Heeding Your Inner Voice and Navigating Your Memoir's Dark Night of the Soul with Suzette Mullen

Author: Lisa Cooper Ellison
Published: Thu 02 May 2024
Episode Link: None

Author and writing coach, Suzette Mullen shares tips for structuring your memoir, navigating the dark night of the soul, living with integrity, and learning to listen to your inner voice.

Suzette’s Bio: Suzette Mullen (she/her) is a memoir and nonfiction book coach, retreat leader, and the author of the memoir The Only Way Through Is Out (University of Wisconsin Press, 2024), named one of February’s “most anticipated” releases by Lambda Literary. Foreword Reviews calls The Only Way Through Is Out: “Candid, inspirational… An emotive memoir that issues a stirring call to women to choose self-actualization.” Suzette’s essays have appeared in the New York Times, today.com, and Brevity, among other outlets. In her work as a book coach, Suzette guides writers to find their deeper stories and define their big ideas. She co-hosts the Mainely Memoir Retreat for women memoir writers and supports LGBTQ+ writers through her group mentorship program, Write Yourself Out. A graduate of Harvard Law School and Wellesley College, Suzette is working on her next book, a memoir about the costs and joys of living authentically.

Resources Mentioned In this Episode:

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

Suzette’s Free Companion Guide/E-book

Why Preparing a TED Talk Makes You a Better Memoirist (Even If You Never Intend to Get on Stage)

Official Transcript

Episode Highlights
2:00 Exploring Cover Design

7:00 The Mid-Life Coming-of-Age Story

11:00 Identifying Your Inner Voice

17:00 Learning to Listen to Yourself

22:00 Integrity and Seeing Clearly

26:30 Living Through the Dark Night of the Soul

30:00 Beating Out Your Story and Cutting Your Darlings