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Tia Levings joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to discuss her experience as a debut author, writing to heal without retraumatizing yourself, the gaslighting that happens in religion, and getting things off your chest and onto the page to educate others with your writing.

As you listen to this episode, consider the following questions:  What would you need to do to claim your story? What would tell you it has legs? What would you need to do to see it from a wider lens? If it is a really tough story, how would you care for yourself as you work on it?

Tia is an author and guest expert who exposes the abuses in Christian Fundamentalism. She’s been quoted in Salon, the Huffington Post, and the New York Times and appeared in the hit Amazon docu-series, Shiny Happy People. Her memoir, A Well-Trained Wife, will be published August, 6, 2024 by St. Martin's Press. Online, Tia connects our current news headlines with high-control religious roots.

Episode Highlights:

• Signals Your Project Has Legs
• How Writing Heals
• Gaslighting and Religion
• Finding the Wider Lens
• Understanding Your Boundaries
• Writing Without Retraumatizing Yourself
• Claiming Your Story
• Caring for the Soft Animal of Your Body

Items mentioned in this episode: 

The  Best Way to Deal with End-of_year Angst  (Blog post on writing in a vacuum) 

Welcome to The Anti-Fundamentalist

Shiny Happy People where to find it

Shitty First Drafts by Anne Lamott

Dr. Ramani On Gaslighting

Plotting Your Novel with The Plot Clock

Deep Work by Cal Newport

Connect with Tia: 

Website: https://tialevings.com

Tia’s Book: https://tialevings.com/book

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

Facebook: https://facebook.com/TiaLevingsWriter

Substack:

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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Katie Rose Guest Pryal joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to take a deep dive into what neurodiversity is and how it impacts writers.
Here are a few questions to ponder as you listen to this episode: What do you know about neurodiversity? Do you consider yourself to be neurodivergent? If you are, how does that impact the way you set up your writing life, what you write about, and how you see the world?

Katie Rose Guest Pryal, J.D., Ph.D., is a bipolar-autistic author, keynote speaker, law professor, and expert in mental health and neurodiversity. Her books include Life of the Mind Interrupted: Essays on Mental Health and Disability in Higher Education, the IPPY-Gold-winning Even If You’re Broken: Bodies, Boundaries, and Mental Health, and A Light in the Tower: A New Reckoning with Mental Health in Higher Education. She writes frequently for national magazines and speaks around the country about mental health and neurodiversity. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Episode Highlights

• Defining Neurodiversity
• The Power of a Diagnosis
• The Problem of Overwhelm
• Reclaiming the Word Selfish
• Learn to Cope
• Fitting into the Narrow Band of “Normal”
• Writing and Neurodiversity 

Items mentioned during this episode: 
Katie’s post about overwhelm: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzbTVgJgc5L/
Compton Cowboys: https://www.instagram.com/comptoncowboys/

Contact Katie: 
Substack: https://krgpryal.substack.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krgpryal/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krgpryal/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/krgpryal

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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Dr. Ramani Durvasula, author of It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People, shares her insights into narcissism, how narcissistic abuse survivors can heal, how to get support, and how to care for yourself when writing and promoting a book on tough topics.

Dr. Ramani’s Bio: Ramani Durvasula, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist in California, the founder and CEO of LUNA Education, Training and Consulting, and professor emerita of psychology at California State University Los Angeles. She is the New York Times bestselling author of It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People. She is also the author of multiple other books including Don’t You Know Who I Am: How to Stay Sane in the Era of Narcissism, Entitlement and Incivility and Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving a Relationship with a Narcissist. She has lectured and trained therapists around the world on best practices on working with clients experiencing narcissistic abuse and has developed a 36-hour virtual training and certification program in conjunction with PESI to train clinicians on how to use an Antagonism-Informed approach with clients experiencing narcissistic relationships. Dr. Durvasula hosts a popular YouTube channel with over 1.6 million subscribers, hosted the critically acclaimed podcast Navigating Narcissism, and is a featured expert on the digital media platform MedCircle. She has also been widely involved in the governance of the American Psychological Association, including the APA Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology and the APA Minority Fellowship Program. 

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

Dr. Ramani’s Healing Program

Healing from Gaslighting Course

Course on Narcissistic Abuse for Therapists

Dr. Ramani Network

Connect with Dr. Ramani

Website: https://doctor-ramani.com/ 

YouTube: @DoctorRamani

Instagram: @DoctorRamani

X@DoctorRamani

TikTok

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 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
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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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/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

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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