Dear Reader, This evening at 6:00 at Orchestra Hall, my friend and collaborator Keri Mangis is giving a Minneapolis TedX Talk. Theme: Life, Rewritten. Wondering what that entails? Related: Yesterday I released a new podcast episode featuring Keri, in which we talk about her TedX experience so far. https://courageouswordsmith.simplecast.com/episodes/keri-mangis-110 You can still get a ticket to the TEDx show. I'll be there, so be sure to say hi. Enjoy the episode and travel safely. Love, Amy...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, Two Timely Things for you, with love from me. FIRST: I meant to send you a new podcast this week featuring my friend Keri Mangis in which we discuss her UPCOMING TEDxMINNEAPOLIS TALK AT ORCHESTRA HALL ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 6:00 pm! (All caps, because this is a BIG deal and I am so proud of Keri.) Instead, I'm going to share a link to my most recent podcast with Keri and release our new episode next week, talking about her TEDx experience so far. And if you haven't already...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, Cara Pacific Campbell was the first person who took me up on my offer of a 1:1 Book Writing Mentorship and put her trust in me. I was grateful that someone so vibrant felt drawn to working with me. Looking back, it makes perfect sense. When we let ourselves pay attention, we're drawn to our people. Cara and I are both high-performing women who worked hard and paid a steep price with our health. As in, our bodies made us quit our careers when our minds thought that we could—had...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, When Keri and I recorded this episode in late 2022, I was still editing my second memoir for publication and she was drafting a book that's also now nearing publication. The podcast never got produced at that time, but I happened onto the recording this past winter and it caught my attention. Keri and I are still writing today. I'm starting new books and she's preparing to deliver a TED-x Talk this summer. And this conversation feels like a divinely timed gift from our former...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, I am so ridiculously proud of my latest podcast episode with Corinne Bauer of Tiny Art Maui. And I really hope you will listen to it. Everything about this conversation and how it came to be is unexpected. I met Corinne at an art show in a Hawaiian hotel lobby. But when I talk about Shiny Objects and allowing myself to play freely in their presence, this is what I’m talking about. On the surface I was drawn to Corinne’s delightful Tiny Art Maui display because, as she herself...
5 months ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, As long as I've known Sara Taylor, I've thought of her as a gifted writer who—especially once she gained momentum—would write volumes I want to read. Since she was an early participant in what has become my Circle for Real-Life Writers, I've been an up-close witness. Sara's subject matter and how she frames it fascinates me. If I'm interested in the inner working of stories around generational trauma and healing, Sara's a healing practitioner who delves deep into underlying...
5 months ago • 2 min read
Dear Reader, This year, more than ever, I wanted to honor Black History Month, at a time when attempts have been made to erase it. So I invited my friend Terry Newby to help me do that. As a white woman in America, I loved literature, but I did not grow up reading many marginalized voices. While I knew the name James Baldwin, I couldn't have told you what he stood for. And now? I know him as a Black man and a gay author. And what else? I've admired his interview clips. He feels important. How...
7 months ago • 1 min read
My 100th Episode Boundaries Make Things Possible. Dear Reader, I recently came across my final project from my Master Coach Training in the fall of 2017. It was a PowerPoint-presentation meets-screen-recording in which I told everyone what I had done all summer, which was... branding my business, curating thematic images, and amassing a mess of unfulfilled goals. It was humbling. I had to upload something to our group forum by midnight Eastern Time (I am on Central) and I had run out of time....
7 months ago • 3 min read
Dear Reader, I released a new / old podcast episode this week, and it feels very timely. Let me explain. This episode, in which my dear colleague and peer Orla Collins interviewed me in 2023, introduces my 52-card Tiny Altars oracle deck. I didn't release it back then. My books are available through distributors other than me, and I haven't been interested in opening a storefront to sell these decks. I already tried that with my first book and my first products, and I could do that again, but...
8 months ago • 2 min read