The Podcast, Ep 9: Plot Twist
Do you want risky things to feel easier? This can help.
CLASS THIS WEEK! I’m teaching a single, online workshop this Friday with The Pause (a creative community for midlife women), and you are invited! Just $30 for non-members.
It’s called “New Frames for Old Stories.” We’re talking about emotional timestamping and storytelling (see podcast episode 3!). Find out more, register here and come hang out with me.
Hi friends,
New podcast episode!
Episode 9: Safe Conditions for Daring Decisions
Learn my strategy for taking bigger risks by creating the right safety nets. In this episode, I’m sharing how a recent discovery gave me a new lens for understanding all of my stories. Plus how I got over my fear and released my audio memoir.
I loved doing this episode because once again my wonderful producer Laura Boach made it possible to do something that felt a little scary. Laura was my safe condition for a daring decision.
Though I would like to say, the scary thing wasn’t necessarily disclosure. Being neurodivergent is not something I’ve kept a secret and now I’m “coming out.” Most people in my life, my students, family, friends, already know about my lovely brain. It’s on my website, for pete’s sake.
But if you are late-diagnosed anything, you know that it’s a big deal when you find out. This episode is about that.
The other plot twist here is a little meta.
I actually recorded this episode last year, on release day for my Audible Original, in December 2024. I was partly excited but mostly I was ready to bury that project (the Audible, I mean) in the backyard of the internet.
I was terrified. I thought it was going to be so embarrassing.
Instead, things went a very different way. The Audible became kind of a word-of-mouth hit and I heard from so many people who saw themselves in the story.
And… now it is going to be a regular book! My debut memoir is coming from HarperOne in 2027; it starts with the story in “You Will Not Recognize Your Life” and goes much, much deeper. (With even more jokes. And possibly footnotes, but I have to ask my editor about that.)
Finally: I loved doing this episode because you know what, if you can compare your own emotional life to the Ocean’s Eleven heist, do it.
Let’s go!
This week’s prompt:
What are your safe conditions for daring decisions? What do you need to feel secure enough to share a story, to be honest, to take a risk?
Resources & Links:
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Listen to my Audible Original, You Will Not Recognize Your Life
XO,
Micaela
p.s. Reviews really help new listeners find the podcast—if you’re enjoying The Story Letter, I’d be so grateful if you’d leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts!