After three years of storytelling, spoken word poetry, and reflections on creativity, grief, caregiver self-care, and healing, Let the Verse Flow is taking an extended hiatus as I transition more fully into audiobook narration. What started as a way to channel my creativity turned out to be intimately tied to the grief I felt over my mom's illness and passing. I've learned so much from podcasting -- personal revelations, how to use poetry and journaling to express my emotions, and technical ...
May 27
1 min
In this episode, I reflect on my mother’s final life lesson (#10): the idea that we each can do our part to leave the world better than we found it. We can get granular in our thinking and understand the impact of small acts of kindness—attention, presence, and everyday compassion. My mom did it by getting to know people through a lens of discovery and acceptance. Drawing from memories of my mother’s way of moving through the world in a way that honored an individual's intrinsic beauty ...
May 20
22 min
We are not meant to get through life alone. In this episode, I share my mom’s ninth lesson: the importance of letting others take care of you. Today's spoken word piece, one of my new favorites, is about how we aren't islands. Even if we don't recognize it, we don't live in a vacuum. We need connection; even when the world feels intrusive, and people are "too much to handle," we still need anchors in our lives. Those are the people we can really count on. The ones who truly care about o...
May 6
25 min
Today's lesson (#8 in my 10-part series called "What My Mama Taught Me: 10 Life Lessons on Compassion, Creativity, and Courage”) is about starting before you are ready and having the courage to experiment and pursue the creative projects that interest you. Whenever I begin something new, I tend to research it thoroughly. But there comes a point when learning has to give way to doing. That’s where I found myself with audiobook narration. After nearly a year of coaching, I was told I was ready ...
Apr 22
29 min
My mom’s 7th life lesson was on the healing power of touch; the way simple, physical gestures like a hand on the chest, a stroke of the forehead, or a hug can calm the nervous system and communicate love without words. In this episode, we’ll explore how touch can regulate stress and anxiety through somatic practices, how early experiences with affection shape the way we give and receive love, and how the body, especially the gut, holds and communicates emotional truth. Music: All music for my...
Apr 8
17 min
Today's lesson from my mom (lesson 6) is about learning the language of nature. How to let nature inspire your creativity, channel and reflect your emotions and bring comfort and micro-moments of mindfulness into your life. This episode begins with a spoken-word piece on the subtle ways we are connected to the natural world, from a whale song to moss-covered branches to wind, water, and soil. It’s inspired by my childhood trips to Cape May with my mom, where we heard whale songs, collected pe...
Mar 25
22 min
In Part 5 of the Lessons My Mama Taught Me series, I reflect on a powerful truth my mother lived by: being hateful is incompatible with being whole. The episode opens with a spoken-word poem about the distances we travel to understand one another and how the differences we see on the surface often dissolve when we look more closely. I then share the story of my mother, a white woman raised in a small, religious town, who chose love over prejudice when she married a Black man in the late 1950...
Mar 11
19 min
What happens when we give without thinking about what we’ll get back? In this episode, I explore the quiet power of generosity and everyday kindness. How do our small, everyday giving acts shape our identity and strengthen human connection? A smile on a crowded street. Holding the door. Driving a friend home. Doing someone’s laundry when they’re overwhelmed. These gestures may seem minor, but they ripple outward in powerful ways. In today's episode, we’ll reflect on: Giving without keeping sc...
Feb 25
20 min
What if one of life’s quiet superpowers is noticing? What if noticing those things brings you closer to knowing yourself, to connecting with yourself, to cherishing yourself? Sounds like pretty powerful stuff for a no-cost, simple act, and yet we don’t do it nearly enough. In this episode, I reflect on the third lesson my mother taught me: take notice of little, beautiful things, especially nature. Through spoken word poetry, memories of my mom, reflections on motherhood, and the ...
Feb 11
19 min
This episode continues my 10-part series What My Mama Taught Me, reflecting on the wisdom, values, and way of being my mother embodied. Telling her stories and sharing her kindness and unique perspective help me honor her memory as I continue to grieve. It also encourages us to lean into loving, kind values during these troubling times. In Lesson #2 — Recognize the Good in Others, I discuss how quickly we categorize people based on outward appearance, and how much we miss when we do. Through ...
Jan 28
19 min
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