Author Laura Munson on Opening to Awe

Bestselling author Laura Munson talks with Tess Callahan about her latest book, THE WILD WHY: STORIES AND TEACHINGS TO UNCOVER YOUR WONDER, which she describes as a "teaching memoir" designed for people who think they are not creative. She discusses the value of intuition and wonder both in the writing life and everyday living. She offers tips for managing empathy and cultivating a firm but friendly relationship with one's inner critic. Laura shows us how wonder and awe are the wellsprings of creativity. She shares examples from her life, including a time when patience and curiosity led to a mourning dove alighting on her hand. Laura ends with a powerful message. Love is stronger than fear.

Laura Munson is the New York Times, USA Today, and international best-selling author of the novel Willa’s Grove (Blackstone) and the memoir This Is Not the Story You Think It Is (Amy Einhorn/Putnam). Her inspiring new self-help book, The Wild Why: Stories and Teachings to Uncover Your Wonder is due out April 8, 2025. Founder of the acclaimed Haven Writing Retreats, she has been featured or published in Vanity Fair, Elle, Redbook, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times Modern Love column, The New York Times Magazine, O. Magazine, and many others. She has appeared on Good Morning America, The Early Show, WGN, NPR, London’s This Morning, Australia’s Sunrise, and other global media outlets. She lives in Whitefish, Montana. Find out more about her writing and retreat offerings at: https://lauramunson.com/.

Tess Callahan is the author of the novels APRIL & OLIVER and DAWNLAND. She holds an MFA from Bennington College and is a certified Mindfulness Meditation teacher taught by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. Find her at: https://tesscallahan.com/

Find her interviews at:
Substack: https://tesscallahan.substack.com/
Writers at the Well podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Find her guided meditations at:
Heart Haven Meditations podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Insight Timer: https://insig.ht/KMMFJkyIQZb

Audio by Eric Fischer.
Intro/Outro music by Christopher Lloyd Clarke.