Real Life Resilience

"Like many people, I've had a difficult childhood," says Author Mary DeMuth. "One of the things I struggled with in telling my story openly was that I didn’t know if I was through it yet and in a way, I don’t feel like I’m 100% completely healed of that story. I also worried about what other people would think, particularly family members who are still alive. And that was something I had to come to terms with. I realized that if everybody had that fear, and if everybody waited for all the people to die before they could write their memoir, then there would never be any encouragement for those who are walking through the muck of healing from their past." Lifestory Toolkit: Trello Free Download: I Should Have Raised My Hand

"The interesting thing that always strikes me when I write about emotional moments like this is just realizing that I’m very much writing about the experience as I experienced it, not necessarily as it was," says Brett Gajda, host of Where There's Smoke podcast. "What actually happened in the past is blended with our experience and our emotions. What happens over time is our emotions change, so perhaps our truth changes with time and distance from the event." Lifestory Toolkit: StoryCorps App. Free Download: 5 Myths About Lifestory Writing

Meg Worden spent 2 years in prison for conspiracy to sell the drug ecstasy. Problem was, she had already cleaned up her life and had a 2 month old baby when Federal agents knocked at her door with the indictment. Being able to tell her story is what liberated her from having to deal with the stigma of her situation. She wanted her son to live a life without shame. Listen as she discusses her search for value and what she's done with her life now. Free Download: How to Tell When it's Time to Leave Your Man and Meg's Free Your Mind. Lifestory Toolkit: Morning Pages.

"I was the only 8 year old who was using her allowance to buy death certificates," says Lisa Louise Cooke, author of The Genealogist's Google Toolbox. She's discovered that Google is 'cousin bait' because our family history is in each others' attics and Google is the portal. Listen as Lisa also describes how to take the intensity out of your core family relationships by picking your own values from your ancestors instead of your immediate family. Free download: 5 Fabulous Google Strategies for the Family Historian. Lifestory Toolkit: Scrivener

Happiness researcher Gretchen Rubin is interested in all facets of human nature. She shares her insights into the 8 Splendid Truths of Happiness, including "feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right in an atmosphere of growth." Sometimes happiness doesn't always make you feel happy, and sometimes we do things for our happiness that don't actually make us feel good. Gretchen shares her online quiz and free report so you can discover your tendency.

"There's been much research about the healing effects of writing. What writing does is connect these two parts of the brain that normally don't talk to each other. Every time someone says, 'Oh, this is gonna sound crazy' I know they're about to say something profound and true," says writing instructor Anais Salibian. Many studies have shown that it's emotionally healing for survivors to write about traumatic events that took place. Research done by Dr. James Pennebaker shows that there are actual health benefits from writing about unresolved experiences. Listen to the show to learn more.

According to Steve Forbes, "Jim Stovall is one of the most remarkable and inspiring individuals of this age - or any age. His example of doing good and great things in the face of what others would consider to be debilitating challenges is uplifting and inspiring." Despite losing his sight in his twenties, Jim has shown the world that you don’t have to be blind to see. Find out how he become a renowned author of over 30 books and how he writes without seeing.

This ain’t your Momma’s scrapbooking! Anna Broome, National Sales Director for Forever.com, has a passion for helping people preserve their memories. She shares her unique idea for Love Letters to your kids on this episode. Every year in January she selects one photo that she took the past year for each of her children. She then writes a heart-felt letter to that child mentioning events from the previous year, challenges they had, what she’s most proud of, anything she wants them to remember (and herself to remember). Anna gives a special discount at Forever.com to Write of Your Life listeners. Discover what she tears up about and the most amazing way you can preserve your family history.

Talk back at the mean girl voice in your head! If you don't have loving people supporting you when you're in an abusive relationship or you're unhappy, that mean girl voice in your head starts to take on a life of her own. She represents all the negative people in your life: bad boss, bad mother or father, angry spouse, whoever. You have the power to change that mean girl voice, and anything else about your life. Lindsey Ellison helps people get unstuck and stop beating themselves up.