S01 Ep69: Becoming Visible With Jessica Handler

Ever Better Today

English - May 19, 2017 07:00 - 54 minutes - 50.4 MB - ★★★★★ - 65 ratings
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Previous Episode: 068: Research Your Career Transition - Start With a Positioning Statement

Next Episode: 070: Laura Roeder of MeetEdgar - Surround Yourself With Talented People

I met Jessica Handler one night as I was walking through a restaurant in Washington, D.C. with my brother, Peter Conners. Peter was in D.C. to attend the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference and to speak on a panel about the relationships between authors and editors – he is both. Afterwards we decided to head out to dinner at a place where you would naturally expect to find writers…a restaurant called Busboys and Poets. It was there that I connected with Jessica and her cousin, Erika Goldman, Publisher of Bellevue Literary Press.

Jessica's memoir, Invisible Sisters, is her story of growing up with two sisters, Susie and Sarah, who both had fatal medical conditions, and how her family did their best to cope. Through this book, Jessica honors their memory and the challenges that her parents experienced.

Her second book, Braving the Fire, is a guide to writing about grief and loss. Jessica now uses her experiences, wisdom, and talents to help others heal through writing.

In our discussion Jessica reads passages from her books, shares her incredible life journey, and discusses the craft of writing. Jessica is married to a writer and shares what it's like to have two writers in the same house.

If you're considering a life or career transition, you may be interested in my Discover What’s Next coaching program. Send me an email at [email protected] and we will schedule a 1-hour complimentary consultation.

Key Takeaways:

[5:36] Living with two writers in one house.

[10:46] Transparent to the client is a purified way to say blood, sweat and tears.

[11:22] The memoir, Invisible Sisters, is about how Jessica learned to live sister-less.

[18:02] Braving the Fire: Acceptance and the Miracle Ticket.

[29:29] The act of taking the chaos of life, and making it into the order which is life.

[34:36] Get out your journal, or pull out an index card and just write!

[44:56] Jessica reads the end of Invisible Sisters.

[52:24] Decatur Book Festival.

[55:46] Be a good literary citizen.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Jessica Handler