Middle age feels permanent and endless

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Episode Title: Middle Age Feels Endless — Until It Ends: Laura Davis on Turning 70 Episode Description: As her 70th birthday approaches, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis pauses to reckon with a passage she didn't expect to feel this deep. Drawing on more than three decades of teaching people to tell the truth about their lives, Laura turns that same unflinching honesty on herself, exploring what it means to step out of the "alpha time" of middle age and into a new, less-charted stretch of life. It's a reflective, personal episode about identity, invisibility, and what gets released when the busier self finally lets go. What Laura Covers in This Episode: The unexpected weight of her upcoming 70th birthday, and why it feels different than she anticipated A shift she's noticed inside herself — away from "compelled to do" and toward spaciousness The grief and uncertainty that come alongside relief when a driven identity starts to loosen What it meant to be the "nucleus" of family life for decades, and what changes when that role fades Cultural invisibility and no longer being "the target demographic" A long-running family tradition and what its evolution has taught her about aging Where her ongoing Camino de Santiago training fits into how she's thinking about time, health, and mortality Episode Highlights: Laura names the internal shift she's been feeling: the part of her "compelled to do" losing its hold A friend's line lands hard: "Middle age feels endless — until it ends" Laura describes what it was like to be at the center of her family's orbit for over thirty years She reflects on becoming culturally invisible as younger generations move to center stage A beloved family ritual — the post-Thanksgiving walk to the beach — becomes an unexpected marker of time passing Laura shares where she is physically right now, including a recent ten-mile training hike She names the deeper trajectory she's newly aware of, without flinching from it The episode closes on what gratitude looks like from this new vantage point About Host Laura Davis: Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping people find and tell their true stories. She is the author of the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars, winner of the BookLife Prize, and co-author of the groundbreaking The Courage to Heal. Laura runs The Writer's Journey LLC, offering online writing classes, workshops, and international retreats — including her Creative Camino pilgrimage program — and hosts The Writer's Journey podcast and Substack, where she writes candidly about the craft of writing and the experience of a life fully lived. Resources Laura Mentions: The Burning Light of Two Stars [https://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars/] by Laura Davis Laura Davis's Books [https://lauradavis.net/books/] Creative Camino Pilgrimage [https://lauradavis.net/camino/] The Writer's Journey on Substack [https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/] Laura Davis's website [https://lauradavis.net/] Key Takeaways from This Episode: A major birthday can surface a felt sense of identity change long before the number itself sinks in. Letting go of a "compelled to do" self can bring relief and grief at the same time — both are valid. Long-held family roles evolve, and noticing that shift is part of honoring it. Cultural invisibility is a real and disorienting part of aging — naming it out loud takes some of its power away. Physical vitality, like training for a pilgrimage, can be both a gift and a reminder of life's fragile, finite arc. Episode Call-to-Action: Listeners moved by Laura's reflections are invited to sit with their own relationship to time, identity, and the passages they're moving through — and to consider capturing those reflections in writing. Laura's Substack offers weekly essays and prompts for exactly this kind of exploration. Connect with Laura Davis: Substack: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ [https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/] Website: https://lauradavis.net/ [https://lauradavis.net/] 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/ [https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/] Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ [https://lauradavis.net/] The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 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 [https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Two Hundred Days of Photographs

Episode Title The Photo Challenge That Just Kept Going Episode Description Laura Davis returns with an update on the daily photo challenge she introduced last winter. What started as a 100-day commitment with a friend has taken on new dimensions, including a second participant and a fresh set of discoveries. Laura reflects on what she found when she looked back at months of daily images, and how the practice has continued to evolve. You can see the photos described in this podcast episode here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/8feb3699-80e5-43d0-8817-92e8f7620e2b [https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/p/8feb3699-80e5-43d0-8817-92e8f7620e2b] What Laura Covers in This Episode A quick recap of how the original 100-Day Project concept works An update on where the challenge stands now, well past the original 100 days The simple rules that have kept the practice sustainable How a friendship and an impromptu photography lesson on a pilgrimage sparked the original idea The decision point at day 99 and what came next What Laura discovered when she reviewed her second hundred images How a second friend joined the practice and added her own creative voice The role of community, accountability, and small daily commitments in creative life Episode Highlights Laura revisits the origin of the 100-Day Project and the well-known author's virtual creative hour where she first encountered it The specific three rules that have kept the challenge sustainable over many months A story from the Camino de Santiago involving tortilla de patatas, pimientos de Padrón, and an unplanned photography lesson The moment on day 99 when Laura asked her friend a simple question, and the answer that kept the project going What Laura discovered when she looked back at her second hundred images and realized what the practice had quietly become How a chance conversation over a game of mahjong led to a second version of the same challenge with a different friend The way two people photographing the same moment can create an unexpected "conversation" Laura's reflection on what centers a day around "one tiny beautiful thing" About Host Laura Davis Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with more than 35 years of experience helping people find their voice through the written word. 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 landmark bestseller The Courage to Heal. Laura teaches writing in all its forms through weekly classes, workshops, and retreats around the world, and leads international pilgrimages, including her Creative Camino program on the Camino de Santiago. She is the host of The Writer's Journey podcast and writes a companion Substack publication exploring the craft of writing, creativity, and living a full, examined life. Resources Laura Mentions Suleika Jaouad's Isolation Journals [https://theisolationjournals.substack.com/] — creative hour sessions Michael Bierut and the 100-Day Project [https://designobserver.com/five-years-of-100-days/] (Design Observer) The Courage to Heal [https://lauradavis.net/books/] by Laura Davis and Ellen Bass The Burning Light of Two Stars [https://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars] by Laura Davis Laura's Creative Camino pilgrimage program [https://lauradavis.net/camino/] Commonweal Cancer Help Program [https://cancerhelpprogram.org/], Bolinas, California The Writer's Journey Substack [https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/] Key Takeaways from This Episode A simple, repeatable creative practice can offer stability and possibility, especially during difficult seasons of life An accountability partner can make the difference between abandoning a creative practice and sustaining it Keeping the rules of a creative challenge minimal makes it far more likely to last Looking back at a body of daily creative work can reveal patterns and shifts a person didn't consciously notice while living them Creative practices can expand naturally, drawing in new participants and taking on a life of their own Episode Call-to-Action Listeners are encouraged to consider starting their own version of a 100-day creative practice, choosing any medium that appeals to them, and reaching out to a friend to join as an accountability partner. Laura invites listeners to subscribe to The Writer's Journey on Substack to follow along with future updates on the ongoing photo challenge and other reflections on creativity and craft. Connect with Laura Davis Listeners can follow Laura's writing, classes, retreats, and pilgrimages at lauradavis.net [http://lauradavis.net], and subscribe to The Writer's Journey [https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/] for regular essays, curated poems, and updates on Laura's creative life. 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/ [https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/] Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/ [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 [https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

11. juli 202611 min

Middle age feels permanent and endless—until it ends

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