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

Send us a textAuthor 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 BrodySuzette’s Free Companion Guide/E-bookWhy Preparing a TED Talk Makes You a Better Memoirist (Even If You Never Intend to Get on Stage)Official Transcript  Episode Highlights2:00 Exploring Cover Design7:00 The Mid-Life Coming-of-Age Story11:00 Identifying Your Inner Voice17:00 Learning to Listen to Yourself  22:00 Integrity and Seeing Clearly26:30 Living Through the Dark Night of the Soul  30:00 Beating Out Your Story and Cutting Your Darlings34:00 Building a Behind-the Scenes Guide36:00 Deciding What’s for Public Consumption  Connect with Suzette:Website: https://www.yourstoryfinder.com/ and https://www.mainelymemoir.com/Instagram: @urstoryfinderFacebook: Suzette Mullen, AuthorFacebook: Your Story FinderLinkedIn: Suzette Mullen, LGBTQ Book Coach, Memoir Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of WriteConnect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret LessWebsite | 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

Send us a textNatalie 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 EpisodeNatalie’s Juicy Book BonusesNatalie’s Reader GuideFive Takeaways From the Time’s Investigation into Child InfluencersSigns of Alcoholism or Alcohol Use DisorderSAMHSA’s National HelplineOfficial TranscriptEpisode Highlights4:00 Developing Your Voice5:52: Dealing with an Online Pile On10:00 Caring For Yourself While Writing a Tough Story13:00 Re-evaluating Your Relationship with Alcohol  21:00 The Struggles of Working in the Male-Dominated Wine Industry27:00 Threading the Witch Theme into This Story  32:00 The Power of Book Club Guides and Bonuses38:00 Rebuilding Your Relationship to Social Media After a Pile OnConnect with Natalie: InstagramFacebookTwitterLinkedInTikTokGoodreadsYouTube Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret LessWebsite | 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

Send us a textLennie 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 HurtsThriving in a Time of CrisisThe Book of Forgiving: The Four-Fold Path Four Healing Ourselves and Our World by Desmond Tutu and Mpho TutuWriting to Heal with Laura DavisGood Night Jung by Lennie Echterling Episode Highlights4:41 Lessons from Landmine Survivors  10:00 Triggers for Resilience12:00 Defining Posttraumatic Growth15:00 The Problem of Toxic Positivity22:00 The Power of Being with Another Person’s Story27:00 The Struggle to Trust30:00 Embracing and Exploring the Chaos Story35:00 The Role of Neuroplasticity in Storytelling38:00 Lessons Learned from Final Conversations42:00 Making Every Day Valentine’s Day47:00 The Power of Expressing Gratitude  54:40 Lennie’s Best Writing Advice56:2Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret LessWebsite | 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

Send us a textSue 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-ExpressionResources 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.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/SueWilliamSilvermanInstagram: 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: Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret LessWebsite | 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

Send us a textIngrid 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 Highlights5:00 Childhood trauma, gaslighting, and self-gaslighting13:00 Writing a memoir and healing through the process25:00 Trauma writing and grounding techniques for writers38:00 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 ReelStand Up Therapy Variety Show Episode OneStand Up Therapy Variety Show Episode TwoContact 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/fawningtraumaresponseGet a copy of Believing Me: https://www.ingridclayton.com/booksConnect 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-f7ObRgFacebook: https://www.facebook.cConnect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret LessWebsite | 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

Send us a textWelcome 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 ResourcesWriting Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma by Melanie BrooksIt’s Not You: Identifying and Healing From Narcissistic People by Dr. Ramani DurvasulaWriting to Heal with Laura DavisPracticing Radical Acceptance with Zebib AbrahamLeaning into the Mystery of Your Stories with Brett Will TaylorRecovering from Cults and Religious Trauma Through Writing with Tia LevingsTo Write a Better Memoir, Learn This F-WordEpisode Highlights2:00 Why People Hate Forgiveness7:00 Forgiveness Myths9:00 Defining Forgiveness13:00 Forgiveness Prerequisites22:00 The Process of Forgiving30:00 Two Powerful Writing Exercises36:00 Renewing and Releasing Relationships with Yourself and Others48:00 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-f7ObRgFacebook: 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/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret LessWebsite | 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

Send us a textWelcome 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.comResources from Sara Neufeld’s InterviewYour Life as Story by Tristine RainerAcetylene Torch Songs by Sue William SilvermanA Few Keys to AlignmentWake Up With Joint RotationsImprove Your Back and Hip TightnessConnect with Lisa Rizzo:Website: http://lisarizzowriter.comResources from Lisa Rizzo’s InterviewThe Year of Magical Thinking by Joan DidionStash: My Life in Hiding by Laura Cathcart RobbinsWild by Cheryl StrayedThe Glass Castle by Jeannette WallsHeavy by Kiese LaymonSafekeeping 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 essayConnect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret Less: https://lisacooperellison.com/newsletter-subscribe/Website: https://lisacoopConnect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret LessWebsite | 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

Send us a textTia 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 Legs15:00: How Writing Heals 17:00 Gaslighting and Religion20:00 Finding the Wider Lens25:00 Understanding Your Boundaries 28:00 Writing Without Retraumatizing Yourself 35:00 Claiming Your Story39:00 Caring for the Soft Animal of Your BodyItems 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 NewportConnect with Tia: Website: https://tialevings.comTia’s Book: https://tialevings.com/bookInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/TiaLevingsWriterFacebook: https://facebook.com/TiaLevingsWriterSubstack: https://tialevings.substack.comConnect 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-f7ObRgFacebook: 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.comConnect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret LessWebsite | 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

Send us a textBrett Will Taylor joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to discuss vulnerability, family stories, shamanism, and the importance of leaning into the mystery.As you listen to this episode, consider the following questions:  What are the family stories that you are living from? Who are your people and who or what do you consider to be your guides? How do you grapple with the things that no longer serve you? How does this work and the work of being present in life help you find and sharpen your writing voice?Brett Will Taylor is forever exploring the stories we tell ourselves. He does that through his own writing, as a consultant to Fortune 100 companies, and a thought partner to men interested in their own development. Currently, he is writing a one-man show called "Home Free." On the surface, the show is about selling and emptying the family home of forty years. On a deeper level, it's about the stories we tell ourselves: why we create them, why it's so hard to let go of them, and what happens when we do.Episode Highlights: 2:00 Family Stories 8:00 Confronting Your Vulnerability10:00 Defining Shamanism12:00 The Importance of Story17:00 Grappling with What No Longer Serves Us27:00 Strategies for Staying Present34:00 Finding Your Voice Items mentioned during this episode: Wired for Story: https://www.slj.com/story/wired-for-storieshttps://www.brettwilltaylor.today/on-letting-the-ghosts-of-love-say-good-bye/https://www.brettwilltaylor.today/when-a-guest-bathroom-isnt-just-a-guest-bathroom/https://www.brettwilltaylor.today/on-continuation-indras-net-and-an-old-alabaster-lamp/Connect with Brett: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brettwilltaylorpage/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Brettwilltaylor/Website: https://www.brettwilltaylor.todayConnect 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-f7ObRgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooperellison/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-ellison-b5483840/Connect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret LessWebsite | 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

Send us a textKatie 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 Highlights2:00 Defining Neurodiversity 11: 00 The Power of a Diagnosis 15:00 The Problem of Overwhelm20:00 Reclaiming the Word Selfish26:00 Learn to Cope31:00 Fitting into the Narrow Band of “Normal” 34:45 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.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/krgpryal/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krgpryal/Twitter: https://twitter.com/krgpryalBlue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/krpgryal.bsky.socialConnect 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-f7ObRgFacebook: 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 ProConnect with your host, Lisa:Get Your Free Copy of Write More, Fret LessWebsite | 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