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

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Author Laura Cathcart Robbins shares book marketing tips she learned while promoting her memoir Stash: My Life in Hiding, and how recovery helped her cultivate the honesty needed to write her memoir. 

Laura’s Bio: Laura Cathcart Robbins is the best-selling author of the Atria/Simon & Schuster memoir, Stash, My Life In Hiding, and host of the popular podcast, The Only One In The Room. She has been active for many years as a speaker and school trustee and is credited for creating The Buckley School’s nationally recognized committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice. Her recent articles on the subjects of race, recovery, and divorce have garnered her worldwide acclaim. She is a 2022 TEDx Speaker, and LA Moth StorySlam winner. Currently, she sits on the advisory boards of the San Diego Writer’s Festival and the Outliers HQ podcast Festival. 

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

I Was the Only Black Person at Elizabeth Gilbert and Cheryl Strayed’s ‘Brave’ Magic Retreat by Laura Cathcart Robbins

“A White Woman Told Me She Doesn’t Think of Me as Black. Here’s How I Reacted.” by Laura Cathcart Robbins

Book Review for Stash: My Life in Hiding by Lisa Cooper Ellison

Author Platform Is Not a Requirement to Sell Your Novel or Children’s Book by Jane Friedman

Official Transcript

Episode Highlights

9:00 The Response to Stash

14:00 The Power of Honesty

16:00 The Link Between Recovery and Honesty

24:00 Channeling Your Energy in a Specific Direction

26:00 Marketing Your Book and Yourself

34:30 Caring For Yourself As You Market Your Book

41:00 Year Two and Working with Book Clubs

47:00 How Honesty Builds Resilience

Connect with Laura

Website: https://lauracathcartrobbins.com/

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

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

X: https://twitter.com/lauracrobbins

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-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Psychology of Character Development for Memoirists

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

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/

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Andrea Firth  joins the Writing Your Resilience podcast to talk about what personal essays are, how writers can uncover their essay’s aboutness, and how to develop resilient editing practices. As an added bonus, she also offers writers the inside scoop on how to get published on the Brevity Blog.

Andrea’s Bio: Andrea A. Firth is a writer, editor and educator living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is an Editor at Brevity Blog and cofounder of Diablo Writers’ Workshop where she teaches creative writing and provides developmental editing. Andrea has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Saint Mary’s College of California. She was a finalist for The Missouri Review's 2021 Perkoff Prize in nonfiction, and her work has appeared in Dorothy Parker’s Ashes, Allium, The Coachella Review among others. Learn more about her and read her recent work at www.andreaafirth.com.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

The Beauty of a Busted Fruit by Natalie Diaz

Secret Words by Andrea Firth

Broken Glass by Andrea Firth

Old John by Andrea Firth

Brevity Blog Submission Guidelines

Snot-Bubble-Cry Dance Parties that Boost Your Creativity by Lisa Cooper Ellison

Looking at an Eclipse: A Braided Essay About Braided Essays by Lilly Dancyger

Official Transcript

Episode Highlights

4:00 The Difference Between Memoir and Personal Essay

7:00 Exploring the Inciting Incident for Your Essays

14:00 Common Struggles Essayists Have: Aboutness

21:00 The Power of the Braided Essay

25:00 Resilient Editing and Workshopping

34:00 Submitting to the Brevity Blog

Connect with Andrea: 

Website: https://www.diablowriters.org/andrea-a-firth/

Writing Workshops: Diablo Writers' Workshop

Instagram: @andreaafwriter

Facebook: @andrea.firth.58

LinkedIn: @andreafirth


Connect with your host, Lisa:

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

Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/

Instagram: @lisacooperellison

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

Facebook: @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

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/
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Author and writing coach, Suzette Mullen shares tips for structuring your memoir, navigating the dark night of the soul, living with integrity, and learning to listen to your inner voice. 

Suzette’s Bio: Suzette Mullen (she/her) is a memoir and nonfiction book coach, retreat leader, and the author of the memoir The Only Way Through Is Out (University of Wisconsin Press, 2024), named one of February’s “most anticipated” releases by Lambda Literary. Foreword Reviews calls The Only Way Through Is Out: “Candid, inspirational…  An emotive memoir that issues a stirring call to women to choose self-actualization.” Suzette’s essays have appeared in the New York Times, today.com, and Brevity, among other outlets. In her work as a book coach, Suzette guides writers to find their deeper stories and define their big ideas. She co-hosts the Mainely Memoir Retreat for women memoir writers and supports LGBTQ+ writers through her group mentorship program, Write Yourself Out. A graduate of Harvard Law School and Wellesley College, Suzette is working on her next book, a memoir about the costs and joys of living authentically.

Resources Mentioned In this Episode:

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

Suzette’s Free Companion Guide/E-book

Why Preparing a TED Talk Makes You a Better Memoirist (Even If You Never Intend to Get on Stage)

Official Transcript

Episode Highlights
2:00 Exploring Cover Design

7:00 The Mid-Life Coming-of-Age Story

11:00 Identifying Your Inner Voice

17:00 Learning to Listen to Yourself  

22:00 Integrity and Seeing Clearly

26:30 Living Through the Dark Night of the Soul  

30:00 Beating Out Your Story and Cutting Your Darlings

34:00 Building a Behind-the Scenes Guide

36:00 Deciding What’s for Public Consumption

Connect with Suzette:

Website: https://www.yourstoryfinder.com/ and https://www.mainelymemoir.com/

Instagram: @urstoryfinder
Facebook: Suzette Mullen, Author
Facebook: Your Story Finder
LinkedIn: Suzette Mullen, LGBTQ Book Coach, Memoir

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write

More, Fret Less

Website: https://lisacooperellison.com/

Instagram:

@lisacooperellison 

YouTube: @lisacooperellison

Facebook: @lisacooperellison 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-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/
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Natalie MacLean joins the Writing Your Resilience podcast to talk about surviving a social media witch hunt, how it impacted her relationship with alcohol, threading a theme through her memoir and marketing your book like a pro. 

Natalie’s Bio: Natalie MacLean, named the World's Best Drinks Journalist, has also won four James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards. She’s the bestselling author of Red, White and Drunk All Over. Her new memoir, Wine Witch on Fire: Rising from the Ashes of Divorce, Defamation, and Drinking Too Much has just become a national bestseller and has been described as “This decade’s Eat Pray Love.”

She hosts the NYT recommended podcast, Unreserved Wine Talk, and offers popular online wine and food pairing classes at www.nataliemaclean.com.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode

Natalie’s Juicy Book Bonuses

Natalie’s Reader Guide

Five Takeaways From the Time’s Investigation into Child Influencers

Signs of Alcoholism or Alcohol Use Disorder

SAMHSA’s National Helpline

Official Transcript

Episode Highlights

4:00 Developing Your Voice

5:52: Dealing with an Online Pile On

10:00 Caring For Yourself While Writing a Tough Story

13:00 Re-evaluating Your Relationship with Alcohol  

21:00 The Struggles of Working in the Male-Dominated Wine Industry

27:00 Threading the Witch Theme into This Story  

32:00 The Power of Book Club Guides and Bonuses

38:00 Rebuilding Your Relationship to Social Media After a Pile On

Connect with Natalie: 

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

TikTok

Goodreads

YouTube 

Threads 

Unreserved Wine Talk Podcast

Natalie’s Book Bub Page

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less

Website

Instagram

YouTube

Facebook

LinkedIn

Sign up for Psychology of Character Development for Memoirists

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

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/
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Lennie Echterling joins the Writing Your Resilience podcast to talk about the lessons he learned from landmine survivors, the difference between empathy and toxic positivity, the importance of fostering your posttraumatic growth, and how to use writing to build your resilience. 

Lennie’s Bio: Lennie Echterling, Ph.D., is a Professor Emeritus at James Madison University with more than 40 years of experience in promoting resilience, particularly during crises and disasters. He has served as crisis counselor, consultant, and trainer following many traumatic stress events, including tornadoes and floods throughout the United States, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the tsunami in India, the 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon, the shootings at Virginia Tech, and landmine explosions in the Middle East. His awards include JMU’s Distinguished Faculty Award, Virginia Counselors Association’s Humanitarian Award, Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award, Virginia Counselors Career Service Award among many others. 

Resources mentioned during this episode: 

The Paradox of Empathy: When Empathy Hurts

Thriving in a Time of Crisis

The Book of Forgiving: The Four-Fold Path Four Healing Ourselves and Our World by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu

Writing to Heal with Laura Davis

Good Night Jung by Lennie Echterling 

Episode Highlights

4:41 Lessons from Landmine Survivors  

10:00 Triggers for Resilience

12:00 Defining Posttraumatic Growth

15:00 The Problem of Toxic Positivity

22:00 The Power of Being with Another Person’s Story

27:00 The Struggle to Trust

30:00 Embracing and Exploring the Chaos Story

35:00 The Role of Neuroplasticity in Storytelling

38:00 Lessons Learned from Final Conversations

42:00 Making Every Day Valentine’s Day

47:00 The Power of Expressing Gratitude  

54:40 Lennie’s Best Writing Advice

56:20 Lennie’s Resilience Practice

Connect with Lennie: 

Email: [email protected]

Connect with your host, Lisa:

Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less

Website

Instagram

YouTube

Facebook

LinkedIn

Sign up for Psychology of Character Development for Memoirists.

Produced by Espresso Podcast Production

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/
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Sue William Silverman joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to talk about the power of creative nonfiction, how to use metaphor, masks, and language to harness its power, and how this work can lead to personal growth.

As you listen along, here are a few questions to ponder: Which of your stories yearn to be told?  How do you uncover their many emotional truths? What do those truths look like on the page and sound like when you read them out loud? 

Sue’s Bio: 

Sue William Silverman is an award-winning author of eight works of nonfiction and poetry. Her most recent book is Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul. Her previous book, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences," won the gold star in Foreword Reviews Indie Book of the Year Award and the Clara Johnson Award for Women’s Literature. Other works include Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction, which was made into a Lifetime TV movie; Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You, which won the AWP Award; and The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew. She is faculty co-chair of the MFA in Writing Program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Episode Highlights: 

4:00 Why We Write Creative Nonfiction 

8:00 Metaphors in Creative Nonfiction Writing 

24:00 Using Masks to Externalize the Narrator and Connect with Their Voice 

30:00 Writing, Creativity, and Emotional Truth 

36:00 Creative Nonfiction Writing and Personal Growth 

42:00 Writing, Memoir, and Essay Collections.

48:00 Writing, Resilience, and Self-Expression

Resources Mentioned During This Episode
“Innocence & Experience: Voice in Creative Nonfiction” by Sue William Silverman

“INTERVIEW & REVIEW: Sue William Silverman, Author of Acetylene Torch Songs” 

Connect with Sue: 

Website: www.SueWilliamSilverman.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SueWilliamSilverman
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suewilliamsilverman/

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-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/
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Ingrid Clayton joins the Writing Your Resilience podcast to talk about Complex PTSD, how narcissistic abuse leads to self-gaslighting, its impact on the writing process, and how Ingrid confronted these experiences while writing her memoir Believing Me. 

Here’s a list of questions to ponder as you follow along: Have you ever doubted your own experiences? Have you ever felt like if you just did the right thing, you’d be good enough and the problems in your relationships would end? Is there something about yourself you struggle to believe in? While writing, have you considered what story your body wants to tell?  

Ingrid Clayton’s Bio: While Ingrid has a clinical background, she believes there is no theory, diagnosis, or therapy that can replace the power of shared experience. Her recent memoir is written from the heart, where all our hurt lives—so it speaks the same language. In addition to raising her beautiful son, Ingrid believes that gaining the courage to write Believing Me is her greatest achievement to date.

Episode Highlights

5:00 Childhood trauma, gaslighting, and self-gaslighting

13:00 Writing a memoir and healing through the process

25:00 Trauma writing and grounding techniques for writers

38:00 Self-publishing vs traditional publishing 

52:00 Self-publishing as a process of trusting myself 

1:07 Healing trauma and self-expression 

Resources Mentioned During this Episode: 

• “What Is the Fawning Trauma Response?” by Ingrid Clayton
• “What Is Self-Gaslighting?” by Ingrid Clayton
• “Fix Your Partner” Instagram Reel
• Stand Up Therapy Variety Show Episode One
• Stand Up Therapy Variety Show Episode Two

Contact Ingrid: 

Website: https://www.ingridclayton.com/

Instagram and YouTube: @IngridClaytonPhD 

Get a free copy of her PDF on the fawning response: https://www.ingridclayton.com/fawningtraumaresponse

Get a copy of Believing Me: https://www.ingridclayton.com/books

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-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Create Your Memoir’s Beat Sheet: https://janefriedman.com/craft-your-memoirs-beat-sheet-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/
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Welcome to season two of the Writing Your Resilience Podcast!  After celebrating season one’s fantastic interviews, I decided to kick things off right by having a fireside-style chat with you about a topic that keeps coming up: Forgiveness. 

Whether we’re on a healing journey or writing the tough stuff, forgiveness can be a complicated thing to grasp and work through. In this episode, I talk about what forgiveness is, what the process looks like, and how it’s related to the writing process. 

As you listen along, consider the following questions: What do you think about the word forgiveness? More importantly, how do you feel about it? What do you want to know about it? And finally, what relationship do you think it has to the writing process?

Episode Resources

Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma by Melanie Brooks

It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing From Narcissistic People by Dr. Ramani Durvasula

Writing to Heal with Laura Davis

Practicing Radical Acceptance with Zebib Abraham

Leaning into the Mystery of Your Stories with Brett Will Taylor

Recovering from Cults and Religious Trauma Through Writing with Tia Levings

To Write a Better Memoir, Learn This F-Word

Episode Highlights

2:00 Why People Hate Forgiveness

7:00 Forgiveness Myths

9:00 Defining Forgiveness

13:00 Forgiveness Prerequisites

22:00 The Process of Forgiving

30:00 Two Powerful Writing Exercises

36:00 Renewing and Releasing Relationships with Yourself and Others

48:00 Empowering Yourself 

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-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Create Your Memoir’s Beat Sheet: https://janefriedman.com/craft-your-memoirs-beat-sheet-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/
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Welcome to the last episode of Season 1! This season has been amazing, and I am so grateful for all the listeners who return week after week to learn from my featured guests. After weeks of  asking other writers questions, I decided to invite some of the writers I work with onto the podcast to ask me questions!

In this episode, you’ll first meet Sara Pam Neufeld, a yoga teacher and former journalist who’s working to complete the first full draft of her memoir about her quest for balance when life turned upside down. As you listen to our interview, here are some questions to consider: What makes it difficult to tell your story? Is it something internal or is your answer based on something you learned or a way you were trained?

In the second part of this episode, you’ll hear from Lisa Rizzo, author of the award-winning poetry collection, Always a Blue House, and In the Poem An Ocean. Lisa’s putting the finishing touches on her memoir-in-progress. As you listen to her interview, consider these questions: Is there a craft technique you'd like to try, or would you like to push the boundaries of storytelling by trying something new? 

Connect with Sara Neufeld:
Website: https://www.sarapamneufeld.com

Resources from Sara Neufeld’s Interview

Your Life as Story by Tristine Rainer

Acetylene Torch Songs by Sue William Silverman

A Few Keys to Alignment

Wake Up With Joint Rotations

Improve Your Back and Hip Tightness

Connect with Lisa Rizzo:

Website: http://lisarizzowriter.com

Resources from Lisa Rizzo’s Interview

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Stash: My Life in Hiding by Laura Cathcart Robbins

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Heavy by Kiese Laymon

Safekeeping by Abigail Thomas 

The Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis 

After the Eclipse by Sarah Perry 

Believing Me by Ingrid Clayton

(re)using found forms: the hermit crab essay

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-ellison-b5483840/

Sign up for Create Your Memoir’s Beat Sheet: https://janefriedman.com/craft-your-memoirs-beat-sheet-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/
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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. Find her work @TiaLevingsWriter on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, and through her Substack, The Anti-Fundamentalist.


Episode Highlights: 
10:00 Signals Your Project Has Legs
15:00: How Writing Heals 
17:00 Gaslighting and Religion
20:00 Finding the Wider Lens
25:00 Understanding Your Boundaries 
28:00 Writing Without Retraumatizing Yourself 
35:00 Claiming Your Story
39:00 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 (Post where Tia holds her book)
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: https://tialevings.substack.com

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/
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