Courageous Wordsmith

Patterns Revealed in a Memoir

Emily P. G. Erickson is a Minnesota-based writer specializing in mental health and parenting. You can find her bylines in major digital publications, including Everyday Health, Health, The New York Times, Parents, Romper, Verywell Mind, Wired, and more. A former PTSD researcher for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Emily also holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology. Today her work focuses on bringing personal insights, scientific findings, and expert advice to the public thro...

Season Five Trailer

It's a whole new season of Courageous Wordsmith. I've published my second memoir, Tiny Altars, and I'm ready to podcast.

Why We Show Up for Our Writing

Bradley Bodeker is an author of poetry and horror fiction. He is also an illustrator, musician, actor, and ordained minister of the Church of the Latter Day Dude. Bradley is currently working on two novels and a horror anthology. Facebook: https://facebook.com/KingBeeRadley Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/bradleybodeker  

Show Up for Your Writing

Michelle Wolff teaches, podcasts, and coaches using story, humor, and some salty language. She holds a Master's degree in Education, has 25 years of experience working with people, and loves to help multi-passionate people stop procrastinating, focus up, and get stuff done. She’s been a therapist specializing in trauma, mental health, and addictions. She’s now an author, trauma-informed coach, Human Design Specialist, and the creator of Forest Reiki™ energy healing. She uses laser-sharp intu...

Train Your Body & Mind to Write

Michelle Wolff teaches, podcasts, and coaches using story, humor, and some salty language. She holds a Master's degree in Education, has 25 years of experience working with people, and loves to help multi-passionate people stop procrastinating, focus up, and get stuff done. She’s been a therapist specializing in trauma, mental health, and addictions. She’s now an author, trauma-informed coach, Human Design Specialist, and the creator of Forest Reiki™ energy healing. She uses laser-sharp intu...

Tiny Altars Backstory

Amy Hallberg is the award-winning author of German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is a podcaster, story coach, book writing mentor, and the founder of Courageous Wordsmith. A lifelong Minnesotan, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats. https://amyhallberg.com https://write.courageouswordsmith.com You can read more about Tiny Altars here. You can buy Tiny Altars here.   Emma Magenta is a feminist Life Coach who helps people-pleasers, overachievers, and p...

Tiny Altars Launch Jitters

Bradley Bodeker is an author of poetry and horror fiction. He is also an illustrator, musician, actor, and ordained minister of the Church of the Latter Day Dude. Bradley is currently working on two novels and a horror anthology. Facebook: https://facebook.com/KingBeeRadley Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/bradleybodeker  

What Stories Can Teach Us

Michael Trotta is a mentor, storyteller, natural learning specialist, proud dyslexic, unapologetic troublemaker (the good kind), artist, hopelessly addicted fly-fisherman, and host of the Story Mischief podcast. After ten years in education, Michael set out to prove to himself that it was possible to create a life and living on his terms. One more deeply rooted and aligned with his passions and values. In the nearly twenty years since, he's been using a unique blend of mentoring, myth, natu...

Befriending ADHD as a Creative

Emma Magenta is a feminist Life Coach who helps people-pleasers, overachievers, and perfectionists stop being so hard on themselves, and start feeling at home in their lives. As a coach, her North Star is radical self-love. She’s particularly effective at coaching highly sensitive ADHD women, because she is one! Emma loves dogs, long walks in foul weather, Broadway theater, reading, eating, singing, and resting. Website https://emmamagentacoaching.com/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/...

Moving Past Barriers to Healing

Sara Taylor is an existential life coach for people with tendencies toward anxiety, depression, and ADHD.  She collaborates with clients to facilitate generational and self healing so they can find more meaning and satisfaction in life, whether it’s in parenting, in profession, or other creative endeavors. Website https://sarabtaylor.com/ Instagram @sarabtaylorphd Facebook @sarabtaylorphd

Preparing to Share Your Great Big Story

Allyson Scammell is a master intuitive business coach, psychic medium, and expert energy healer. Her mission is to help soul-guided leaders, influencers and entrepreneurs with big soul missions to earn more, serve more, and grow spiritually along the way. Website https://allysonscammell.com/ The Story of My Near Death Experience: https://allysonscammell.com/episode35/ https://allysonscammell.com/episode36/ https://allysonscammell.com/episode37/

Telling Ghost Stories

Michelle Wolff teaches, podcasts, and coaches using story, humor, and some salty language. She holds a Master's degree in Education, has 25 years of experience working with people, and loves to help multi-passionate people stop procrastinating, focus up, and get stuff done. She’s been a therapist specializing in trauma, mental health, and addictions. She’s now an author, trauma-informed coach, Human Design Specialist, and the creator of Forest Reiki™ energy healing. She uses laser-sharp intu...

How to Talk About Tender Topics (or not)

Katherine Quie is the author of Raising Will: Surviving the Brilliance and Blues of ADHD and hosts The Brilliance and Blues of ADHD Podcast. As a licensed child psychologist who has specialized in ADHD for the last 20 years, Katherine founded ADHDandU because she believes that every child deserves the support to thrive. Currently, we're falling short as a nation in understanding ADHD. This is so sad because kids with ADHD are some of the sweetest, smartest, most creative human beings she kno...

Reclaiming our Gifts

Bev Barnes is a Soul’s Calling® Coach, Instructor & Life Coach Mentor. She coaches Life Coaches, healers, creatives, and meaning seekers, to outwit their fear and self-doubt so that they can shine their light and do the work that they were meant for. Bev holds a master’s degree in the Human Behavior Sciences, a graduate diploma in Brief & Strategic therapy, graduate training in Career Counseling, and Master Life Coach certification. She’s the creator of the Soul’s Calling® Method and is kno...

Welcome the Wild Woman

Keri Mangis is an author, speaker and owner of Curiosa Publishing, LLC. Her work has appeared in Spirituality and Health magazine, Star Tribune, Elephant Journal, Addicted to Success, and many others. Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness—A Memoir of New Beginnings, won several awards, including the 2020 IPA award for Mind, Body & Spirit. Book her to speak at your next event! And check out Embodying Soul, now available as an audiobook. Website http://www.kerimangis.com/ Facebook https://...

We Need to Rest

Rebecca Shisler Marshall, PhD, believes in holistic wellness that combines the wisdom of the body, mind, emotions, energy, and spirit. As a recovering stress addict, she found (again and again) that holistic rest, shamanic work, and wellness has profound ripple effects on both herself and her clients. The Centered Wellness Framework she developed helps women overcome exhaustion and have more energy. You can experience powerful shamanic and energetic rest in her community, A Place to Rest. w...

How Tarot Helps Writers

Magdalena DeRosa is a psychic medium, Reiki practitioner, tarot reader, doula, psychotherapist in training, and creative jack of all trades. In their experience, finding our voice as a writer is closely related to our ability to trust our intuition. And they believe everyone can develop our intuition just as we can hone our creative craft. Lena is in Courageous Wordsmith to hold space for deep dives in the psyche for those of us ready to face ourselves along the path of our personal mytholog...

Writing a Taboo Memoir

Katherine North is a writer and executive coach, helping high achieving, secretly sensitive women declare dominion over their demanding lives. She is the author of Holy Heathen: A Spiritual Memoir, a story of her metamorphosis from a scared missionary kid growing up in Japan to a thriving heathen mystic. She and her husband Nick North made an award-winning documentary, Just Another Beautiful Family, and recently appeared on Discovery Plus show Life Under Renovation. Their blended “rainbow” f...

Facing Past Trauma

About Robin Richards: Robin Richards, M.A., Ed.S., is pioneering empowered healing with education, inspiration and support through complementary therapies, teaching and coaching at Robin's WellNest. Robin has worked tirelessly to transform her childhood and adult trauma into triumph while inspiring and supporting others along the way.  Website:  www.robinswellnest.com   An Offer from Amy: Dear Writer, Want to collaborate with me? I can help you be the author you're meant to be so tha...

Recovery from Addiction

About Robin Richards: Robin Richards, M.A., Ed.S., is pioneering empowered healing with education, inspiration and support through complementary therapies, teaching and coaching at Robin's WellNest. Robin has worked tirelessly to transform her childhood and adult trauma into triumph while inspiring and supporting others along the way.  Website:  www.robinswellnest.com   An Offer from Amy: Dear Writer, Want to collaborate with me? I can help you be the author you're meant to be so tha...

Progressive Christianity

I haven't talked a lot about my religious foundations, which come straight out of the American Colonial period, because... well, it's complicated, right? So grateful to Nina Jonson for joining me to talk about Christianity in 2022 and how the church reconciles its role in racism, xenophobia, and colonialism with "loving everyone." Nina Jonson is the Director of Children and Youth Ministry at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis, the church her family has attended for generations. T...

Seed Moments

Rebecca Shisler Marshall, PhD helps women who have tried everything, to get unstuck, feel better, and have more energy. She is an expert in integrative wellness, certified life coach and yoga instructor, mindfulness teacher/researcher, and nutrition nut. She is the founder of Centered Living and has been an Associate Professor for over 20 years. The Centered Wellness Framework is the basis for her podcast, individual sessions, the Whole Body Upgrade course, and the Centered Wellness certific...

Where the Deer Dream

Sarah Bamford Seidelmann M.D.was a fourth-generation physician living a nature-starved, hectic lifestyle until a walrus entered her life and changed everything. She’s a Shamanic Mentor and the author of several popular books including her memoir Swimming with Elephants, The Book of Beasties, and a daily devotional How Good Are You Willing to Let It Get? Critics are saying her new novel, Where the Deer Dream, is “Enchanting!” Website: followyourfeelgood.com Facebook: facebook.com/FollowYo...

Mourning and Creativity

Sarah Bamford Seidelmann M.D.was a fourth-generation physician living a nature-starved, hectic lifestyle until a walrus entered her life and changed everything. She’s a Shamanic Mentor and the author of several popular books including her memoir Swimming with Elephants and a daily devotional How Good Are You Willing to Let It Get? Critics are saying her new novel, Where the Deer Dream, is “Enchanting!” Website: followyourfeelgood.com Facebook: facebook.com/FollowYourFeelGood Instagram: ...

Creativity and Mourning

Sarah Bamford Seidelmann M.D.was a fourth-generation physician living a nature-starved, hectic lifestyle until a walrus entered her life and changed everything. She’s a Shamanic Mentor and the author of several popular books including her memoir Swimming with Elephants and a daily devotional How Good Are You Willing to Let It Get? Critics are saying her new novel, Where the Deer Dream, is “Enchanting!” Website: followyourfeelgood.com Facebook: facebook.com/FollowYourFeelGood Instagram: ...

It's Time to Do Better

White backlash against Racial equity work has gotten BIG. I refuse to believe that all of us white people think it's acceptable. Still, our silence speaks volumes. I believe we avoid talking about it because it's so BIG, that we don't know how to counteract it, so big it's swinging elections and fueling book banning. And it's so TINY, in acts of microaggression that happen in a moment but carry deep significance. How do we get all that nuance right? Dana Smith, my cousin by marriage, has bee...

Tell a Different Story

Natalie Miller is a boldly feminist coach who helps evolutionary leaders and creatives live well and do good. She works with people who achieve themselves into golden cages: work, relationships, and everyday lives that look lovely but feel way too small. Coaching with Natalie, they free themselves to walk their talk, live generously, and get as BIG as they know they're meant to be. Acquaint yourself with more of Natalie's magic on her weekly podcast, Mind Witchery. Website nataliekmiller.c...

Season 3 Trailer

When Writing Challenges Us

Katie Sanders is a sensory designer and HSP (highly sensitive person) coach who supports those with anxiety, sensitivities, adhd, autism, and chronic illnesses through their surroundings, senses and personalized systems. She helps them work with their natural gifts to create studio spaces they not only love, but where they can thrive. Website https://createmysanctuary.com Instagram https://instagram.com/createmysanctuary Facebook FB: https://facebook.com/createmysanctuary

Reconnecting to Nature

Lynn Trotta is a nature-based mentor and certified life-coach who guides empaths and sensitive souls out of the overwhelm of distraction culture and into peace and belonging, through a rooted and sacred relationship with nature. Since 2005 she’s been helping people fall madly in love with the wild… both inside and out, by sharing easy-to-follow connection practices fostering mindfulness, purpose, and greater intuition. Facebook Group  https://www.facebook.com/groups/611928405943312 Websi...

A Return to Live Theater

Rough Magic Performance Company is a professional theater company focused on supporting women artists, audiences, and stories; we strive to embrace the complexities and diversity of women’s experiences from classics to contemporary work while promoting artistic excellence and community engagement. Co-Artistic Directors Alayne Hopkins and Catherine Justice founded Rough Magic to empower women artists to take ownership of the process of creating and telling the stories they perform. Their coll...

Author Myths

Roseanne Cheng is an author, writing coach, ghostwriter, and book marketing consultant. She's the co-founder of Evergreen Authors, an online school teaching creatives how to get their work out into the world. www.evergreenauthors.com — Amy's e-Book, Shiny Objects 101: Eleven key tools to access muses, face Inner Trolls & Find Powerful Stories so that you can write & publish books your audience (& you) will love Amy's FREE Narrative Masterclass on May 18, 2021

Gifts from the Other Side

Formerly a Teach for America teacher and IBM tech writer, Kiki Kelley went on to become Google's first editor ever, rose to senior editor, and helped the company IPO. Kiki's surprise miracle daughter, Madeleine, has seen her mother start a charitable foundation, study Jungian psychoanalysis, and make history as USA Wrestling's first woman team leader for Men's Greco-Roman wrestling. This led to Kiki being the first woman to enter any sports arena in Iran since 1979. Following interviews for ...

Thoughts about Thoughtwork

Ray DePaola is Owner, Creator & Wizard of Sunrise Journeys Life Coaching | Master Wayfinder & Coach | Co-conspirator | Life Guide | SpiritWalker | DreamCatcher | Experimenting in living a life of purpose, sustained through play, satisfaction, and joy www.sunrisejourneys.com https://www.facebook.com/SunriseJourneysLifeCoaching https://www.instagram.com/sunrisejourneys/ — Amy's Shiny Objects 101—Eleven key tools to access muses, face Inner Trolls & Find Powerful Stories so that you can wr...

A Journalist's Healing Story

Rebecca Tolin is a mind-body coach who helps people heal from chronic fatigue, pain, headaches, anxiety and other stress-related symptoms. Rebecca recovered from 13-years of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome through the groundbreaking work of Dr. John Sarno, who coined the term TMS, and other pioneers in mind-body healing. Her classes blend neuroscience, somatic and emotional work, affirmations and behavioral changes. Rebecca loves helping others recover their wellbeing and spirit. Her next course Ho...

Letting Creative Plans Change

Stephanie L Walton has come to understand that success is failure reengineered. In her own life, she has seem massive failures reengineered into glorious successes.  Stephanie has been a leader in several Fortune 500 companies over the last 20 years. Her commitment to courageous leadership, self-awareness, and vulnerability, has successfully allowed her to coach business owners and leaders for nearly a decade. Her motivation is something she learned in her faith, "you make your dreams come ...

Black and White Translation

From Amy: This is a tender and important topic for me. As a white woman, I'm afraid of getting it wrong. At the same time I'm so proud of this episode. More importantly, I thank Stephanie Walton for engaging in this exchange. There's something so damaging when white culture denies the truths of Black people, and has for generations.  And yet, here we are. I strongly suspect—and Stephanie affirms—I've been missing some good stuff at the intersections of our two cultures by not digging dee...

Pandemic Humor

From Amy: This episode, recorded shortly after elections, was originally intended for the morning of January 6, but was mercifully delayed. One week later, as the horrors of that day come to light and we impeach the outgoing president a second time, it's the only episode I feel OK airing. Cory Busse provides comic relief without looking away from the people. I'm going to let him explain. Cory's take on it: When my parents died, I unwillingly inherited their off-brand Christmas village. This...

Truth hurts. So now what?

Azna Amira was the first Black woman reporter for the Wall Street Journal. She's lived in Milwaukee, Atlanta, and Northfield, Minnesota—the town where we both attended Carleton College. I met Azna in Northfield, where she returned to live following a reunion. She was among the first Black students, graduating the year I was born, and first to challenge prevailing white perspectives. Eighteen years later, Carleton was where I first had my white mindset challenged. So it felt like coming full...

Writing as a Path to Healing, Part Two

Bradley Bodeker is a Minnesota Maori storyteller and multimedia artist who likes to play guitar and sing at local bars with his band Snow White and the Brown Man. He also creates mosaic portraits of music legends using their lyrics to make up the image. On Facebook, he enjoys sharing Coffee with Friends on Sunday mornings and hosting live readings on holidays.  Bradley's books include a poetry collection—The Broken Mirror Reflected; horror fiction–Midnight Snacks, Nyctophobia, and Zechariah...

Writing as a Path to Healing, Part One

Bradley Bodeker is a Minnesota Maori storyteller and multimedia artist who likes to play guitar and sing at local bars with his band Snow White and the Brown Man. He also creates mosaic portraits of music legends using their lyrics to make up the image. On Facebook, he enjoys sharing Coffee with Friends on Sunday mornings and hosting live readings on holidays.  Bradley's books include a poetry collection—The Broken Mirror Reflected; horror fiction–Midnight Snacks, Nyctophobia, and Zechariah...

Staging Studio Space

Katie Sanders is a Digital/UX Designer turned Sensory Designer who helps kids and adults create sanctuaries in their homes. She discovered late in life that she has auditory processing disorder and dyslexia which allows her to understand her son’s similar needs with autism and sensory processing. Using 20 years experience in how people use technology and why, combined with color theory and practical design, she transitioned to helping families create brilliant routines and renewing spaces. S...

Opening MinnyRow Market

Dana and Peter Smith are owners of MinnyRow Market (MRM), a boutique grocer that specializes in locally sourced and ethically produced foods. Their goal is to create a community around the local food and products they carry, reflecting a blend of their two backgrounds. Dana’s passion is customer service. She graduated from the University of Saint Thomas, majoring in journalism. Prior to meeting Peter, Dana worked as an educator at lululemon and then helped open Nordstrom Ridgedale as a deni...

Systems Support for Creatives

Shellie Miller is a coffee-loving, systems-master, no-BS, magic-loving business coach for ambitious and creative entrepreneurs and business builders. Gathering your business team and tools as an entrepreneur can be tricky. Shellie provides solutions to these creative nomads in their journey. Through collaborative conversation and a supportive arena, Shellie has cultivated a garden that can feed the work of clients as they navigate the landscape of their business. (And yes, note from Amy, th...

Perfectly Imperfect Paradigm Shifts

Emily P.G. Erickson is a mental health researcher and psychotherapist turned writer. She began practicing mindfulness meditation in 2007, while living in Thailand and hasn’t stopped learning about mindfulness since. Her writing about culture, mental health, mindfulness, and motherhood has been featured in various publications, including Scary Mommy, Motherly, and Motherwell. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and children.  Emily's Website: https://emilypgerickson.com/ Emily's Mediu...

Welcoming Black Voices in the Suburbs

Dr. Nneka Sederstrom was Director of the Center for Ethics and Director of the Spiritual Care Department at Medstar Washington Hospital Center in Washington DC before coming to Children's Minnesota as Director of the Clinical Ethics Department. She earned her PhD in Medical Sociology, MPH in Global Health Management, and MA in Philosophy. She is widely published in Clinical Ethics and speaks regularly at national and international meetings. Dr. Sederstrom loves to read (especially long epic...

Self Care in Unprecedented Times

Rebecca Shisler Marshall, PhD (CCC-SLP) is the founder of Centered Living and an Associate Professor at the University of Georgia.  She completed her master’s and PhD in Experimental Cognitive Psychology at the University of South Carolina concurrently with a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology, which inspired her research examining attention post-stroke, especially in individuals with aphasia (a language disorder). After two master’s degrees and a PhD, Rebecca describes herself as...

Holding Space to Talk about Race

Lisa Harris is an author, storyteller, poet, narrative coach and the CEO and founder of Fashion Meets Poetry. Before entrepreneurship, Lisa spent 18+ years in executive leadership roles working for and with Fortune 100 companies and nationally recognized brands. In 2016, Lisa published her first book, Unveiled Beauty: Handwritten Stories From a Poetic Heart which inspired an entire personal development and storytelling platform. This year marks her 4th year producing Unveiled Beauty storytel...

Living Your Super Secret Vision

Ray DePaola is Owner, Creator & Wizard of Sunrise Journeys Life Coaching | Master Wayfinder & Coach | Co-conspirator | Life Guide | SpiritWalker | DreamCatcher | Experimenting in living a life of purpose, sustained through play, satisfaction, and joy Ray's Website: www.sunrisejourneys.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SunriseJourneysLifeCoaching Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunrisejourneys/

Creativity Heals the Heart

Jennifer Bauer is a Master Wayfinder Coach, Breathwork Meditation Healer, Reiki Practitioner, Author, and Public Speaker. Website: www.jennbauerhealing.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.bauer.54772 IG: https://www.instagram.com/elationexplorer/ This was the quote from David Elliott's Healing: "The higher dimensional beings, call them God, angels, deities, spirits, masters, or light are choosing to get our attention now. They are calling forth the contracts signed long ago;...