The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis Podcast

PODCAST SHOW NOTESEpisode Title:Mom’s Chicken Soup: Fifteen Steps, a Few Hard-Won Secrets, and a Family Tradition Passed Down the LineEpisode Description:While preparing for an upcoming free food writing workshop, Laura Davis went digging through an old digital folder labeled FOOD WRITING and found something she hadn’t seen in fifteen years: the chicken soup recipe she wrote for her son Eli when he left for college. Part recipe, part heirloom, part love letter, it carries far more than cooking instructions. In this episode, Laura reads the letter and reflects on how food traditions travel between generations, including the rare moments of peace a family recipe once made possible between her and her own mother. Writers will find a vivid model of how a recipe can hold an entire relationship, and cooks will find practical guidance Laura has refined over many years in her own kitchen.What Laura Covers in This Episode:Rediscovering a fifteen-year-old letter in a forgotten food writing folderWhy chicken soup is one of life’s essential skillsHow family recipes connect generations, even across estrangementThe single biggest secret to a richly flavored soupWhy the broth is “precious,” and the surprising ways it can be lostThe recipe as a form of memoir and a vessel for love and adviceA preview of Laura’s free food writing workshopEpisode Highlights:The moment Laura opens an old folder and finds a letter she’d almost forgotten writingA memory of the one subject that could still bring Laura and her mother together during their hardest yearsThe temptation nearly every home cook gives in to, and what to do insteadAn unexpected ingredient borrowed from a friend that changed Laura’s own recipeThe step Laura cheerfully calls “the really gross part,” and why she refuses to skip itA hard-learned warning about salt that no clever kitchen trick can undoThe noodle mistake that quietly ruins countless pots of soupLaura’s closing distillation of what every good chicken soup truly requiresAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping writers find their voices and tell their stories. She is the author of the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars, winner of the 2021 BookLife Prize, and co-author of the groundbreaking bestseller The Courage to Heal. Through The Writer’s Journey, Laura teaches all forms of writing in online classes, workshops, and international retreats, guiding writers of every level with warmth, insight, and practical craft. She lives in Santa Cruz, California.Resources Laura Mentions:Explore the Flavors of Your Life: A Free Food Writing Workshop with Laura Davis and Myra Goodman, Saturday, November 14, 2026, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Pacific on Zoom (recorded for those who can’t attend live): https://questforeternalsunshine.com/exploring-the-flavors-of-your-lifeThe Writer’s Journey with Laura Davis on Substack: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/The Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis: https://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars/Laura’s Books: https://lauradavis.net/books/Key Takeaways from This Episode:Treat recipes as stories. A recipe written for someone you love can hold advice, humor, history, and tenderness all at once. Try writing one of your own as a letter.Look for the peace in food. Even in strained relationships, food traditions can open a door. Write about a dish that once connected you to someone difficult.Let your voice come through. Laura’s asides, warnings, and confessions are what make her recipe unforgettable. Don’t edit your personality out of your food writing.Honor what’s passed down, and what you change. Notice how your own recipes evolve over time, and who influenced each change.Explore your relationship with food on the page. Food is primal and sensory; it reveals culture, family, and deep hunger. Use it as a doorway into memoir.Episode Call-to-Action:Register for Laura’s free two-hour food writing workshop, Explore the Flavors of Your Life, on November 14 at https://questforeternalsunshine.com/exploring-the-flavors-of-your-life. Then dig out a recipe that matters to you and write the letter that goes with it. Share in the comments which family dish holds your strongest memories.Connect with Laura Davis:Subscribe to The Writer’s Journey on Substack: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Explore classes, books, workshops, and retreats: https://lauradavis.net/Click the heart, leave a comment, or share this post to help new readers discover The Writer’s JourneyThe Writer’s Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You’ll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura’s writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

PODCAST SHOW NOTESEpisode Title:Message from the Wind by Julia Fehrenbacher: An Autumn Poem for Finding Peace | Midweek Pause for PeaceEpisode Description:What happens when we stop searching for answers and simply pay attention? In this Midweek Pause for Peace, author and writing teacher Laura Davis shares Julia Fehrenbacher’s poem “Message from the Wind,” set on a quiet autumn afternoon beneath the trees. Laura loves this poem as a poignant reminder that peace of mind is always available and within reach, even in tumultuous, frightening times. Paired with calming imagery, this short episode offers listeners a gentle invitation to slow down, breathe, and give the nervous system a moment of rest.Laura also extends a warm invitation to a free food writing workshop. She shares details about Explore the Flavors of Your Life, a Zoom workshop she is co-leading with three-time cookbook author Myra Goodman on Saturday, November 14, from 10 a.m. to noon Pacific.What Laura Covers in This Episode:Why this poem resonates with Laura as a reminder that calm remains within reach, even when the world feels frighteningHow quiet attention to the natural world on an autumn day can interrupt anxious, racing thoughts and support the nervous systemHow Julia Fehrenbacher uses white space, short line breaks, and repetition to slow the reader down, a technique writers can bring to their own poetry and proseAn invitation to Explore the Flavors of Your Life, a free two-hour food writing workshop exploring how the foods we love reveal our cultures, families, and deepest hungersAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir “The Burning Light of Two Stars,” which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book “The Courage to Heal.”Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners’ emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis’ signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVISJoin Laura’s Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis’ Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system’s need for calm.The Writer’s Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You’ll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura’s writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ResourcesExplore the Flavors of Your Life: Free Zoom Writing WorkshopSaturday, November 14, 10 a.m. to noon Pacific, with Laura Davis and Myra GoodmanFood is primal, visceral, and full of sensory detail. In this free two-hour online workshop, participants will discover new things about themselves, the foods they love, and the people and influences that shaped them.Register here: https://questforeternalsunshine.com/exploring-the-flavors-of-your-lifeAbout the Featured Poet:Julia Fehrenbacher is a poet, author, life coach, and teacher, as well as a regular practitioner of yoga and a sometimes-painter. She is most at home by the ocean and in the forest, and her work often draws on the natural world as a doorway to presence and peace.Website: https://www.juliafehrenbacher.com/about This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Food Is Never Just Food: Food Writing Prompts and a Free Workshop with Laura DavisEpisode Description:What happens when a group of writers arrives with notebooks, pens, and a homemade dish that carries a story? In this episode of The Writer’s Journey, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis looks back on one of her most beloved offerings: a three-year run of day-long food writing retreats. Laura explores why food is one of the richest, most sensory doorways into storytelling, shares her favorite food writing prompts, and hints at the unexpected place those afternoons always led.Laura also invites listeners to Explore the Flavors of Your Life, a free two-hour food writing workshop on Zoom that she is co-leading with three-time cookbook author Myra Goodman, co-founder of Earthbound Farm, on Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 10 a.m. to noon Pacific. No writing experience is needed, and the session will be recorded.What Laura Covers in This Episode:The origins of “Two Things I Love Best: A Writing Retreat for Foodies”The one rule every potluck dish had to followWhy food is primal, visceral, and one of the easiest subjects for writers of every levelWhat Laura knew that her students didn’t when they first sat down to writeHow the foodie retreats came to an end, and where Laura’s teaching went nextHer new collaboration with Myra Goodman and Quest for Eternal SunshineDetails on the free Zoom workshop, Explore the Flavors of Your LifeTen food writing prompts to try right nowEpisode Highlights:Laura reads the original invitation that lured writers into a “decadent, delicious day of pleasure”The hitch attached to every potluck dish, and the stories it brought to the tableAunt Helen’s chicken soup and the matter of the black pepperWhy food offers writers such rich sensory detailThe secret Laura kept from her foodie writersHow special diets and a vanished kitchen closed one chapter and opened anotherThe partnership with Myra Goodman, an organic farming pioneer turned encore-career creatorA prompt that asks your childhood kitchen table to speak, and one involving bear teriyakiAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping people unearth the truth and craft their stories. She is the author of the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars, winner of the 2021 BookLife Prize, and co-author of the groundbreaking The Courage to Heal. Through The Writer’s Journey, Laura teaches all forms of writing in online classes, workshops, and international retreats, guiding writers in Peru, Bali, Vietnam, Scotland, on the Camino de Santiago, and at an upcoming memoir retreat in Baja. She is based in Santa Cruz, California.Resources Laura Mentions:Explore the Flavors of Your Life (free Zoom food writing workshop, Saturday, November 14, 2026, 10 a.m. to noon Pacific): Register herehttps://questforeternalsunshine.com/exploring-the-flavors-of-your-lifeQuest for Eternal Sunshine (Myra Goodman’s platform offering free resources and events for wisdom, healing, and self-discovery): questforeternalsunshine.comhttps://questforeternalsunshine.com/The Art of Memoir: Baja (nine-day memoir retreat at Casa Verde in La Ventana, Baja California Sur, May 14–22, 2027): lauradavis.net/bajahttps://lauradavis.net/baja/The Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis (2021 BookLife Prize Winner): lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-starshttps://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars/The Writer’s Journey on Substack: laurasaridavis.substack.comhttps://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Laura’s Food Writing Prompts:Write an ode to your favorite ingredient.Tell me about the first thing you learned to cook and how you learned to cook it.Imagine that your childhood kitchen table could talk. Write in the voice of the table: what did it see and witness?Tell me about a time you fed someone.Tell me about a forbidden food.Tell me about a food that’s gone extinct.What’s the most unusual food you’ve ever eaten?Tell me about all the kinds of hunger you have known.Tell me about a cooking disaster.What makes your mouth water?Key Takeaways from This Episode:Start with a sensory anchor. Food engages taste, smell, texture, and memory at once, making it an easy entry point for any writer.Attach a story to an object. Choose a dish, an ingredient, or a kitchen and ask what story it holds.Let the prompt lead you somewhere unexpected. Begin with the food and follow wherever the writing wants to go.Try a new point of view. Write in the voice of a kitchen table, a refrigerator, or another silent witness to your life.Write in community. Shared prompts and a supportive group can draw out stories you might never reach alone.Episode Call-to-Action:Pick one of Laura’s food writing prompts and write for ten minutes without stopping. Then reserve your free spot for Explore the Flavors of Your Life on Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 10 a.m. to noon Pacific on Zoom. Bring a notebook and a pen. Can’t make it live? Register anyway to receive the recording.Register here: https://questforeternalsunshine.com/exploring-the-flavors-of-your-lifeConnect with Laura Davis:Substack: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Website: https://lauradavis.net/Click the heart, leave a comment, or share this post to help new readers discover The Writer’s Journey.The Writer’s Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You’ll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura’s writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

PODCAST SHOW NOTESEpisode Title:A Blessing for Uncertain Times by Kate Bowler: A Poem for Anxious Days | Midweek Pause for PeaceEpisode Description:When the future feels unreadable and the news won’t let up, where can we find our footing? In this Midweek Pause for Peace, author and writing teacher Laura Davis shares Kate Bowler’s poem “A Blessing for Uncertain Times,” a piece that meets anxiety with honesty rather than easy reassurance. Paired with calming imagery, this short episode invites listeners to slow down, breathe, and rediscover what remains within reach when so much feels out of their hands.Laura also extends a warm invitation: food is never just food. She shares details about Explore the Flavors of Your Life, a free Zoom writing workshop she is co-leading with three-time cookbook author Myra Goodman on Saturday, November 14, from 10 a.m. to noon Pacific.What Laura Covers in This Episode:How Kate Bowler’s poem offers comfort for anxious times without pretending the future is certain or the worry unfoundedWhy turning attention toward what is close and manageable can ease overwhelm and help calm the nervous systemThe blessing as a literary form: how writers can borrow its structure of direct address and gentle invocation in their own poems and proseAn invitation to Explore the Flavors of Your Life, a free food writing workshop with Laura Davis and cookbook author Myra GoodmanAbout Host Laura Davis:Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience helping writers craft powerful, authentic stories. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning memoir “The Burning Light of Two Stars,” which won the BookLife Prize in 2021. Laura is also co-author of the groundbreaking book “The Courage to Heal.”Through her Midweek Pause for Peace podcast series, Laura pairs carefully selected poetry with peaceful imagery to support listeners’ emotional wellness and nervous system regulation.Each week, host Laura Davis pairs beautiful imagery with meaningful poetry, offering listeners a respite for both heart and nervous system. These midweek pauses provide essential moments of reflection, healing, and inspiration in our complex world.Perfect for: Anyone seeking Laura Davis’ signature blend of poetry and peace, those managing stress and anxiety, and listeners who appreciate thoughtful, heart-centered content.CONNECT WITH LAURA DAVISJoin Laura’s Community: Subscribe to Laura Davis’ Midweek Pause for Peace series for consistent, nurturing content that honors both your need for beauty and your nervous system’s need for calm.The Writer’s Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You’ll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully crafted reflections, prompts, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.Subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Learn about Laura’s writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ResourcesExplore the Flavors of Your Life: Free Zoom Writing WorkshopSaturday, November 14, 10 a.m. to noon Pacific, with Laura Davis and Myra GoodmanRegister here: https://questforeternalsunshine.com/exploring-the-flavors-of-your-lifeListen: Kate Bowler on Hidden Brain, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People”Hear more from Kate Bowler in this conversation on the Hidden Brain podcast.Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-brain/id1028908750?i=1000793303400About the Featured Poet:Kate Bowler is a three-time New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcast host, and an Associate Professor of American Religious History at Duke University. She studies the cultural stories we tell ourselves about success, suffering, and whether (or not) we’re capable of change. Her books include “Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved” and “No Cure for Being Human,” and she hosts the podcast “Everything Happens,” where she explores how people find meaning when life doesn’t go as planned.Website: https://katebowler.com/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title: Iron Bladder: I Could Hold It All Day Until I Couldn’t AnymoreEpisode Description: For her whole adult life, Laura Davis took quiet pride in her “iron bladder.” Then the damp underpants started. Then the dash from her backyard office that she didn’t win. In this candid, often funny episode of The Writer’s Journey, Laura reads her essay about the problem she wasn’t talking about: urinary urgency and leakage, one of the most common and least discussed health issues facing women as they age.Laura moves between a reluctant walk down the incontinence aisle at CVS, a long-buried memory from sixth grade involving a public library and a piano lesson, and the moment she finally said the words out loud to her doctor. What she learns next surprises her. Along the way, she models what it means to write honestly about the body, embarrassment, and aging, and why breaking the silence matters.What Laura Covers in This Episode:The slow, unsettling progression from a one-time “fluke” to a pattern she could no longer ignoreHow a lifelong point of pride became a source of secrecy and shameA role reversal in the drugstore aisle she once walked for her motherA sixth-grade memory that resurfaced with startling clarityWhat happened when she told her doctor what was going on “down there”Her first visit to a pelvic floor physiotherapist, and the questions that reframed everythingWhy so many women avoid seeking help, and what that silence costsPractical bladder-training insights she brought home from her first sessionWriting with candor and humor about subjects most people won’t say out loudEpisode Highlights:The opening confession: Laura begins with an image few writers would dare to lead with, and it pulls listeners straight in.The lid that slowed everything down: A household annoyance becomes a race against time.The CVS aisle: Laura revisits a familiar store with a very different shopping list.Between the stacks: A shy sixth grader, thick white tights, a library, and a secret kept from her mother.Mr. Moltzer’s piano bench: An unforgettable hour in a room with four pianos and a teacher with an extraordinary past.“Down there”: The moment Laura breaks her silence, and her doctor’s surprising response.The private room: Laura’s first pelvic floor physiotherapy session, complete with an anatomy chart, a joke about speculums, and an assessment she didn’t expect.“She’s going to misbehave”: Why her physiotherapist talks about the bladder as if it has a mind of its own, and how that changes the way Laura thinks about control.About Host Laura Davis: Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping people tell their stories with courage, craft, and honesty. She is the author of seven books, including the groundbreaking classic The Courage to Heal and her award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars, winner of the 2021 BookLife Prize. Her books have been published in 11 languages and have sold more than 1.8 million copies. Through The Writer’s Journey, Laura teaches all forms of writing in online classes, workshops, and international writing retreats. Her students come from around the world to develop their voices, deepen their craft, and write the stories that matter most to them. Laura lives in Santa Cruz, California, where she hosts The Writer’s Journey with Laura Davis podcast and Substack.Resources Laura Mentions:Johns Hopkins Medicine: Pelvic Floor Therapy: An overview of pelvic floor physical therapy, what it treats, and how it works.Johns Hopkins Pelvic Floor Therapyhttps://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/physical_medicine_rehabilitation/services/rehab-therapy/physical/pelvic-floor-rehab.htmlExplore the Flavors of Your Life: A Free Food Writing Workshop: A free two-hour Zoom workshop Laura co-leads with Myra Goodman on Saturday, November 14, 2026, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Pacific. It will be recorded for those who can’t attend live.Register for Explore the Flavors of Your Lifehttps://questforeternalsunshine.com/exploring-the-flavors-of-your-lifeThe Burning Light of Two Stars: A Mother-Daughter Story: Laura’s award-winning memoir, winner of the 2021 BookLife Prize.The Burning Light of Two Starshttps://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars/The Courage to Heal: The million-copy bestseller Laura co-authored with poet Ellen Bass.The Courage to Heal at Bookshop Santa Cruzhttps://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/book/9780061284335All Books by Laura Davis:https://lauradavis.net/books/The Writer’s Journey with Laura Davis (Substack):The Writer’s Journey on Substackhttps://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Laura Davis’s Writing Classes, Workshops, and Retreats:lauradavis.nethttps://lauradavis.net/Key Takeaways from This EpisodeName what you’re hiding. The problems people don’t talk about are often the ones most worth addressing, on the page and in life. Laura shows how naming an embarrassing truth can be the first step toward changing it.Tell your doctor sooner, not later. Urinary urgency and leakage are common and often treatable. Bringing them up early can keep a small problem from becoming a bigger one.Know that a specialty exists for this. Pelvic floor physiotherapists treat a wide range of bladder, bowel, and pelvic issues. Wait lists can be long, so it’s worth getting on one early.Don’t assume tightening is the answer. Kegels aren’t right for everyone. Some people need to learn to relax the pelvic floor instead, which is one reason individualized assessment matters.Write the body with honesty and humor. Laura’s essay is a model for writers tackling aging, illness, or shame. Concrete sensory detail, a well-placed memory, and a light touch can turn an awkward subject into a story readers recognize and remember.Episode Call-to-Action:Consider a subject you’ve avoided writing about because it feels too embarrassing. Spend ten minutes writing the first line you’d never say out loud.If anything in this episode resonated with your own experience, talk to your doctor.Sign up for Laura’s free food writing workshop, Explore the Flavors of Your Life, on November 14, 2026: https://questforeternalsunshine.com/exploring-the-flavors-of-your-lifeShare this episode with a friend who might need permission to talk about an embarrassing body issue.Connect with Laura Davis:Substack: The Writer’s Journey with Laura Davis, https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/Website: lauradavis.net, https://lauradavis.net/Books: lauradavis.net/books, https://lauradavis.net/books/Instagram: @laurasaridavis, https://www.instagram.com/laurasaridavis/Facebook: The Writer’s Journey, https://www.facebook.com/thewritersjourneyEngage: Click the heart, leave a comment, or share this post to help new readers discover The Writer’s Journey.The Writer’s Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You’ll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ Learn about Laura’s writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe