Internationally renowned speaker and physician Dr. Samra Zafar speaks with Tess about her new book Unconditional: Break Through Past Limits to Transform Your Future, which explores breaking free from old conditioning and embracing self-acceptance. She shares her journey from an abusive marriage to building a better life, emphasizing the importance of meditation, visualization, and unlearning. Zafar highlights the concept of "parts work" therapy to understand and heal different aspects of oneself. She stresses the significance of solitude, self-compassion, and community in personal growth. Zafar also underscores the power of self-trust, mentorship, and the courage to pursue dreams, despite fear, to achieve unconditional self-acceptance.

Dr. Zafar has been recognized among the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada and the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants. Her memoir A Good Wife: Escaping the Life I Never Chose, was a national bestseller. She is the founder and executive director of Brave Beginnings, a national charity that provides mentorship to women who have escaped abuse. Her work has impacted millions and has been featured in national and global media. Samra Zafar’s speaking portfolio includes four successful TEDx Talks and many leading organizations around the world. You can find out more about her work at: www.samrazafar.com. Samra's huge heart and depth of wisdom are evident in this fascinating conversation. Enjoy!

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. She offers author interviews on her Substack: https://tesscallahan.substack.com/publish/home, and guided meditations on her sister podcast Heart Haven Meditations, available on Apple, Spotify and elsewhere.

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Host: Tess Callahan
Substack: Writers at the Well
Guided Meditation Podcast: Heart Haven Meditations
Meditations on Insight...

Bestselling author Laura Munson talks with Tess Callahan about her new 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. She offers author interviews on her Substack: https://tesscallahan.substack.com/publish/home, and guided meditations on her sister podcast Heart Haven Meditations, available on Apple, Spotify and elsewhere.

By tapping "like" and "follow" you help others find the show. Thank you for listening!

Host: Tess Callahan
Substack: Writers at the Well
Guided Meditation Podcast: Heart Haven Meditations
Meditations on Insight...

Award-winning novelist, teacher, and podcaster Manda Scott talks with Tess Callahan about her shamanic spiritual practice, her new Thrutopian novel ANY HUMAN POWER, and her highly acclaimed podcast Accidental Gods. Tess and Manda discuss dreams, visions, and the liminal states between waking, sleeping, life, and death. Manda encourages writers to create new narratives that will pave the way to the systematic changes our world needs.

Best known for the Boudica: Dreaming series, Manda's previous novels have been short-listed for the Orange Prize, the Edgar, Wilbur Smith and Saltire Awards, and won the McIllvanney Prize. Her latest novel, Any Human Power, is a mytho-political thriller which lays out a Thrutopian roadmap to a flourishing future we’d be proud to leave to forthcoming generations. With degrees in veterinary medicine and a Masters in Regenerative Economics, Manda Scott hails from Scotland and now lives in England with her wife and podcast co-creator, Faith Tilleray.

Explore these links to learn more about Manda's writing, her podcast, and her Thrutopian Master Class for writers.

Manda Scott's Website: https://mandascott.co.uk/
Accidental Gods Podcast: https://accidentalgods.life/.
Thrutopian Master Class: https://thrutopia.life/

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. She offers author interviews on her Substack: https://tesscallahan.substack.com/publish/home, and guided meditations on her sister podcast Heart Haven Meditations, available on Apple, Spotify and elsewhere.

By tapping "like" and "follow" you help others find the show. Thank you for listening!

Host: Tess Callahan
Substack: Writers at the Well
Guided Meditation Podcast: Heart Haven Meditations
Meditations on Insight...