Writing Memories with Matthew Kiell

Finding Fantastic Joy with Leah Johnson

What happens when the life you've worked so hard to build no longer feels like your own?Before becoming an author, Leah Johnson spent years building a successful career in politics, advocating for others and helping shape public policy. But behind that success, she was struggling to advocate for herself.One line from our conversation has stayed with me:"I spent a lifetime building advocacy campaigns for everyone else but myself."In this episode, we explore success, identity, addiction, creativity, and what it takes to choose a life that feels aligned with who you really are.It's a conversation about memoir, but it's also a conversation about the courage to rewrite the stories we've been living.🎙️ Listen wherever you enjoy podcasts.@ForLoveOfMemoirFollow Leah and purchase a copy of Finding Fantastic Joy here:https://www.findingfantasticjoy.com/

Writing Memories with Matthew Kiell

In this episode of *For Love of Memoir*, Erin Swanson is joined by memoirist Matthew Kiell for a conversation about the fascinating challenge of writing from memory.Together, they explore the relationship between memory and truth, why memoir doesn't require perfect recall, and how writers can faithfully reconstruct the past while remaining honest about what they know, what they don't know, and what memory leaves behind.Matthew shares his approach to memoir structure, the role of scene and reflection, and the important distinction between fictionalizing events and writing authentically from lived experience. Whether you're writing your own memoir or simply curious about how memory shapes the stories we tell, this conversation offers thoughtful insights into the craft of transforming life into literature.Purchase a copy of A Memory Mosaic here:https://a.co/d/039JI3mX

Mindset, Mushrooms, and Meaning with John Borden

This week, I’m joined by John Borden, author of *Your Mindset Is Your Reality*, a memoir exploring the profound impact a psilocybin experience had on his understanding of himself and the world around him.John shares the winding path that led him through addiction, entrepreneurship, personal loss, and ultimately a moment that challenged many of the beliefs he had carried for decades. What followed was a deeper examination of identity, happiness, purpose, and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.In our conversation, we explore self-awareness, personal responsibility, and the relationship between the narratives we create and the lives we live.Buy Johns book here:https://a.co/d/007j49MG

Beyond the Surface with Christie Green

In this episode of *For Love of Memoir*, Christie Green joins me to discuss her memoir *Moonlit Elk*.Part memoir, part exploration of instinct, identity, and the natural world, *Moonlit Elk* follows Christie’s movement into hunting, solitude, and a way of living that challenged many of the expectations she once carried about herself and the world around her.Guided in part by her dreams, Christie reflects on learning to trust a different kind of knowing and what happened when she began paying closer attention to instinct, the natural world, and the parts of herself that didn’t fit neatly into modern life.In our conversation, we talk about writing from the body instead of the intellect, stepping into spaces traditionally dominated by men, the relationship between humans and animals, and the search for a more honest way of being alive.Follow Christie and learn more about her work at:christiegreen.net

The Power of Story

In this episode of For Love of Memoir, Dan Williams joins me for a conversation about storytelling, memory, and the stories that shape identity across generations. We talk about the role of oral storytelling in family life, the memories that stay with us, and why certain stories continue to matter long after the moment itself has passed. Dan reflects on the people who taught him how to tell a story, the meaning carried inside family narratives, and what gets preserved when stories are shared instead of forgotten. This conversation explores memory not just as recollection, but as inheritance.