When she was about 12 years old, Meredith Heller left her troubled home and survived in the woods along the Potomac river. What saved her life was writing poetry and noticing how nature took care of her. Meredith has now spent over 30 years helping students and incarcerated women tap into that same power of noticing and writing. Her newest book, “Writing by Heart,” invites all of us into the practice. In this episode, we dive into Meredith’s book. “Writing by Heart'' walks you through gathering information from your body, experience, psyche, and imagination. That way you can write about what you’re deeply experiencing, not just what you are thinking. The book also helps you notice things around you that spark something within you– joy, curiosity, learning. Through this practice, you teach yourself that the world is a place that feeds what moves you deeply. Meredith describes writing as a way to make room within yourself to notice and fully experience the good and bad of life. This, she says, is the true path to healing. The Biggest Helping: Today’s Most Important Takeaway Writing is a path home to self, to love, to life. It helps us fall in love with ourselves. It helps us come into deep friendship with ourselves. And from here, everything is possible. Pick up your pen, grab your journal, write a gratitude list, write a sparkle list, dive into the invitations in my book, come to workshops, such a warm, beautiful community, and start writing. Open up your inner world to yourself. -- Thank you for joining us on The Daily Helping with Dr. Shuster. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts to download more food for the brain, knowledge from the experts, and tools to win at life. Resources: Learn more at MeredithHeller.comFollow Meredith on Instagram: @MeredithHellerPoetry Produced by NOVA Media