Episodes

  • Writing for Good

    Writing for Good
    Jan 19 2026
    From Amy:You likely know that Renee Nicole Good was killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota two Wednesdays ago. ICE is occupying our state because the Supreme Court said that they could. Specifically, Brett Kavanaugh—who gave me flashbacks to a Third Reich judge* in his confirmation hearings—wrote in September that speaking Spanish was probable cause for detention.*Google the White Rose to see for yourself.And now, here we are.ICE was always going to come to Minnesota. Once again, our home state, specifically Minneapolis extending outward, is the focus of Trump’s White House. But he doesn’t own us. He’s never won here. Our Governor Tim Walz ran against his ticket and called him weird. That’s why Trump is so fixated on us, and what makes him want to control us so badly.When I say we, I mean Minnesota. I mean all of the kinds of people who love our home state and our neighbors. It's incredibly cold and beautiful here in the winter.We're here because we've chosen to be here.Hours after a friend texted me the shocking news of Renee’s death, I recorded a podcast episode with my friend and colleague Terry Newby. Terry’s a Twin Cities novelist, playwright, and lawyer who writes about Black history, which is American history. He'd prepared good questions on a related topic, so we carried on and acknowledged the death without sharing details we didn’t yet know.We wanted to bear witness with the information we did have.Here’s another thing I already knew: Being a white woman (like Renee Nicole Good) in America is not always safe, but it’s not immigrants and people of color and queer folks and native people who endanger our freedoms. For many years, I've driven into Minneapolis several times a week and felt incredibly safe there.Paul Wellstone, our beloved late senator, famously said that we all do better when we all do better. Renee Good’s final words wouldn’t be widely heard until the following day, from the shooter’s own phone: "That’s fine, dude, I’m not mad at you." In return, after he filmed himself shooting her, the coward in a mask called her a f’ing bitch. Then he ran away, went into hiding, and feigned an injury; meanwhile his ICE buddies prevented medical treatment as Renee died. He's still out there.All of this is fact. You can witness it for yourself.As you can tell, I am still angry, and I am not sorry for being angry. The occupation of Minnesota continues in real time. Meanwhile, I’ve let myself be a witness, making relevant notes to self. Because I know that my books have revealed themselves in good time. Tiny Altars, published in 2023, provides relevant prologue to what's happening right now.Ten years ago, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I walked away from my teaching career, and I’m grateful I walked away when I did. I’ve been present to pay attention to what’s happening in Minnesota and forge connections far beyond her borders.This moment will add up to so much more.My own experience tells me so. Both of my memoirs document everyday intersections with historical moments. In 1987, as an exchange student to West Germany with minimal German fluency, I lived on a street named after two heroes of the German resistance, siblings Sophie and Hans Scholl from the White Rose. They grew up in the Black Forest where my host family lived. I stood on both sides of the notorious Berlin Wall, built in the aftermath of World War II, and I first learned their history further in a West Berlin museum. My comprehensive journal of daily rambling notes to self from those three months helped me to write and publish German Awakening three decades after I returned home from West Germany, a country that no longer exists.Once the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and reunified a divided people, my German literature major no longer made logical sense. Yet my path through language education was the most relevant training I can imagine to meet this moment in American history, as ICE comes down on us all.I haven’t been outside much in this cold snap, unlike many brave neighbors in Minneapolis. But I know what it is to live and learn and connect using a non-native-to-me language. That’s worth a lot in this moment. I'll find the work I'm called to do. I call myself a Courageous Wordsmith, along with my collaborators. We're in this together.What’s the work you’re called to do? How are you courageous?I am asking you to not look away from Minneapolis or Greater Minnesota. I wonder, what can you offer to center humanity in this moment? How can you raise awareness so that all of US, everywhere, can do better? You don’t have to know the end at the outset.You don’t have to be a martyr for the cause. But we all need you. Nothing is wasted.We start wherever we are.All the path of a real-life witness requires is that we’re aware: We’re willing to ask questions, listen, keep taking notes, and do something Good. Terrance C. Newby is an attorney, novelist, and playwright based in ...
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    36 mins
  • Women Seeing Our Gifts for the First Time

    Women Seeing Our Gifts for the First Time
    Dec 12 2025
    From Amy:I have so much to say about the richness and challenge of my journey through the life coach world, and someday soon I'll be ready to write about that. But if there's anything I would tell my former self, as she moved through that process, it's this: You aren't doing this wrong, and you don't have to justify this training (at an advanced level, no less) by becoming a FULL-BLOWN LIFE COACH. You can educate yourself (and invest in yourself) just because it's helping you learn who you are, in deeper ways than you have before. So you can trust in the process, and trust in your gifts unfolding, even if you don't know how to apply them yet, especially when—up until now—experts told you how to meet and exceed their expectations. Beloved, I'm proud of how you're taking this time to redefine your own expectations, even if the clarity is taking a while.After all, your life's work is unprecedented. Life coaching tools are expanding your vocabulary. That's more than enough.Most of all, you get to enjoy being exactly where and who you are. No apologies needed for wanting to play with new kinds of knowledge.Here's some added context in retrospect: After I quit my increasingly scripted teaching career, I turned to life coach training to heal and to build my (unnamed, undefined) new career at midlife, because I didn't believe I was finished with my work in the world. But it was never as simple as calling myself a life coach; that's never felt entirely right, even though the training felt necessary. That title missed so many of my core gifts, the ones that had brought in the money before, which is why I stayed too long and got so wounded in the first place. But listen.Just because I no longer wanted to be a teacher in that setting, didn't mean my teaching skills were no longer valid. Those remained part of my curriculum vitae—my life's body of work. Even if I wasn't seeing it anymore.I have gifts like nobody else in this world. So do you. Finding new context for our life's body of work? That's courageous.So maybe also, I'd like to say, Thank you. Thank you for taking this risk even though you were scared. Especially because you were so scared. While you might be tempted to feel ashamed of your very big feelings, you can be proud that you let yourself feel what your body was saying.Your body has been steering you to what matters, and what you don't truly require. Such as that title of "Master Life Coach."Nowadays, I call myself an author, podcaster, book writing mentor, and editor—who has life coach training.Which is another way of saying: I'm a language teacher. I teach embodied narrative craft.All of which brings me to this: There are people on the path with information, all kinds of people you'll engage with, but you get to decide which parts are most useful for you to grow, how you interpret that information, and which parts hold the meaning that you'll carry forward.Since I can't offer this advice to Amy in 2017, I offer guidance along these lines to the writers I work with today. Where it also applies.Finally, I would say this to 2017 Amy: Notice your glimmer of hope when Bev Barnes takes one look at your work, never having met you before, and calls you a teacher. She's truly a Master Life Coach. You're going to want to invite her as a guest on your podcast to talk about this exact topic, after you've proven her right. (Yes, there will be a podcast. Enjoy!) PS—And if you want to play pickleball, play pickleball. Because it's fun. Bev Barnes guides midlife coaches and creatives to stop circling their calling and finally create the work their soul came here to do. A Certified Master Life Coach, Soul Work Midwife, and Life Coach Mentor, Bev has been guiding women at midlife to claim their brilliance and shine their light for decades. Today, she specializes in working with women who are at midlife or beyond, who trained as coaches but never quite got going—or never followed their true calling—helping them finally put the pieces together and bring their soul’s work to life.Bev's Links:You can access Soul's Niche Guide - an AI tool created to help you find your purpose as a coach or soulpreneur Free Master Class coming up - From Wound to Wisdom - Unlocking the Work that Only You Can Do. Sign Up hereFind out more about Bev's services hereInstagramFacebook Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats. Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks
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    35 mins
  • How We Are Connected

    How We Are Connected
    Nov 10 2025
    From Amy:At the heart of my work, I draw connections with and for real-life creatives, often from my lived experience of making those kinds of connections in my own work. Not only would a younger Amy have cringed to see me publish the writing I do, but also at the way I reach out to people and say, "Hey, I have a feeling we could work together," or more simply, "Something you shared resonated with me. Please record a conversation for my podcast." But you know what? I'm really good at it, so at this point I own that gift. Because it works out well for me.When I look at Beth Cyr's artwork, I see her doing a similar thing: This is my gift, she says through her pieces, It's something beautiful inside me, and I'm going to do it. And once I've made it, I'll share it. As a result, the rest of us get to enjoy her beautiful imagery. I have a print on my bookshelf from Beth, from this time when she had done all this drawing and I could buy a random print from the collection.That simple yet nuanced landscape inspires me every time I contemplate it. And it's there in the background, quietly keeping beauty in mind. What if your creations could be like that? It comes from knowing who you are and how you feel most like you as you move through the world.Beth made it easy to buy and I was grateful to receive this present-to-me I'd requested that was nonetheless a surprise. She's since taken it to a whole new level in her Gifts from the Universe project, which you can read about in the links below.Beth and I have mutual online friends. So over the summer when she sent an email to her list that especially spoke to me, it wasn't such a stretch to reach out and say, "Hi. We've never spoken before, but let's talk." Unsurprisingly, Beth knew who I was... I was surprised when she replied that she'd seen my name in a congratulatory forum post announcing my certification in Level 4 Quantum Human Design. Ahem.In the space of three weeks, I completed four levels of Quantum Human Design certification, and I was kind of wondering how I was going to talk about that. It makes Younger Amy very uncomfortable to mention. Academic Amy as well. As in, I hadn't mentioned it widely. Because it's an esoteric, well-known field in the life coaching world, certain people expect that from me; my clients know I'm a bit spiritual. I also come from a more prosaic world where such things are looked on as a little (or a lot) out there... a pseudoscience... and also... I find that Human Design is incredibly cool and my chart explains SO MUCH. So I've been quietly exploring for years. I'm only just starting to talk about why that is.So when Beth congratulated me, I recognized the opportunity for what it was: an opportunity to explore this unexpected connection and gather courage to be a bit more "out there." Maybe stop letting the younger, more-easily-mortified Amy decide what I'm talking about. Decondition myself, if you will, and let my gifts shine. Because Human Design is a gift. We talk a bit about deconditioning in the podcast.In essence, it's letting go of what isn't really your energy and your gifts, and embracing what really is. And who decides? YOU.My Human Design chart reveals that following Shiny Objects (I've mentioned several examples above) is a grand and restorative use of my energy. I'm wired to indulge my muses, and to encourage you to as well. And there will be talking. For Beth, it's more body based.I've found the creative process is like this. I let myself respond to a Shiny Object (rather than shrinking away for fear of derision, and potentially being labeled as having "Shiny Object Syndrome..." a known term of derision) and I find out that not only do I have this initial thing in common with the person I contacted to talk, but we have more to talk about, and they help me to see the depth where prior to that I only had worries.That's what this conversation with Beth was like, as well as a primer on Human Design. Beth made Human Design abundantly clear, and as I listen again, I continue to learn more. That's why I think this episode is incredibly cool, and I'm proud to share it. Beth Cyr is an artist, relationship coach, and Quantum Human Design Specialist. To work with clients she has an array of practices from her tool box that include Human Design, somatic work (movement), breathwork, mindfulness and meditation, creativity and art. Through Human Design she's gained a new level of understanding, compassion, and acceptance in all her relationships and wants to share this with others.Beth's Links:WebsiteInstagramBeth's Gifts from the Universe Project starts on Black Friday—but it isn't a typical Black Friday sale. Read more about it. Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative...
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    37 mins
  • What Comes After a Ted Talk?

    What Comes After a Ted Talk?
    Sep 15 2025

    From Amy:

    Ten years ago this month, I started my 21st year of teaching with painful confirmations that my career was on its last legs: betrayal by people in power and a frozen right shoulder (my dominant side) that made it hard to write on the board.

    I didn’t know how or when I would make the leap to the life of a working creative. But I knew I had run out of options in my longtime school district.

    It turned out to be two things.

    First: I had to leave. When the semester ended in January, I did. My body insisted I do so. Certain people made sure it happened… some who didn’t have my back, some who absolutely did. Thanks to them, even (especially) in that fearful passage, I experienced HOPE.

    Second: After my escape, I kept hope alive by cobbling together activities in person and online, including a book revision cohort that met around a dining room table in South Minneapolis, led by an occasional mentor of mine. I got admitted by promising to finish my manuscript in time for my critique, several months in. That’s where I met Keri Mangis, also processing the end of a dream.

    When my book’s turn came to be read, my draft was done, but I backed out for reasons that boil down to a still-raw and reactive nervous system. Of that group, I only trusted Keri to read my draft.

    And when we reached the milestone of being published—our respective book launch parties—you better believe we were there for each other.

    I pulled oracle cards, doing readings for guests at Keri’s February 2020 launch, just before the world shut down. And of course I was going to podcast about Keri’s TEDx Talk experience this summer.

    See, every time I get to witness Keri’s path or she mine, we both have something to offer and we both take something away. I feel a bit more courageous. Every time, without fail. This time as well.

    Keri’s talking about menopause: One life period ending, a promising period starting. Her TEDx idea is to celebrate that passage with women.

    I’m here for the celebration.

    And we’ll both keep walking.

    Keri Mangis is more than just an author and speaker—she’s a guide for those seeking deeper meaning and transformation in a chaotic world. With over 20 years of experience as a wholeness advocate and spiritual teacher, Keri understands the frustration of feeling stuck and disconnected. Through her writing and teachings, Keri helps people break free from limiting beliefs to rediscover their true essence and align with their core values. Her spiritual and personal growth studies and certifications have run the gamut over the years from yoga, Ayurveda, energy work, and meditation. Most recently, she has taken on studying Alchemy, Jungian Psychology, archetypes, and rites of passage. Her writing has appeared in Spirituality and Health Magazine, Star Tribune, Elephant Journal, and others. Her first book, Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness, received multiple awards, including the 2020 IPA award for Mind, Body & Spirit and the 2020 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal in Non-Fiction Spiritual and Supernatural.

    She is currently working on her second book, an illuminating exploration of personal and collective transformation that will empower readers to evolve their consciousness for an uncertain future.

    Keri's Links:

    Book

    Instagram

    Facebook

    Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.

    Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks

    Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers

    Work with Amy 1:1
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    29 mins
  • Preparing for a TED Talk

    Preparing for a TED Talk
    Aug 11 2025
    From Amy:The big ideas that get us all talking didn't come from nowhere. Someone started talking about them, and somewhere along the way, they got traction. Somebody or something amplified them and they resonated. And that's the big idea behind a TedX talk. It's also the idea behind the partnerships I've been nurturing ever since I decided that I was going to commit my life going forward to being an author. These are those people we encounter who contribute indelibly to our understanding of where we've been and where we want to be going forward. Keri Mangis is one of those people for me.I met Keri shortly after I had resigned my teaching job in early 2016, when I signed up for a book revision class in Minneapolis as a way to motivate myself to FINALLY get that first memoir draft finished. In theory we four participants would read through each other's manuscripts in turn and give helpful notes. In actuality, when I got the manuscript done, I gave it to my mother to read and (hint to all people writing memoirs: NEVER do that) not only did it ruin Mother's Day (yes, really, it was her Mother's Day present... seriously... do not do this... she hated my book) but the experience was so painful that I decided that I also did not trust the participants of the group to comment on my manuscript, nor the leader (who had just lost her mother... you see what a slippery slope this is) even after my mom and I started talking to each other again. Except... I really wanted Keri to be my first beta reader. And so, I quietly reached and asked her and felt comforted when she agreed.That's right. Keri read German Awakening when it still went by another name. Her comments were helpful and made me feel seen.Keri gave me names for a lot of things I didn't recognize fully back then, such as the word "Patriarchy." But I did know that in a society centered on men, certain essential truths about women get devalued at best, and often hidden. So. When Keri started talking about menopause as a liminal space, even though it's a topic we're FINALLY discussing, of course Keri had a fascinating take on menopause I'd never thought of.And as the anecdote with my mom reveals, we really should be talking about the experience of women elders in our male-normative world.It feels preordained that Keri would be selected to give a TedX Minneapolis talk. And of course we were going to podcast about it.This is the pre-talk episode, on the origins of Keri's talk and what this whole experience has meant to her so far. The show is THIS WEDNESDAY, 6:00 at Orchestra.You can buy tickets here. Keri will be back for Episode 111 to debrief with me. See you at Orchestra HallKeri Mangis is more than just an author and speaker—she’s a guide for those seeking deeper meaning and transformation in a chaotic world. With over 20 years of experience as a wholeness advocate and spiritual teacher, Keri understands the frustration of feeling stuck and disconnected. Through her writing and teachings, Keri helps people break free from limiting beliefs to rediscover their true essence and align with their core values. Her spiritual and personal growth studies and certifications have run the gamut over the years from yoga, Ayurveda, energy work, and meditation. Most recently, she has taken on studying Alchemy, Jungian Psychology, archetypes, and rites of passage. She has completed several courses with Sharon Blackie, Michael Meade, and the Center of Applied Jungian Studies. Her writing has appeared in Spirituality and Health Magazine, Star Tribune, Elephant Journal, and others. Her first book, *Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness*, received multiple awards, including the 2020 IPA award for Mind, Body & Spirit and the 2020 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal in Non-Fiction Spiritual and Supernatural. She is currently working on her second book, an illuminating exploration of personal and collective transformation that will empower readers to evolve their consciousness for an uncertain future.Keri's Links:TedX Talk TicketsBookInstagramFacebookYouTube Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats. Get Amy's Books and AudiobooksLearn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life WritersWork with Amy 1:1
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    35 mins
  • Life as a Songwriter

    Life as a Songwriter
    Jul 14 2025

    From Amy:

    I am not a fangirl. I'm not that person who waits at the stage door to talk with famous people after a concert or someone who would approach a famous person at a restaurant to ask for an autograph. I'd rather go home and sleep than attend a loud afterparty where I have to engage in group small talk. Better still, I love to connect one on one, in a quieter setting, uninterrupted, around the stories behind the performance.

    Which is why this podcast episode is both surprising and not. Because it's all about connecting through creativity on genuine, human level.

    I've heard Jeremy Messersmith's name around the Twin Cities for years. His music is frequently played on The Current, the Minnesota Public Radio music station. Some years back, I heard that he was doing these house concerts where he played his ukulele in people's living rooms. Last summer, I attended one of these parties where I had a front row seat and interacted more with Jeremy than I would have expected. Afterwards, over catered appetizers, we got into a conversation around the parallels between his creative process and mine.

    Which led to this conversation around Jeremy Messersmith's creative process, and where he gets his inspiration and courage.

    In a world where it's loud out there and human presence feels increasingly rare, Jeremy has found a way to perform his songs and connect with people personally, much in the intimate way that a storyteller does. He's sharing this human experience. And it goes beyond performance to the creation. Jeremy interacts with fellow musicians to write his music, and his engagement with audience members reflects back meaning.

    And isn't that why we create?

    It's a good conversation. Enjoy.

    Travel safely,

    Love, Amy

    PS—Twin Cities real-life creatives....read below for my take on an interactive living room party for writers.

    Jeremy Messersmith is a singer/songwriter based in Minneapolis, MN.

    Instagram @jeremymessersmith

    Jeremy's linktree

    Coming Sunday, August 10, 9:45–noon in St. Paul, Minnesota: Courageous Wordsmith Sunday Morning

    Interested in my iteration of a Courageous Wordsmith Twin Cities living room party, inspired in part by Jeremy's idea? Join us for my first-ever Courageous Wordsmith Sunday Morning, part parallel writing session, part reflective circle. Get inspired in the company of kindred writers.

    $25 for a session, FREE for members of the Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers.

    Email me at amy @ amyhallberg (dot) com for the details and payment link.

    Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.

    Get Amy's Books and Audiobooks

    Learn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers

    Work with Amy 1:1
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    31 mins
  • My Greatest Fear Became Freedom

    My Greatest Fear Became Freedom
    Jun 23 2025
    From Amy:Timing for creative work is interesting. Sometimes you start a project that, for whatever reason, doesn't want to come together right then. Later the perfect timing arises, and you understand that this project was preparing itself to meet the moment.I recorded this conversation with Sigrid K. Nielsen two years ago; then my podcast went on a forced hiatus. (As in, my editor quit to be a musician, causing me to rework my production process.) Which meant that this and other conversations never got produced, but I kept them in reserve.Now it's Pride Month 2025; now is the moment.What I said then is equally true today: Sigrid K Nielsen lights up a room. I have spent time with her on many occasions, live and on Zoom calls, 1:1 and in groups, and she's never been anything but her most authentic, fully expressed, and yes, BLISSFUL, free self. That’s a choice on her part. When you read Sigrid‘s book (forthcoming) you'll see what I mean: Sigrid is incredibly vibrant. But you don't have to wait for the book to meet her. You can listen today.Be forewarned, Sigrid will force you to rethink things you thought you were certain of. Because she sure has rethought things. Courageously so.Back to the timing: As I release this episode, it's Monday, June 23. I wanted to release it on Friday, but that just didn't want to happen, even though it was ready. All the things were conspiring to delay publication. Then on Saturday evening, we learned that bombs were illegally dropped on Iran without notice and without any justification except to make an old man feel good about himself. As with so much right now, there is so much distraction.And I'm going to say this part out loud: Othering trans people, making them scapegoats for all the harms in the world, is keeping US ALL from being who WE ALL truly are, seeing what's right there for us to see. WE ALL have it in us to be compassionate, kind, loving people, when we're not running scared from each other. But that requires awareness.We can make another choice.This othering is not a new tactic. It was there in the 30's in Germany, when trans people were targeted (we forget that part because their libraries, their history, their rich artistic culture was obliterated), and it was there in the 80's when Sigrid and I were coming of age, and only rockstars could dress as they wanted. Because it was a "costume."Performance, you see. Heaven forbid YOU be queer. Or other. Sigrid’s former self knew that assignment.But that required hiding in plain sight. Even from yourself. And once you're aware of what's really there, you can't not see it. Pretending not to see is exhausting. You want to stop making believe.Isn’t that true for us all?Sigrid is a trans woman who transitioned at nearly 50 years old. AND. This is who she's always been.As much as I have always recognized Sigrid's voice as powerful, her writing sublime, her presence uplifting and joyous, there has never been a moment when her message was more essential.We have solutions to find for our one small, beautiful planet's great problems. Queer people are not one of those problems. They deserve all the love.They are leading the way, ahead of their time.It's going to require all of us to face our deepest fears and embrace our most profound gifts. Our humanity. And to be abundantly clear, this doesn't mean YOU have to be TRANS. Unless you are.We need YOU to be YOU. That's our agenda.Because, as Sigrid often reminds me, though our stories may look vastly different on the surface— hers is from the perspective of a trans woman who came out at midlife, and mine is a different kind of midlife revival—our real-life stories are universal.We are all human and we are all in this together.Thanks Sigrid!Love, AmySigrid K. Nielsen stepped into her truth in May 2021 and has been living her best self ever since. Her life is better now than anything she ever imagined in her wildest dreams. She works with people and companies as a speaker, coach, and Financial Advisor. Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats. Get Amy's Books and AudiobooksLearn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life WritersWork with Amy 1:1
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    31 mins
  • Permission to Upspiral

    Permission to Upspiral
    Jun 9 2025

    From Amy:

    Cara Pacific Campbell was the first person who took me up on my offer of a 1:1 Book Writing Mentorship and put her trust in me. I was grateful that someone so vibrant felt drawn to working with me, but looking back, it makes perfect sense. When we are paying attention, we're drawn to our people. Cara and I are both high-performing women who worked way too hard and paid a steep price with our health.

    As in, our bodies made us quit our careers when our minds thought that we could—had to—power through. Instead, we were sidelined.

    And why did we think we had to power through? Well... how else would we have any meaningful impact in life? How else did we have value? Which is a societal misperception that has needed addressing for a very long time. What we've been through, many are going through now.

    Also... we are both people who communicate who we are through our colors of choice. I think of Cara in vibrant yellows and reds.

    These lively signature colors are very much at odds with what Cara was living with in her battle with chronic Lyme disease.

    There's a huge silver lining. Cara finally connected to her dreams of work in Peru, tapping into ancient knowledge that now infuses this book. And hey, I taught beginning Spanish for a few years. I've always thought that teaching Spanish was a way station on the journey to something beyond that. This book was one of those meaningful stops on the journey. Oh, and also...

    Pretty sure that Cara and I are going to host a Writing Revival in Peru someday.

    Picture yourself there with us. How awesome would that be?

    Meanwhile, you can actively witness the culmination of her book journey if that's calling to you, or simply take courage from hearing how it came into being. Me? I got to help Cara infuse this book with her witty, deep, infectious wisdom. I feel profoundly proud and grateful to know that I was there at Cara's beginning as an author, and that she was there at my beginning as a book writing mentor.

    What a beautiful testament to my vision for Courageous Wordsmith.

    It's a full-circle episode and it feels like that.

    Enjoy!

    Cara Pacific Campbell is a top-performing sales leader turned author, coach, and resilience expert. After a medical collapse ended her high-achieving career, she began an unexpected healing journey—one that blends neuroscience, ancient wisdom, and the gritty reality of burnout recovery. Her upcoming book is part memoir, part roadmap for ambitious women ready to succeed without self-destructing. Cara helps high performers reconnect with their power, rewrite their patterns, and rise—on their own terms.

    Cara's Links:

    www.linkedin.com/in/carapacificcampbell

    https://www.instagram.com/carapacificcampbell/

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    Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.

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