Send us a text! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show.If you’ve ever wondered whether a personal essay might actually be the seed of something much bigger—or if you’ve felt the tug to write a memoir but weren’t sure where to begin—this episode is for you.In today’s conversation on The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m joined by Carolyn Flynn: eight-time published author, TEDxWomen speaker, winner of the 2014 Rick Bass Montana Prize for Fiction, and founder of The Story Catalyst at Soulfire Studios. Carolyn is also the author of Boundless, a moving and darkly funny memoir that grew from an essay published in Fourth Genre into a full-length book after nearly a decade of reflection.Carolyn shares how that transformation happened—and why memoir often begins not with “my whole life story,” but with one meaningful slice of life that won’t let you go. For her, that slice was a season of enormous change in 2017, when her twins were leaving for college at the same time she was stepping away from a long career in journalism. In other words: two huge parts of her identity were shifting all at once.What followed became the emotional heart of Boundless, which Carolyn describes as a tragicomic empty-nest memoir guided by one central question: When you have become no one, how do you become someone again?We talk about what makes memoir different from autobiography, and Carolyn offers such a smart, grounded way of thinking about it. Memoir, she says, is about selecting the events that carry the most meaning—and then reflecting on them. She explains the importance of the two voices always present in memoir: the remembering self who narrates, and the experiencing self who is living through the events without yet understanding them. That distinction alone is worth the listen.Carolyn also shares several of the “superpowers” she believes memoir writers need. We discuss why theme can be more useful when framed as a main dramatic question, how time-boxing your memoir can keep it from sprawling, and why writing in scene is essential if you want readers to feel the story instead of simply being told what happened.And yes—we also talk about one of her most memorable pieces of advice: get a therapist. Carolyn speaks candidly about the vulnerability memoir requires, and why emotional support can be just as important as craft support. She also makes a compelling case for working with a book coach—someone who can help you shape the scope, validate your voice, and keep the revision process from becoming overwhelming.This is such a rich conversation about identity, reinvention, structure, and the courage it takes to turn lived experience into art. If memoir has been calling to you—or if you’re navigating a season of change and trying to write your way through it—I think you’ll find a lot of wisdom here.