Writing Your Resilience: Building Resilience, Embracing Trauma and Healing Through Writing

Send us Fan Mail

This week, you will hear from Wendy Hawkes, an emerging writer working on a coming-of-middle-age memoir about how she survived category 5 Hurricane Dorian, a storm whose intensity was due to climate change, and how this experience taught her to go with the flow. During our conversation we talk about how to write tough scenes without overdramatizing them or falling into a victim role, and how to decide which details truly belong.  

Wendy’s Bio: Wendy Hawkes (she/her) is an American emerging writer currently crafting a memoir based on her experience surviving Category 5 Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. She is a member of the National Association of Memoir Writers and has been published in Insider.com. Her personal essays have achieved finalist status in various competitions, including second place in the Writer’s Digest 2023 Personal Essay Contest. Wendy sails and writes alongside her British-born husband from their floaty home while avoiding oncoming storms amidst ever-present boat chores, sporadic diving and snorkeling, and exploring tropical islands.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode

Wendy’s essay on Insider.com

Blake Snyder’s Beat Sheet

A Writer’s Secret Weapon: Add a Listening Pass to Your Editing Arsenal

Making Meaning and Writing Toward Posttraumatic Growth with Lennie Echterling

Natural Reader

Episode Highlights

5:00 Writing Present Tense with Perspective

6:00 Writing to Heal vs Writing for an Audience

Making Yourself the Hero of Your Story

19:42 Wendy’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Wendy

Website: https://WendyHawkes.com
Instagram: wendyh_aquatania

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan Mail

This week, you’ll hear from Meredith Master, a writer working on her memoir who is deciding on its structure. In this episode, we discuss writing a braided memoir, writing with a disability, telling the story of someone who has passed away, and how to write about the parts of someone’s life you weren’t present for. 

Meredith’s Bio: Meredith Master is a blind writer living in New York City, where she shares a small space with her guide dog, Ivan and mostly unhelpful Boston Terrier, Jelly Roll. She is currently working on three book projects, including a memoir about adult onset disability and addiction as told through the stories of herself and her partner, Michael. She is also working on a collection of humorous essays and an anthology of personal stories of resilience told by writers who went blind and lived to tell about it. 

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

The Fact of a Body by Alex Marzano-Lesnevich

Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories That Ignite the Soul by Sue William Silverman

After the Eclipse by Sarah Perry

My Interview with Sarah Perry

My Interview with Sue William Silverman

Episode Highlights

3:06 Braiding Two Lives Together

8:45 Deciding on the Best Form

12:00 Telling Someone Else’s Story

20:30 Meredith’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Meredith 

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meredith.master/

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan Mail

Have you ever felt the need to write your story and share it with others? What if you believed breaking the silence would heal you, but family members want you to keep certain stories private? Could you find a way to respect their wishes while honoring your truth?  

In this episode, I am joined by Stephanie Shafran, a writer who’s spent a lifetime being silenced and is now experiencing just this situation. We talk about writing what you need to write, deciding whether to publish, and respecting a family member’s need for privacy while still expressing yourself. 

Stephanie’s Bio: Stephanie Shafran’s poetry chapbook Awakening was released in 2020. Stephanie contributed to the 2021 anthology, A 21st Century Plague: Pandemic Poetry, edited by Elayne Clift. A member of Straw Dog Writers Guild and Florence Poetry Society, Stephanie resides in Northampton, Massachusetts. You can read her monthly blog posts at stephanieshafran.com. In 2017, Stephanie retired from a teaching and counseling career. Her degrees include a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Smith College, Master in the Art of Teaching from the University of Vermont, and Master of Counseling Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People

Embracing Our Grief

Episode Highlights

2:50 Discovering You’re Not the Main Character

4:04 Disenfranchised Grief

7:00 Navigating Other’s Privacy with Our Need to Speak the Truth

13:40 Identifying Your Audience

17:00 Deciding Whether to Publish

23:09 Stephanie’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Stephanie

Website: stephanieshafran.com

Email: [email protected]

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephanie.shafran.1

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan Mail

Before you send your book to beta readers, listen to this episode!

In it, you’ll meet Melissa Macomber, another Camp Structure alumni who’s working on her memoir. During this episode, we explore how to know when your book is ready for beta readers, the three types of beta readers you’ll need, how to choose beta readers wisely, and questions to ask them before sending out your work. 

Melissa’s Bio: Melissa is a writer currently working on a memoir about how to recognize your soulmate(s). You can find more of her short pieces and research on love, commitment and betrayal on her website.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode: 

Crafting the Personal Essay and Resilient Editing Tips with Andrea Firth

Bianca Maris’s Beta Reader Matchup

Writers Digest Article About Sensitivity Readers

Writing Diversely

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Podcast

Crafting the Personal Essay and Resilient Editing Tips with Andrea Firth

Hidden Potential by Adam Grant

Official Transcript

Episode Highlights

1:20 Maintaining Your Stamina

2:59 Preparing Mentally for Beta Reader Feedback

4:09 Working with Writers   

9:30 Should I Send Them All or Part of My Manuscript

11:55 Working with Members of Your Audience

15:06 Finding Beta Readers

16:05 Working with Sensitivity Readers

19:52 Mistake allowances

Connect with Melissa: 

Website: melissamacomber.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan Mail

Shoshana’s Website: https://www.shoshanakoch.com
Shoshana's Substack: https://shoshanakoch.substack.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shoshanadianekoch/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shoshanadianekoch/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shoshanakoch

Sign up for Camp Structure: 14 Weeks to Find and Refine Your Memoir’s Narrative Arc: https://lisacooperellison.com/camp-structure-find-your-memoirs-narrative-arc/ 

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome to season three of the Writing Your Resilience podcast! During seasons one and two, I interviewed experts and published authors who generously shared their wisdom on writing and healing. We’ll get back to that in season four. But sometimes it’s nice to know the people walking this journey alongside you. For my season three “Summer Shorts” series, you’ll meet ten writers in the trenches of the writing process and hear my advice to them.

But I wanted to launch this season with one more expert–Estelle Erasmus, author of the craft book Writing That Gets Noticed. During our episode, we explore how to craft short pieces with the greatest chance for publication. You’ll also learn some savvy tricks for dealing with rejection.

Bio: Estelle Erasmus, author of Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published, named a 2024 "Best Book for Writers" by Poets & Writers, is a professor of writing at New York University, the host of the Freelance Writing Direct podcast, a contributing editor for Writer's Digest, where she also teaches courses on writing essays and pitches, and judges the Writer's Digest Personal Essay contest. Her articles for the New York Times and The Washington Post have gone globally viral. She has appeared on Good Morning America and has had her articles discussed on The View. She has also taught, coached, and mentored many writers who have gone on to be widely published. She received the 2023 NYU School of Professional Studies Teaching Excellence Award, a 2023 Zibby Award for Best Book for the Writer, is an American Society of Journalists and Authors award winner, and was a cast member in the inaugural New York City production of the Listen to Your Mother storytelling show. 

Resources In This Episode
How to BullyProof Your Child
Plus Here I'm the Focus of the Well Newsletter re the Bullyproof Story
I'm Learning to Listen in New Ways
Freelance Writing Direct with Ann Hood

Highlights
7:00 The Best Time to Work on Short Pieces
10:00 The Power of Google Alerts
13:00 Journaling with Purpose
17:30: Vulnerability versus Pity 
25:11 The Danger of Oversharing
29:00 Confessing versus Confiding
32:00 The Power of Accomplishment Lists
33:48  Writing Timely Essays
40:52 Handling Rejection
51:25 Estelle’s best writing advice

Connect with Estelle
Website
Substack
Freelance Writing Direct podcast
Instagram
X
TikTok

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome to the last episode of Season 2! This second season has been amazing, and I am so grateful for all of the featured guests and all of you listeners. Just as I did last season, I decided to sit behind the microphone and open myself up to answering questions.

In this episode, you’ll meet Katie Rouse, a poet, memoirist, and former student in my Camp Structure course. During this episode, we explore the signals that your story is “finished” and ready to marinate. As you listen to our interview, here are some questions to consider: How do you know it's time to let a manuscript rest? Do you resist doing it? What fears do you face? What have you done to cope with them? If you've let your manuscript rest, what tells you it's time to pick it back up?

Katie’s Bio: Katie Rouse is a marketing manager, poet, and freelance writer who writes about faith, doubt, and deconstruction. She  loves sending out weekly poems to email subscribers, as well as longer monthly letters. Her work has been published in Missive Mag, hyssop + laurel, and The Unmooring. She published her first book of poetry, Psalms of Deconstruction, in Fall 2021, and is working on her first memoir, which will recount her journey of deconstructing her faith while serving as a missionary in India.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode

Katie’s Poem “Psalm 9” from The Unmooring (See page 38)

Episode Highlights

1:15 Finding the “Good Enough” Completion Point

4:55 Completing Your Work

6:15 The Three Types of Rest

10:15 Signals It’s Time to Return to Your Work

12:36 Common Fears Writers Have Around Rest

Connect with Katie

Website: https://bit.ly/katierousewrites

Newsletter: https://bit.ly/katierousewrites_subscribe

Instagram: @katie.rose.rouse

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan Mail

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 and get support, and how to care for yourself when writing and promoting a book on tough topics. 

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 working with clients experiencing narcissistic abuse and has developed a 36-hour virtual training and certification program to train clinicians on how to use an Antagonism-Informed approach with clients experiencing narcissistic relationships. She 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. For more on Dr. Ramani, please check out the links below!

Resources:

Dr. Ramani’s Healing Program

Healing from Gaslighting Course

Course on Narcissistic Abuse for Therapists

Dr. Ramani Network

Episode Highlights

6:11 How Narcissism Affects You

11:47 Narcissism versus Antagonistic Behavior

16:21 Radical Acceptance and the Problem of Toxic Hope

28:00 The Disengagement Continuum

33:00 Disenfranchised Grief

38:00 Breaking Through Cognitive Dissonance

43:00 Healing and Getting Support

51:46 Dr. Ramani’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Dr. Ramani

Website

YouTube: @DoctorRamani

Instagram: @DoctorRamani

XL @DoctorRamani

TikTok: @DoctorRamani

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan Mail

Author Ann Batchelder talks about her daughter’s struggle with addiction, their recovery journeys, the myths she had to confront, her struggle with perfectionism, and the writing tips she learned as she was writing her memoir, Craving Spring: A Mother's Quest, a Daughter's Depression, and the Greek Myth that Brought Them Together

Ann’s bio: Ann Batchelder writes about women’s wisdom and the pain and beauty of difficult transitions. She is the author of Craving Spring: A Mother’s Quest, a Daughter’s Depression, and the Greek Myth that Brought Them Together. Her work has been featured in multiple podcasts and publications, including in Insider Magazine, Newsweek, Hippocampus, The Linden Review, and The Rumpus.

Ann served as Editor of Fiberarts Magazine for ten years. She was guest curator for the Asheville Art Museum where she designed and developed several major contemporary exhibitions, Acting Director of the International Studies program at Lesley University, and Director of Special Events for the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Ann has an MSW and has been practicing mindfulness since 2004. She lives with her husband in Asheville, NC. www.annbatchelder.com

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

The Hero’s Journey

The Heroine’s Journey

Episode Highlights

5:50 Being Addicted to Someone Else’s Recovery

9:00 Confronting the Good Mother Myth

11:15 What Truly Helping Someone Looks Like

13:27 The Power of Surprising the Reader

15:00 A Buddhist Bent on Recovery

21:00 Braiding in the Greek Myth

30:21 The Art of Inserting Backstory

39:00 Ann’s Writing Advice

Connect with Ann: 

Website: www.annbatchelder.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ann.batchelder.9?mibextid=eQY6cl

Instagram: instagram.com/annbatchelder

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/

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

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Psychology of Character Development for Memoirists: https://janefriedman.com/the-psychology-of-character-development-for-memoirists-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

Send us Fan Mail

Author, Jennifer Lunden, shares her struggles with chronic illness, the challenges of writing a hybrid memoir, especially when you’ve not trained in science writing, and the grit all writers, but especially writers with disabilities, need to cultivate.  

Jennifer Lunden Bio: Jennifer Lunden (she/her) is the author of American Breakdown: Our Ailing Nation, My Body’s Revolt, and the Nineteenth-Century Woman Who Brought Me Back to Life, which was praised by the Los Angeles Review of Books and Washington Post, and called a “genre-bending masterpiece” by Hippocampus. Her essays have appeared in Creative Nonfiction, Orion, River Teeth, DIAGRAM, Longreads, and other journals; selected for a Pushcart Prize; and recognized as notable in Best American Essays. She has been awarded grants from the Maine Arts Commission, the Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, and the Canada Council for the Arts, and was the 2016 recipient of the Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Foundation Scholarship in Nonfiction. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and former therapist, in 2012, she was named Maine’s Social Worker of the Year. She lives with her husband, the artist Frank Turek, in Portland, Maine.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode

The Lady’s Handbook of Mysterious Illnesses

“The Hero’s Journey Starring You” on the Hidden Brain podcast

Sarah Perry Episode

Laura Davis Episode 

Episode Highlights

7:11 Feedback We Get When Writing About Illnesses

12:00 Structuring a Hybrid Memoir

22:00 The Two Types of Grit Writers with Disabilities Need

31:07 The Three Kinds of Stories We All Have

39:48 Jennifer’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Jennifer

https://jenniferlunden.com/
https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.lunden
https://www.instagram.com/jleelunden/
https://staging.bsky.app/profile/jenniferlunden.bsky.social

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/

Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/

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

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColPDzpoQlVktIv7-f7ObRg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cooper-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Psychology of Character Development for Memoirists: https://janefriedman.com/the-psychology-of-character-development-for-memoirists-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com

Note: Jennifer’s headshot was taking by Melanie Lunden 

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.

Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production