Bio: Dr. Risa Ryger is a Clinical Psychologist, International Speaker, Author, Founder of 93% Consulting, and the Creator of The Disruptive Self-Ownership ProcessTM who served as a consultant psychologist for victim services. She is the host of the weekly Instagram Live series: Disruptive Conversations with Dr. Risa Ryger and she earned her Master of Science, Master of Philosophy, and Doctorate from Columbia University. Creator of the Self-Owned Mindset, she is an excerpt on change whose goal is to help women stop playing small and have the confidence and self-trust to powerfully step forward into their lives and say, I’ve got this.” Dr. Ryger is the proud mother of 2 amazing daughters and lives in NY with her husband and two dogs, Penelope and Sammy – the dog who smiles. 

Connect with Dr. Ryger:  

• Website: https://www.drrisaryger.com/
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/dr.risaryger
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-risa-ryger-6

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Free Your Writing Voice, Fuel Your Motivation is a 12-week course designed to help you reconnect with the creative spark that brought you to the page in the first place. https://lisacooperellison.com/free-your-writing-voice-find-your-motivation/

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Have you ever felt like your creativity is blocked—but you know the problem isn’t your ideas, your schedule, or even your writing practice? What if your nervous system holds the key to unlocking the stories inside you?

In this episode, I’m joined by Jay DeMaio, a trauma-aware Internal Martial Arts teacher based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Together, we explore how Qigong—a gentle, meditative movement practice—can enhance creativity, help regulate your nervous system, and bring your body into deeper harmony so your writing can flow more freely. We also dig into my struggles with rest and boredom when doing things I know are good for me. Grab your pen, open your heart, and discover why slowing down might be the medicine your writing life truly needs.

Episode Highlights

• 0:47: What is QiGong
• 5:03 How QiGong Changed Jay
• 15:00: The Impact of Grief and Fear on Our Energy 
• 17:00 Qi Resourcing Exercise 
• 32:00 The Somatic Writing Process
• 34:00 Boredom and the Fallow State
• 41:00 Bringing Curiosity to Our Discomfort
• 44:00 Capitalizing on Summer Energy

Resources Mentioned During this Episode: 

• QiGong: What You Need to Know
• More on QiGong and Its Benefits 

Jay’s Bio: Jay DeMaio is a trauma-aware Internal Martial Arts Teacher based in Charlottesville, VA. Jay holds a five-year certification in QiGong, Qi Healing and Internal Alchemy Meditation from Blue Willow World Healing Center. He has been training for over 15 years via direct transmission from Daoist QiGong Masters from the Dragon Gate Lineage School and the Mt EMei Lineage School. Through his online classes and in-person workshops, Jay guides gentle, empowering QiGong practices that connect the body to its innate healing wisdom and inner medicine. His therapeutic approach is informed by 5 Element Chinese Medicine and psychosomatic science while staying rooted in trauma awareness, deep presence, and compassion.

Connect with Jay:  

• Website: www.jaydemaio.com
• Instagram and X: @ altar_native_medicine

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Free Your Writing Voice, Fuel Your Motivation is a 12-week course designed to help you reconnect with the creative spark that brought you to the page in the first place. https://lisacooperellison.com/free-your-writing-voice-find-your-motivation/

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In this episode, I reconnect with the brilliant and multifaceted Sean Murphy—poet, fiction writer, founder of 1455 Literary Arts, director of the Center for Story at Shenandoah University, and host of the podcast Some Things Considered. Together, we explore what it means to create during challenging times, why writing is a long game built on endurance, and how generosity—both to others and to your own process—can sustain your creative spirit. We talk about literary citizenship, artistic joy, and the mindset shifts that help us keep going when the road feels steep. We also tackle one of my most persistent writing problems—something I know I’m not alone in: how to capture all those great ideas that come to me when I’m shampooing my hair. 

Episode Highlights

• 2:57: Juggling the Hardships and Hopes of the Writing Life
• 5:29: Differentiating Writing from Publishing
• 7:34: The Process is the Reward
• 12:33: Writing While Wearing Many Hats
• 18:45: Developing a Creative Mindset
• 30:34: Why You Must be a Good Literary Citizen

Resources Mentioned During this Episode: 

• Some Things Considered: Karen E. Bender & Robert Anthony Siegel | How to Adapt & Thrive as a Writer
• Information on the connection between dopamine and our endeavors: Dr. Kay Tye: The Biology of Social Interactions and Emotions
• Writing to Heal with Laura Davis
• How to Navigate the Business of Writing and Publishing: Expert Advice from Jane Friedman

Sean’s Bio: Sean Murphy is founder of the non-profit 1455 Lit Arts, and directs the Center for Story at Shenandoah University. He has appeared on NPR's All Things Considered and been quoted in USA Today, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and AdAge. A long-time columnist for PopMatters, his work has also appeared in Salon, The Village Voice, Washington City Paper, The Good Men Project, Writer’s Digest, and others. His chapbook, The Blackened Blues, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2021. His second collection of poems, Rhapsodies in Blue was published by Kelsay Books in 2023. His third collection, Kinds of Blue, and This Kind of Man, his first collection of short fiction, published in 2024. He has been nominated four times for the Pushcart Prize, twice for Best of Net, and his book Please Talk about Me When I'm Gone was the winner of Memoir Magazine's 2022 Memoir Prize. To learn more, a

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Free Your Writing Voice, Fuel Your Motivation is a 12-week course designed to help you reconnect with the creative spark that brought you to the page in the first place. https://lisacooperellison.com/free-your-writing-voice-find-your-motivation/

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Have you ever wondered what truly drives you? Are there parts of your personality that leave you puzzled, making you ask, "Why do I do that?" Have you been trying to improve an aspect of your life—especially your writing life—but it feels like no matter what you do, nothing changes? If you’re nodding along, get ready for a mind-blowing conversation with Human Design coach Maha Mamish.

In this episode, you'll learn what Human Design is, why I’m so passionate about it, and how it can transform the way you approach your life and creative process. You’ll also hear how it's already making a huge impact on my coaching clients. So, grab a pen, open your heart, and get ready to explore your unique operating system in a way that could change everything. 

Episode Highlights

• 4:55: What Is Human Design
• 7:22: The Main Types in Human Design
• 13:00: Applying the Types to Our Lives
• 33:54: Human Design and Your Creative Life
• 42:24: Maximizing Your Productivity

Resources Mentioned During this Episode: 

• Maha’s Professional Story
• Robin Winn’s Website
• What Is an Enneagram and How Do They Work
• Get Your Human Design Chart

Maha’s Bio: Maha Mamish is the owner of mishmish, an NYC-based think tank that promotes growth for sustainable brands via holistic business frameworks. This year mishmish launched mishmishfoods- a food brand that uses food experiences as a therapeutic modality for personal and collective healing, as well as Heirloom, a service working with top artists to sustainably transform and modernize family heirlooms. Her work sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship, design, wellbeing, and holism. After 17 years excelling in sales and business development in the global luxury interiors industry, she pursued advanced certifications in quantum coaching, relational presence, neuro-linguistics, holistic health & nutritional science, and crystal healing. She also published her book in 2021 titled "The Creative Entrepreneur: Use Your Sensitive Nature to Build a Highly Successful Business. Maha holds a master certification in human design via Robin Winn, a disciple of Karen Parker Curry who studied directly under Ra Uru himself.

Connect with Maha:  

Instagram: @mishmishnyc

Website: www.mahamamish.com

Email: mm@mahamamish

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Free Your Writing Voice, Fuel Your Motivation is a 12-week course designed to help you reconnect with the creative spark that brought you to the page in the first place. https://lisacooperellison.com/free-your-writing-voice-find-your-motivation/

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Six years ago, Amy Fish and I sat at a table in a hotel ballroom during the HippoCamp Writing Conference when she told me about her latest book idea. As soon as I heard about it, I said, go write that book. In this episode, we celebrate both the journey and the final version of her latest nonfiction book, One in Six Million. Join us as Amy shares how she maintained her motivation through a six-year writing process, how she kept track of her extensive research, how she found the right tone and voice for this book, and what she's currently trusting in. 

Episode Highlights

• 2:30: Finding the Right Voice for Your Book
• 2:54: Writing Someone Else’s Story
• 5:47: Managing Your Research
• 12:25: Maintaining Your Motivation Over the Long Haul
• 15:40: Nurturing Your Patience
• 20:07: Incorporating Multiple Facts Into the Same Sentence
• 23:24: Designing Your Book’s Cover
• 28:17: Trusting Yourself and the Process

Resources Mentioned During this Episode: 

• INTERVIEW: Amy Fish, Author of One In Six Million
• Honeymoon Sneakers by Amy Fish
• How to Navigate the Business of Writing and Publishing: Expert Advice from Jane Friedman 

Amy’s Bio: Amy Fish is the author of One in Six Million: The Baby by the Roadside and the Man Who Retraced a Holocaust Survivor's Lost Identity and I Wanted Fries with That: How to Ask for What You Want and Get What You Need. She specializes in humor writing and memoir and teaches writing workshops at the Quebec Writing Federation, Hippocamp Conference for Creative Non-Fiction and her local library.  Amy's work has been published in Writer's Digest, Canadian Traveler, haikuniverse micropoetry journal, among others.

Connect with Amy:  

• Website: www.amyfishwrites.com
• Social Media: @amyfishwrites
• Substack: https://persistenceforwriters.substack.com/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Free Your Writing Voice, Fuel Your Motivation is a 12-week course designed to help you reconnect with the creative spark that brought you to the page in the first place. https://lisacooperellison.com/free-your-writing-voice-find-your-motivation/

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When was the last time you examined your relationship to social media? During this week’s episode, I speak with Amelia Hruby, host of the Off the Grid podcast, a show that helps business owners and creatives leave social media without losing customers or readers. Discover what led her to leave Instagram, how her post-Instagram life has changed, and how tips from her Leaving Social Media Toolkit can enhance your author platform regardless of your relationship to social media. Plus, you’ll learn some easy, actionable SEO tips that will quickly make you more discoverable.  

Episode Highlights

• 3:13: Considering Your Relationship with Social Media
• 5:10: Tips for Getting Off Social Media
• 10:25: The Importance of Your Website’s SEO
• 16:11: Marketing as Worldbuilding and Understanding Your Reader
• 19:20: The Yin and Yang of Leaving Social Media
• 31:46: Visibility versus Being Seen 
• 40:00: Marketing a Book Without Social Media 

Resources Mentioned During this Episode: 

• Amelia’s Toolkit for Leaving Social Media 
• How Recovery Supports Memoir Writing and Book Marketing Tips with Laura Cathcart Robbins
• Glennon Doyle’s Social Media Plan with Amelia Hruby
• The Art of Thriving Online by Amelia Knott 
• How to Cultivate Creative Resilience with Pascale Coté 

Amelia’s Bio: Amelia Hruby is a feminist writer, podcaster and producer with a PhD in philosophy. She is the founder of Softer Sounds, a feminist podcast studio for entrepreneurs and creatives. And she’s the host of Off the Grid, a podcast about leaving social media without losing all your clients. On the show, she interviews business leaders and former influencers, and shares stories, strategies and experiments for growing your business with radical generosity and energetic sovereignty.

Connect with Amelia: 

• https://www.ameliahruby.com/
• https://offthegrid.fun/
• https://www.softersounds.studio/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Free Your Writing Voice, Fuel Your Motivation is a 12-week course designed to help you reconnect with the creative spark that brought you to the page in the first place. https://lisacooperellison.com/free-your-writing-voice-find-your-motivation/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

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In today’s episode, join me and Jennifer Selig as we explore how memoir writing can be a powerful tool for healing and self-discovery. Learn how Jennifer’s unique blend of depth psychology and storytelling offers a fresh perspective on the writing process, and find out how her alchemical stages of change and equations for transformation can help you navigate the emotional terrain of your memoir.  

Episode Highlights

• 4:30:  Depth Psychology and the Writing Cure
• 12:15:  Understanding Archetypes
• 17:28: The Three Stages of Transformation 
• 25:30 The Four Equations of Transformation 
• 29:00 The Issue of Catharsis 
• 34:00 The Power of Attention

Resources for this Episode:

• “'Nobody Sees a Flower, Really, It Is So Small': Extolling the Ethic of Attention” by Jennifer Leigh Selig 
• “A Question of Catharsis” by Debra Gwartney

Jennifer’s Bio: Jennifer Leigh Selig is an LBGTQ+ teacher, international speaker, book publisher, and author whose writing and teaching career spans four decades. She’s the author of dozens of newspaper articles, book reviews, essays, journal articles, short stories, screenplays, and books, including the Nautilus Gold award-winning book Deep Creativity: Seven Ways to Spark Your Creative Spirit, and her latest book, Deep Memoir: An Archetypal Approach to Deepen Your Story and Broaden Its Appeal.

Connect with Jennifer: 

Website: www.jenniferleighselig.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.selig.1

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferleighselig/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Free Your Writing Voice, Fuel Your Motivation is a 12-week course designed to help you reconnect with the creative spark that brought you to the page in the first place. https://lisacooperellison.com/free-your-writing-voice-find-your-motivation/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

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What happens when a story won’t stay linear—when your life fractures in ways that defy neat beginnings, middles, and ends?

In this episode of Writing Your Resilience, I sit down with essayist, professor, and former bookshop owner Kelly McMasters, author of The Leaving Season: A Memoir-in-Essays. From leaving marriages to landscapes, identities to illusions, Kelly’s memoir is a brilliant meditation on grief, desire, and the elastic form of the essay itself.

We talk about what it means to write honestly into complexity—how a false childhood memory cracked open the heart of a story, why the essay form became her truest vehicle, and the questions that shape her work long after the final line is written.

Episode Highlights

• 2:40: Essays versus Straight Forward Narratives
• 9:39: The Power of Three Scenes
• 16:45: Weaving Themes Into Your Essay Collection 
• 22:09: Navigating Flashbacks
• 27:13: Getting to the Truth 
• 36:00 Caring for Your Shame

Resources Mentioned During this Episode: 

• What Squirrels Taught Me About Life After Divorce
• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
• Michael Foucault’s Theory of Heterotopia
• The Truth About Unringing Phones by Lara Lillibridge
• Turn Your Short Pieces Into a Finished Nonfiction Book by Lara Lillibridge
• The Biggest Memoir Mistake: When Too Much Backstory Derails Your Narrative

Kelly’s Bio: Kelly McMasters is an essayist, professor, mother, and former bookshop owner. She is the author of the The Leaving Season: A Memoir-in-Essays (WW Norton) and co-editor of the ABA national bestseller Wanting: Women Writing About Desire (Catapult). Her books have been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, award-winning podcasts including The Sh*t No One Tells You About Writing, and CSPAN’s Book TV in an episode on Myths of the American Dream

Her essays, reviews, and articles have appeared in The Atlantic, Literary Hub, The New York Times, Oprah Daily, The Rumpus, and Virginia Quarterly Review, among others. She currently runs The Magpie Substack and teaches at Hofstra University in New York.

Connect with Kelly: 

• Website: https://www.kellymcmasters.com/
• Instagram: @kelly_mc_masters
• Substack: https://kellymcmasters.sub

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Free Your Writing Voice, Fuel Your Motivation is a 12-week course designed to help you reconnect with the creative spark that brought you to the page in the first place. https://lisacooperellison.com/free-your-writing-voice-find-your-motivation/

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What makes you weird? Is it something that fills you with pride or something you try to hide, a secret you’re constantly working to cover up? In today’s episode, I’m beyond excited to sit down with the brilliant author, Allison Landa, whose memoir Bearded Lady takes us on a raw and transformative journey of self-acceptance, societal judgment, and the complex relationship we have with both our inner and outer weirdness. Whether you’re a writer or simply someone who wants to connect with a compelling story of resilience and identity, this conversation will inspire and resonate with you. 

Episode Highlights

• 1:00: The Challenges of Being Weird
• 3:17: How Weirdness Both Unites and Separates Us
• 5:11: Owning Your Story
• 9:36: Overworking Your Story Dough 
• 11:45: The Shame of Being Seen and Not Seen
• 17:50: Building Rounded Characters 
• 23:22: Navigating Time in Memoir
• 29:48: How Writing Changes Your Point of View 
• 32:50: Dealing with Reader Responses
• 38:58: Building Your Resilience 

Resources for this Episode: 

• Cold Crematorium: Reporting from the Land of Auschwitz by Deckle Edge
• The Fact of a Body by Alex Marzano Lesnevich 
• “The Biggest Memoir Mistake: When Too Much Backstory Derails Your Narrative” by Lisa Cooper Ellison
• “3 Ways to Experiment with Memoir Structure to Improve Your Narrative Arc” by Lisa Cooper Ellison

Allison’s Bio: Allison Landa is the author of Bearded Lady, an exploration of what makes you feel weird in the world. Her work has been featured in Business Insider, Parents Magazine, HuffPost, The Guardian US, and The Washington Post, among other venues. She has been awarded artist residencies at MacDowell, WordSpace, Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow. 

Connect

• Facebook: @matzohbrei
• Instagram: @adlanda
• Threads: @ adlanda
• Website: www.allisonlanda.com 
• Personal Blog: www.allisonlanda.blogspot.com 

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Free Your Writing Voice, Fuel Your Motivation is a 12-week course designed to help you reconnect with the creative spark that brought you to the page in the first place. https://lisacooperellison.com/free-your-writing-voice-find-your-motivation/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production