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How do you tell a story of resistance that invites others in? Through the power of your metaphors—something today’s guest, Eiren Caffall has truly mastered. During today’s conversation, we explore how chronic illness and a love for nature shaped Eiren’s memoir The Mourner’s Bestiary, what it means two books in tandem (and release them just months apart), and how crafting metaphor-rich, layered narratives can become both an act of resistance and devotion. It’s time to grab your pen, open your heart, and get ready to learn how collaboration can enhance your writing and how a single essay can become the hinge that holds an entire book together.

Episode Highlights

• 4:45: The Power of Juxtaposition 
• 7:50:  Metaphor as a Vehicle for Change 
• 15:30: Structuring a Circular Story 
• 20:33: Writing as a Collaborative Process
• 24:08: Teaching Patience
• 30:07 Red Tides and Amazing Editors 

Resources for this Episode: 

• Short Film: Becoming Ocean
• “Red Tides” by Eiren Caffall
• Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative by Jane Allison 
• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
• 3 Ways to Experiment with Memoir Structure to Improve Your Narrative Arc by Lisa Cooper Ellison
• INTERVIEW: Eiren Caffall, Author of The Mourner’s Bestiary by Amy Eaton

Eiren’s Bio: EIREN CAFFALL is a writer and musician. Her work on loss, oceans, and extinction has appeared in Orion, Writer’s Digest, Guernica, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Literary Hub, Al Jazeera, The Rumpus, and the anthology Elementals: Volume IV. Fire, (The Center for Humans and Nature, 2024). She received a 2023 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant, a Social Justice News Nexus fellowship, and residencies at the Banff Centre, Millay Colony, Hedgebrook, and Ragdale. Her books include her memoir The Mourner’s Bestiary (Row House Publishing, 2024) and her novel All the Water in the World (St. Martin’s Press, 2025).

Connect with Eiren

• Website: www.eirencaffall.com
• Instagram: @eirencaffall 
• Blue Sky: @eirencaffall.bsky.social

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Have you ever felt like your creativity isn’t enough or that your artistic endeavors are secondary to everything on your to-do list? Have you tried all the strategies only to find yourself struggling with this yet again? Join me and my client, Carolyn Fallert, as we explore the impact of familial and cultural socializations and how strategies aren’t enough. You need to understand yourself. Get ready to discover the importance of understanding your unique operating system and how it should determine the strategies you use.  

Episode Highlights

• 1:40 The Number One Trick for Getting Unstuck
• 6:40 Protecting Time and Your Creative Energy 
• 7:31 Understanding Your Nature 
• 17:20 Overcoming Your Conditioning
• 22:50 Identifying Your Why

Resources for this Episode: 

• We Need Your Art by Amie McNee
• What is Human Design? 
• What are the nine Enneagram types?
• The True Meaning of Success and the Multiple Paths to Publishing Your Book with Courtney Maum
• The Art of Intimacy: Crafting Connections in Memoir and Essay with Lilly Dancyger

Carolyn’s Bio: Carolyn Fallert is a writer with over four years of dedicated study and practice in creative nonfiction. In 2024, Kenyon Review selected Carolyn for their Residential Writers' Workshop. Her first published essay in Spank the Carp received the highest reader vote for its issue. Before her writing career, Carolyn consulted for Fortune 500 companies and the Gates Foundation. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MPA-ID (Master of Public Administration in International Development) from Harvard Kennedy School. Carolyn is writing a memoir about learning self-defense as a survivor of sexual assault.

Connect with Carolyn

• Instagram: @carolynfallert
• Substack: https://yourpowers.substack.com/

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 Writers, if you've ever wondered how to navigate the ever-changing world of writing and publishing, then you are in for a treat. Jane Friedman, who has spent nearly 25 years in the book publishing industry is here today to talk about the second edition of her groundbreaking book, “The Business of Being a Writer.” Join us as we explore the most important part of the business of being a writer: the mindset writers need to cultivate to build a viable writing career. Get ready to learn the secrets to handling rejection, thinking not just about a book, but about your writing career, and Jane's number one tool for creating sustainability over the long haul.

Episode Highlights:

• 2:20: The Benefits of Seeing Writing as a Business
• 4:30: Writing a Second Edition
• 6:50: Writing with Foresight
• 11:54: Jane’s Evolving Mindset
• 16:20: Mindset Considerations
• 24:36: Navigating Setbacks
• 30:15 The Power of Boundaries 

Resources Mentioned During this Episode: 

• Write is a Verb by Bill O’Hanlon
• The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
• My Latest Rejection Story by Jane Friedman
• The Attention Economy Substack
• Writing with Hunger: Mindset, Goals, and The Publishing Shift

Jane’s Bio: Jane Friedman has spent nearly 25 years working in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and trend reporting. Her latest book is THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WRITER, SECOND EDITION (The University of Chicago Press), which received a starred review from Library Journal. In addition to serving on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund, she works with organizations such as The Authors Guild to bring transparency to the business of publishing.

Connect with Jane: 

• https://janefriedman.com
• https://youtube.com/@janefriedman
• https://linkedin.com/in/janefriedman

Sign up for Revise Your Memoir series: https://bit.ly/4ooLTDi

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
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Join me and editor extraordinaire Lilly Dancyger as we discuss her latest book, First Love, an intimate, electric collection of essays on friendship, identity, and what it means to grow into yourself in community. During our conversation, Lilly shares her sharp insights on the craft of memoir, why she bristles at the idea of writing as catharsis, and how she pushes back against the dead girl trope by keeping her cousin Sabina fully alive on the page. If you’ve ever wondered how to turn memory into art without falling into the trap of polishing your pain, this one’s for you.

Episode Highlights

• 3:36: The Problem of Connecting Memoir with Catharsis
• 10:12: Essays as a Space for Play and Variation
• 13:04: Showing Intimacy on the Page
• 21:12: Zooming In and Zooming Out
• 27:00: Pushing Against the Dead Girl Trope
• 33:44: Strategies for Cleansing Your Creative Palette 

Resources for this Episode: 

• Canceling My Book Deal Was the Best Career Move I’ve Ever Made” by Lilly Dancyger
• “Why Your Memoir Won’t Sell” by Jane Friedman
• More Than True Crime with Sarah Perry 

Lilly’s Bio: Lilly Dancyger is the author of First Love: Essays on Friendship, and Negative Space. Her work has been published by The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Playboy, and Rolling Stone, among others, and she writes the Substack newsletter The Word Cave. Dancyger lives in New York City, and teaches creative nonfiction in the MFA programs at Columbia University and Randolph College.

Connect with Lilly: 

• Website: https://www.lillydancyger.com/
• Substack: https://substack.com/@lillydancyger
• Blue Sky: @lillydancyger.bsky.social
• Instagram: @lillydancyger on Instagram

Sign up for Revise Your Memoir series: https://bit.ly/4ooLTDi

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
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Whether we like it or not, writers are content creators. And one of the biggest struggles I watch writers face is understanding their audience—what they want, what they need, and how to authentically engage with them. In this episode, podcast coach, content strategist, and host of the award-winning The Proffitt Podcast, Krystal Proffitt shares valuable insights on how writers can navigate this challenge and build meaningful relationships with their readers. If you're a writer looking to expand your platform and reach, this episode is for you. Let’s dive in!

Episode Highlights

• 2:22: Maintaining An Attitude of Gratitude During Busy Seasons 
• 4:08: Building Authentic Audience Engagement 
• 6:32: Humor Is Your Secret Weapon 
• 8:05: Tailoring Your Content to Your Platform
• 13:32: The Magic of Taking Readers Behind the Scenes
• 15:09 The Power of Audience Surveys
• 20:32: How Asking Closed Questions Gets Better Results
• 27:35: Building Your Launch Squad

Resources Mentioned During this Episode: 

• 
  Start a Binge Worthy Podcast: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating a Podcast Your Audience Craves by Krystal Proffitt
• How to Survey Your Audience for Feedback Content Ideas
• Audience Engagement and Feedback on Your Content
• Podcasters Connect
• Embracing the Full Catastrophe: Writing About Loss and Finding Belonging with Casey Mulligan Walsh
• The Caregiver Cup with Cathy VandenHuevel

Krystal’s Bio: Krystal Proffitt is a Podcast Coach, Content Strategist, and host of the award-winning show The Proffitt Podcast. She specializes in helping content creators create with confidence. Having published over 1,450 podcast episodes, she knows what it takes to keep creating year after year.

Krystal teaches content strategy, repurposing, branding, and marketing through her podcast, digital courses, and YouTube channel dedicated to content creation. She has also appeared as a Content Expert for brands like Podcast Movement, Buzzsprout, Ramsey Solutions, Amy Porterfield, and Streamyard.

Connect with Krystal: 

• Website: https://krystalproffitt.com/
• Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/krystalproffitttx/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KrystalProffitt/

Sign up for Revise Your Memoir series: https://bit.ly/4ooLTDi

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
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If you’ve ever sat down to write about a tough experience, only to find yourself avoiding the page, feeling emotionally wrecked, or questioning whether you should even be writing this story—you are not alone. Writing about trauma can be healing, but it can also trigger us in ways we don’t expect. Today, we’re going to unpack this. We’ll talk about what trauma triggers really are, how they show up on the page and inside us, and—most importantly—what you can do to navigate them so your writing process supports your well-being rather than working against it.

Episode Highlights

• 4:30: Trauma Triggers
• 6:16: Types of Triggers 
• 9:08: What Triggers Look Like On the Page
• 12:24: Trauma Triage and Self-Care
• 15:43: Two Powerful Journal Prompts 
• 19:17: How Choices Empower You 

Resources for this Episode: 

• HuffPost Essay on Emotional Flashbacks
• Get Your Copy of Write More, Fret Less
• Watch my Building a Resilient Writing Practice Series 
• Jacob Nordby Episode: The Creative Cure for Writers
• Jessica Buchanan Episode: From Captivity to Clarity
• Seeking Wisdom by Julia Cameron

Lisa’s Bio: Lisa is a writer, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of the Writing Your Resilience podcast. Her writing and work live at the intersection of healing and creativity, and she combines her experiences with Complex PTSD and suicide with her clinical training and storytelling expertise to help writers tell stories that transform lives, especially their own. Her work has been featured in Risk!, The New York Times, HuffPost, and Kenyon Review Online, among others. 

Sign up for Revise Your Memoir series: https://bit.ly/4ooLTDi

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
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Imagine working tirelessly for years to publish your first novel—only to have the moment of celebration collide with the collapse of your country. Imagine being forced to flee, leaving behind everything you’ve ever known, and yet… still finding your voice through poetry, storytelling, and advocacy.

Today, I have the honor of speaking with Samman Akbarzada—a poet, novelist, refugee, and fierce advocate for human rights. Her novel, Life is a Movie, tells the story of a working child in Afghanistan, while her poetry collection, A Glimmer in the Dark, captures the heartbreak of exile and the enduring hope of survival. Join us as we discuss the power of storytelling, the resilience of the human spirit, and how writing can bear witness to both personal and collective grief. 

Episode Highlights

• 2:04: Publishing in a War Zone
• 9:43: The Impact of Crisis and Loss on Our Writing Lives
• 17:31: Giving a Voice to Someone Who’s Gone
• 21:35: How Helping Others Empowers You
• 28:50: Listening to the Howl 
• 32:48 Writing as an Act of Service
• 35:20: Samman’s Best Writing Advice

Resources for this Episode:

• Afghan refugees head to Washington asking special visas be issued for families
• Afghan refugee pleads for resettlement support on Capitol Hill
• Volunteer Information: https://www.volunteermatch.org/
• Volunteer Organizations in Charlottesville: 
  • https://soundjusticelab.org/cville-tulips
  • https://www.charlottesvilleunited.org/
  • https://www.virginiaequitycenter.org/
• Watch the Trailer for Limbo

Samman’s Bio: Samman Akbarzada is an Afghan refugee and the author of two books: A Glimmer in the Dark, her poetry collection, and Life is a Movie, her debut novel. A second-year student at the University of Virginia, she is committed to working with NGOs and advocating for the rights of underserved communities. Her words capture the suffering, heartbreak, gratitude, and redemption that mark a life lived on the blade of conflict, with love and empathy as her constant guiding light.

Connect with Samman

• Author Website: https://www.amazon.com/author/samman-akbarzada
• Instagram.com/sammanwrites
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samman-akbarzada-9359792a0
• Samman’s books on Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/life-is-a-movie-samman-akbarzada/17

Sign up for Revise Your Memoir series: https://bit.ly/4ooLTDi

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
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Do you struggle to see yourself as creative? Or have you ever wondered where your creativity comes from, and how to maximize it? This week, I’m joined by Jacob Nordby, founder of A Writing Room Collective and author of Blessed are the Weird: A Manifesto for Creatives, and The Creative Cure, a powerful guide to reconnecting with your creative self. In this week’s episode, Jacob and I dive deep into the healing power of creativity, trauma, and the inner wisdom we all carry within us. Grab your pen, open your heart, and join us as we discuss how to nurture your creative intuition, overcome the obstacles of comparison and fear, and how creativity can be the bridge back to feeling truly alive.

Episode Highlights

• 1:27: The Authentic Work of Creativity
• 6:51: The Trifecta of Rejection, Trauma, and Socialization
• 10:33 Polyvagal Theory and the Creative Process
• 12:50 The Role of Intuition in Creativity
• 15:29 The Secret to Guiding Yourself
• 19:37: Connecting with Your Body’s Wisdom
• 21:49 Recovering Our Connection to Our True Nature
• 35:00 Connecting with Jacob

Resources Mentioned During this Episode: 

• The Creative Cure book page: www.creativecurebook.com
• Bonus multimedia journaling program gift: www.creativeselfjournal.com
• The ACES Test
• Polyvagal Theory and the Ventral Vagal State
• The Seven Chakras
• Human Design
• Writing Rituals with Natalie Buster 
• Writing Down Your Soul by Janet Conner
• Seeking Wisdom by Julia Cameron

Jacob’s Bio: Jacob Nordby is a co-founder of A Writing Room Collective, Heal + Create, The Institute for Creative Living Foundation 501(c)3,  and the author of several books, including Blessed Are the Weird – A Manifesto for Creatives and The Creative Cure. He previously worked as the marketing director for a traditional publishing house and oversaw the launch of many bestselling books. A working author and creative guide, he has a passion for helping writers solve their challenges and enjoy the satisfaction of sharing their work with the world.

Connect with Jacob: 

• Website: https://www.jacobnordby.com/
• The Creative Cure book page: www.creativecurebook.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jacobnordby/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacobnordby/
• Creative Self Journal Gift: https://www.jacobnordby.com/creative-self-journal-gi

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Connect with your host, Lisa:
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Have you ever been told what you’re writing is too dark, too sad, or that it needs more levity? Have you wondered how a story of tragedy can grow into something more than the sum of its parts?

Join me and my client, Casey Mulligan Walsh as we discuss her revision process, what it took to embrace both the heartbreaking and beautiful aspects of her life, and how she’s become a small press author whose book debuted at number two in Amazon’s Grief and Loss category, just behind Mary Frances O’Connor. Grab your pen, open your heart, and get ready to learn about how revision can change you and where literary citizenship can take you on this week’s episode of the Writing Your Resilience podcast.

Episode Highlights

• 2:35: Crafting a Book That’s More Than Loss
• 4:10: The Lessons of Revision
• 12:41: The Power of Context
• 15:15: The Importance of Trusted Critique Partners
• 21:40: Building Your Creative Intuition
• 24:35: Navigating the False Victory
• 26:38: Using Your Author Platform to Build a Launch Team
• 36:15: The Impact of Illness on Your Resilience

Resources for this Episode: 

• In a Flash Literary Magazine (seeking submissions now!)
• “How to Know If Your Memoir is Boring” by Allison K. Williams 
• Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle
• The Situation and The Story by Vivian Gornick

Casey’s Bio: Casey Mulligan Walsh is the author of The Full Catastrophe: All I Ever Wanted, Everything I Feared. She writes about life at the intersection of grief and joy, embracing uncertainty, and the nature of true belonging. She has written for The New York Times, HuffPost, Next Avenue, Modern Loss, Hippocampus, Barren Magazine, and numerous other literary journals and anthologies. Her essay, “Still,” published in Split Lip, was nominated for Best of the Net. She is a founding editor of In a Flash literary magazine and serves as an ambassador and Board member for the Family Heart Foundation. Casey lives in upstate New York with her husband, Kevin, a chatty orange tabby, and too many books to count. When not traveling, they enjoy visits from their four children and ten grandchildren—the very definition of “the full catastrophe.”

Connect with Casey:

• Website: www.caseymulliganwalsh.com
• Book Website: https://embracingthefullcatastrophe.substack.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/casey.m.walsh.1/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caseymulliganwalshwriter/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caseymulliganwalsh/
• X: https://x.com/CMulliganWalsh
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/caseymulliganwalsh.bsky.social
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/casey-mulligan-walsh-522ba231

Sign up for Revise Your Memoir series: https://bit.ly/4ooLTDi

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
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Join me for a conversation with Sarah Chauncey, a veteran writer, developmental editor, and the author of P.S. I Love You More Than Tuna, as we dive into the inner and outer work of editing, the power of allowing rather than forcing, and why true creative flow often comes from stepping away from the keyboard. 

Episode Highlights

• 3:03 The Role of the Unconscious in Writing 
• 6:28 The Power of Not Pushing 
• 9:16 The Sunk Cost Fallacy and Your Writing  Projects
• 10:15 Your Book Is Not Your Identity 
• 12:27 The Counterintuitive Guide to Life
• 21:30 Writing in Imperfect Circumstances
• 22:28 The Inner Work of Editing
• 28:49 Negotiating with Your Inner Critic
• 32:96 Exercises to Navigate the Outer Work of Editing

Resources for this Episode: 

• “In Search of Lost Memories: How Nature Can Help Memoirists Remember” by Sarah Chauncey, published in the July/August 2024 issue of Writer’s Digest. 
• “ Everyday Wonder: How to Mine Awe from the Mundane” by Sarah Chauncey, published in the September/October 2024 issue of Writer’s Digest
• “Beyond BICHOK: How, When and Why Getting Your Butt Out of the Chair Can Make You a Better Writer” by Sarah Chauncey
• PS: I Love You More Than Tuna by Sarah Chauncey
• The Situation and the Story by Vivian Gornick
• The Off the Grid Podcast: Leaving Social Media without Losing All Your Clients 

Sarah’s Bio: Sarah Chauncey is a veteran writer and developmental editor, as well as the author of P.S. I Love You More Than Tuna, the first gift book for adults grieving the loss of a pet. In the early part of her career, she wrote for VH1, Comedy Central, MuchMusic and Alliance-Atlantis, along with entertainment websites and music magazines. Later, she pivoted to storytelling for organizations including NASA, McAfee and Intel. After a lifetime of mental health issues, in 2010, Sarah had a profound spiritual experience; she spent the next seven years mostly in silence and solitude, listening to life and taking notes. She writes the Substack The Counterintuitive Guide to Life, which helps readers develop mental health resilience by developing self-awareness. She also writes Resonant Storytelling, a newsletter for writers. Recently, she’s written for Tiny Buddha, Lion’s Roar, Modern Loss, Eckhart Tolle’s website, Jane Friedman’s blog and the Brevity blog.

Connect with Sarah: 

• Website: www.sarahchauncey.com
• Substacks: 
  •  https://sarahchauncey.substack.com/
  • https://counterintuitiveguide.substack.com/
  • https://morethantuna.substack.com/

Sign up for Revise Your Memoir series: https://bit.ly/4ooLTDi

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
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