Heart of the Story

194 Nadine is taking a semi-sabbatical this year to study, try new things, and travel, and she's sharing her adventures with you in a podcast series that will air multiple times throughout the year. In this 3rd episode, she shares the highlights, challenges, and takeaways from her March areas of interest: creative writing, garbage time, and perimenopause support.

Covered in this episode:

• How Nadine developed a regular writing pra...

193 Disruptor and author of a Well-Trained Wife, Tia Levings shares her journey of escaping a high-control religious environment and reclaiming her identity. Tia roots for women to recognize their worth and reclaim their voices, especially in the face of patriarchal systems. Tia walks us through her daily practices for nervous system regulation and how she got to her "grandma is a bestselling author" era.

Covered in this episode:

192 To celebrate the release of Maggie Smith's new guidebook for writers called Dear Writer: Pep Talks and Practical Advice for a Creative Life, we're bringing back this beloved chat with Maggie about writing, self-trust, and life in the ellipsis!

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What do we do when the future we thought we’d have is wiped clean, and we're stuck in uncertainty? Bestselling author Maggie Smith joins us to talk about life in the in-between and how...

191 To celebrate Nadine + Sara's upcoming collaborative masterclass on April 15, we're bringing back this much-loved episode w/ Sara Avant Stover. Register for the class at https://www.nadinekenneyjohnstone.com/classes

If you've ever felt alone in your suffering and uncertainty, this episode is for you. Bestselling author Sara Avant Stover shares her own story of serial heartbreaks and the steps she took towards repair. Through IFS...

190 To celebrate Renee's April 25th women's retreat: Tending Your Wild Fire, we're brining back this fan favorite episode.

Award winning author and retreat leader Renee Trudeau joins Nadine to talk about the self discernment practices she does when she feels lost, why she walked away from a book deal, how her life has changed in the last 2 years, and why retreat is so important for women.

Renee and Nadine geek out on why they love ...

189 To celebrate the release of Susan's new book, Inexplicable Joy, we're bringing back this fan-favorite episode!

Buddhist teacher and writer, Susan Piver, talks about the surprising path that landed her on Oprah and the NY Times bestseller list. She candidly opens up about the pitfalls of publishing that lead her to start her own press. Nadine and Susan share the secrets and support systems that help them as authors, and Susan exp...

188 Nadine is taking a semi-sabbatical this year to study, try new things, and travel, and she's sharing her adventures with you in a podcast series that will air multiple times throughout the year. In this 2nd episode, she shares the highlights, challenges, and takeaways from her February areas of interest: creative writing, local food sourcing, and perimenopause support.

Covered in this episode:

• Why Nadine chose to focus on the...

187 We're bringing back this encore episode to celebrate Faith and Nadine's March 11 masterclass: Applying to Residencies and Fellowships. Replay will be sent if you can't make it live.

Episode originally aired in June 2023.

Want to know how to fulfill your writing and traveling dreams (& receive full or partial funding)? Grab a notebook because this episode with travel memoirist Faith Adiele is FULL of helpful info and resource...

186 Nadine is taking a semi-sabbatical this year to study, try new things, and travel, and she's sharing her adventures with you in a podcast series that will air multiple times throughout the year. In this kick-off episode, she shares the highlights, challenges, and takeaways from her recent two-week trip to California to study conscious dance at Esalen and meditation at a 5-day, device-free, silent retreat.

Covered in this episode...

185 We're bringing back this encore episode to celebrate Emily and Nadine's Feb 27 masterclass: Integrating Research into Writing. Replay will be sent if you can't make it live.

Episode originally aired in Summer 2024.

We want to protect our children but we can sense that our over protection is doing more damage than good. In this eye-opening conversation, parenting expert Emily Edlynn explains why controlling parenting is taking it...

184 This chat w/ bestselling memoirist Molly Wizenberg covers it all: partnership, parenting, writing, teaching, navigating midlife, and taking brave action. At its heart though, it's a chat about following our desire, even when it disturbs the status quo.

About Molly's latest memoir, The Fixed Stars: "At age 36, while serving on a jury, author Molly Wizenberg found herself drawn to a female attorney. Married to a man for nearly a d...

183 In this candid episode, Nadine reviews the highlights and hardships from the past year. She shares the good, bad, and the complicated when it comes to navigating mid-life, parenting a middle-schooler, living in FL, having difficult conversations w/ loved ones, prioritizing fun, and everything in between.

Access for the full episode is available when you become a paid subscriber on Substack.

About Nadine:

Nadine Kenney Johnstone i...

182 We're bringing back this encore episode to celebrate Tamara and Nadine's Jan 22 masterclass: Writing for Major Magazines. Replay will be sent if you can't make it live.

Episode originally aired in 2021: How does an idea become a book? How do you find the time to write in the midst of working and parenting? How do you overcome fear of what others will think of your writing? Nadine and Tamara talk about all these things and more ...

181 What if a gap year wasn't only reserved for high school grads trying to find themselves? Writer, hiker, and anti-capitalist tiny biz owner, Nic Antoinette, discusses the inspiration behind her 2025 grown up gap year, and Nadine opens up about the moment of jealousy that led to her "apprentice year." This is not a new-year-new-you, live-your-best-life episode. Instead, Nic and Nadine talk openly about how they are trying to be ...

180 This was a big year for the show, as Nadine got to interview her writing idols, including Maggie Smith, Abigail Thomas, Dr. Hillary McBride, and more! In this episode, Nadine chats with her producer about their favorite podcast moments from 2024. Learn which life bits of guest wisdom impacted them the most and how their personal lives have changed as a result.

While the show is on a holiday break, catch up on any episodes you mi...

179 Oldster magazine creator, Sari Botton, joins Nadine to talk about the highlights and hardships of “traveling through time in a human body at every phase of life.” As a collector of stories, Sari also shares what she has learned about aging and new beginnings from others. Ultimately, Nadine and Sari explore how to embrace life’s contradictions and feel less alone in the process. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Am I the only one ...

178 In this candid episode, Nadine discusses her creative and professional successes and struggles of the past year.

Join Nadine & Sarah Fay on Dec 10, 10-12:30 CST for a collaborative masterclass, Knowing Your “Why”: Set Up Your Substack to Grow. Replay sent if you miss. If you'd like automatic access to all of Nadine's monthly masterclasses, as well as her weekly writer workouts for women, you can join her Writer Workout PLUS...

177 In this empowering conversation, Nadine chats with Substack Growth Strategist, Sarah Fay, about the transformative power of Substack for writers. They share their writing journeys, the challenges of book launching, and why they’ve both turned to Substack to take back control of their writing careers. They discuss Substack’s infinite benefits, including monetization, longer book launches, and even book serialization. Writers who...

176 In this mini-sode, Nadine talks about her doozy of a week and the things that brought her comfort. She also announces 2 big holidays sales, happening now through Dec 2!

20% Discount on her Substack Annual Membership: Moving forward, Nadine's personal essays, reading and watching recommendations, tales of her 2025 a...