Healthy Mind, Healthy Life

We are all carrying stories that have never been written down. Some of them hold pain we have not yet named, grief that did not come in a straight line, or experiences we were told did not happen the way we remembered. In this episode of Healthy Mind, Healthy Life, guest-host Sana sits down with author, speaker, and writing guide Erica Richmond to explore writing not as performance or perfection, but as presence.

Erica brings over a decade of experience helping people write from a place of safety, both internal and external. If you have ever felt afraid of your own story, this conversation is an invitation to begin anyway, gently, honestly, and entirely on your own terms.

About the Guest:

Erica Richmond is a Canadian author, speaker, and founder of Open Sky Stories, based in Peterborough, Ontario. She is the author of the Pixie children's book series, including Pixie and the Bees and Pixie and the Fox, which open conversations about anxiety and unhealthy relationships for young readers and adults alike. She also co-created the Mail Art Stories Project, a global storytelling initiative during COVID-19. Erica is currently completing her creative non-fiction manuscript Yelling at Dead People, a collection of essays exploring grief, parenting, and the complicated experience of loving someone who also caused harm.

Key Takeaways:

• Writing your story makes it real. Seeing your experiences on the page validates them, especially when others have caused you to doubt your own memory or feelings.
• You don't have to be ready to share to start writing. Writing first and foremost for yourself is a powerful act of self-trust. Sharing is a separate, optional step.
• Safe storytelling has two layers. External safety means having a private, comfortable space to write. Internal safety means quieting the inner critic long enough to let the words land on the page.
• Stories don't have to be perfect to be healing. The goal is not polished writing. It is presence. Just getting the words down is enough.
• When writing about others, stay in your own experience. You can write honestly about how something affected you without claiming to know what another person felt. That boundary protects both the writer and the people in their stories.
• Grief is not a straight line, and writing helps you move through it. Rather than avoiding difficult emotions, writing creates a safe passage through them, one page at a time.

Connect With Erica Richmond:

• Website: https://www.openskystories.com/ 
• Instagram: @OpenSkyStories
• Facebook: facebook.com/openskystories
• Newsletter with free writing safety activity: openskystories.com (link at bottom of homepage)

Episode Chapters:

[00:00] Stories Around the Fire — Why humans have always needed to tell their truth

[09:05] Welcome to Healthy Mind, Healthy Life — Introducing Erica Richmond and the healing power of writing

[13:48] When Writing Makes It Real — How putting words on paper validates lived experience [16:23] Writing Through the Hard Moments — Approaching overwhelm without re-traumatising yourself

[18:07] What Safe Storytelling Actually Looks Like — Internal and external safety in the writing process

[24:52] Stories as a Softer Door — Why Pixie opens conversations that direct advice cannot [30:42] Yelling at Dead People — Writing grief, love, and loss with honesty and care

[37:00] Writing Doesn't Have to Be Public — The power of writing only for yourself

 

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Disclaimer: This episode is produced for educational and informational purposes only. All views expressed by the guest are their personal opinions alone and do not represent the views of the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify, endorse, or assume responsibility for any guest statements. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions. Listeners are encouraged to engage critically and independently with all content do not consume blindly. Use this content as a starting point for your own reflection and research, not as a substitute for professional guidance. Third-party content is referenced under fair use for informational purposes only. Guest speakers are solely responsible for their own statements.

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