Laura Davis

  • Home
  • About
    • Books
  • Online Classes
  • Prompts
    • Writer’s Journey Roadmap
  • Writing Retreats
  • Blog
    • Laura’s Blog
    • The Virtual Vacation
    • Featured Students
  • Contact
  • My Account

Sign up to hear from Laura today and receive the Writer's Journey Roadmap.
Free writing prompts and inspiration sent to your inbox every week.

Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #101

January 18, 2021 By Laura Davis No Comments - Read & Respond

Politics and Writing Biden chooses Amanda Gorman as youngest known inaugural poet Tomorrow’s Inaugural Poet is a Young Black Female Writer Award-winning Black female writer Amanda Gorman, 22, is set to become the youngest inaugural poet in memory when she recites her work at President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration Wednesday. Thanks to Nancy Hofmann for the heads up. Read in The Hill: Click here to access this resource. Social Justice Social Justice and America’s Habit of Denial Denial Is the Heartbeat of America. All of what we saw at the U.S. Capitol is part of America. But what’s also part of America is denying all of what is part of America. Actually, this denial is the ... [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Blog, Resources

Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #100

January 15, 2021 By Laura Davis No Comments - Read & Respond

I can't believe this is the hundredth set of resources I've sent out during this pandemic. Phew. And we're still in the thick of it--to say the least. I'm thankful for my routines, for my classes and the oases they provide, for my students and their passionate honesty, for nature and my ability to walk and swim. To move forward with my own goals--in whatever small ways I can control things (or try to!). But I'm also exhausted--as is almost everyone I talk to. And here's why: Below, I remind you about the reconciliation summit I'll be part of at the end of this month. And then I move on to today's resources. You'll see that I've included several of the best things I've read (or listened to) in the aftermath of the January 6th insurgency at the capital. Several of the pieces ... [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Blog, Resources

Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #99

January 11, 2021 By Laura Davis No Comments - Read & Respond

Coronavirus & the Pandemic Response How COVID-19 Hollowed Out a Generation of Young Black Men Institutional Racism & the Terrible Epidemic of Covid-19 Deaths in Young Black Men, a powerful look at the reasons why, from Pro-Publica. How COVID-19 Hollowed Out a Generation of Young Black Men. This is a must read if you want to understand the impact of racism in the United States, and the ongoing health disparities between Black and White. Click here to access this resource. Post-Vaccine Behavior: Can I go Wild? Once you or someone in your family is vaccinated…now what exactly can or can’t you do? Emily Oster breaks it down ... [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Blog, Resources

Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #98

January 8, 2021 By Laura Davis No Comments - Read & Respond

I’M SPEAKING AT A FREE RECONCILIATION SUMMIT Some of you may or may not know this about me, but I’ve been fascinated with the topic of reconciliation for years. My mother and I were estranged for years and ultimately made peace with each other. That is the subject of my memoir, Wholehearted, and was the subject of my 2000 book, I Thought We’d Never Speak Again: The Road from Estrangement to Reconciliation. I’m fascinated by what keeps people apart and what makes it possible for them to make peace with each other--or at least inside themselves. I’ll be a speaker at a terrific free event, hosted by Yasmin Kerkez, at the end of this month, January 26-28: Moving Beyond Family Struggles Summit. I’m one of a number of ... [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Blog, Resources

Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #97

January 4, 2021 By Laura Davis No Comments - Read & Respond

Dear Writers and Friends, I’ve had the great honor and privilege of teaching at Tassajara Zen Center retreat for the past few summers. This past July, my in-person retreat with my friend and colleague, the wonderful meditation teacher Tova Green, was canceled because of Covid. But now, under the auspices of Tassajara, Tova and I will be offering a one-day online retreat on Saturday, January 9th, entitled Writing Our Way to Hope and Commitment. It will be the first retreat I have taught since the spring and the only one on my calendar. Please join me for this very rare and special opportunity. Here are the details: Writing Our Way ... [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Blog, Resources

Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #96

January 1, 2021 By Laura Davis No Comments - Read & Respond

Dear Writers and Friends, I’ve had the great honor and privilege of teaching at Tassajara Zen Center retreat for the past few summers. This past July, my in-person retreat with my friend and colleague, the wonderful meditation teacher Tova Green, was canceled because of Covid. But now, under the auspices of Tassajara, Tova and I will be offering a one-day online retreat on Saturday, January 9th, entitled Writing Our Way to Hope and Commitment. It will be the first retreat I have taught since the spring and the only one on my calendar. Please join me for this very rare and special opportunity. Here are the details: Writing Our Way ... [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Blog, Resources

Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #95

December 28, 2020 By Laura Davis No Comments - Read & Respond

Dear Writers, I’m emerging from a two-week break from teaching and my normal pandemic routines. Karyn and I had plans to go to Mexico to see our grandkids during this time, but canceled as Covid cases spiked around us. I decided to take the time off as a creative staycation. In the midst of the insanity of the exiting administration, surging deaths, a vaccine rollout, and the end of this horrible year, I’ve been happily ensconced in my own creative bubble, remembering that I am not just a writing teacher, but an author! I pulled out my memoir, Wholehearted, which I completed a year ago. I had not looked at it since then—like me, Wholehearted has been in pandemic limbo. I really didn’t know how I would feel about the book after a year away, and I used every procrastination tactic ... [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Blog, Resources

Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #94

December 11, 2020 By Laura Davis No Comments - Read & Respond

Dear Resource Readers, I’m going to take a staycation/holiday break from teaching, social media, and putting together these biweekly resources. This will be the last issue for the next couple of weeks. I’ll be back with more for you in the New Year. Thank God it will be a new year! You can keep emailing me referrals and ideas if they’re not time-limited. But I won’t be reading them or responding for a while! Have a good holiday and stay safe, Laura Dear Writers, I wanted to share this piece by my student, Nancy Rosulek Kramer, the mother of four young children, in response to the prompt, “What is Broken?” It’s a thoughtful look at the consumerism that all too frequently subsumes Christmas. As we all head into the holidays needing to turn our normal traditions on ... [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Blog, Resources

Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #93

December 7, 2020 By Laura Davis No Comments - Read & Respond

Dear Writers and Friends, I’ve had the great honor and privilege of teaching at Tassajara Zen Center retreat for the past few summers. This past July, my in-person retreat with my friend and colleague, the wonderful meditation teacher Tova Green, was canceled because of Covid. But now, under the auspices of Tassajara, Tova and I will be offering a one-day online retreat on Saturday, January 9th, entitled Writing Our Way to Hope and Commitment. It will be the first retreat I have taught since the spring and the only one on my calendar. Please join me for this very rare and special opportunity. Here are the details: Writing Our Way ... [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Blog, Resources

Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #92

December 4, 2020 By Laura Davis No Comments - Read & Respond

Dear Writers and Friends, I’ve had the great honor and privilege of teaching at Tassajara Zen Center retreat for the past few summers. This past July, my in-person retreat with my friend and colleague, the wonderful meditation teacher Tova Green, was canceled because of Covid. But now, under the auspices of Tassajara, Tova and I will be offering a one-day online retreat on Saturday, January 9th, entitled Writing Our Way to Hope and Commitment. It will be the first retreat I have taught since the spring and the only one on my calendar. Please join me for this very rare and special opportunity. Here are the details: Writing Our Way ... [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Blog, Resources

Next Page »

More Featured Students?

For years, I’ve been showcasing the work of one of my students in my monthly newsletter and here on my site. If you’d like to see a complete list of the students I’ve published, with links to their work, you can find it in the Featured Student Archives. Just click the link below.

Featured Students

What is the The Writer’s Journey Roadmap?

I send out inspiring quotes and provocative writing prompts via email Tuesday. You can collect them for their own use—or you can post your writing online and enter into dialogue and conversation with a very supportive group of writers who have made this part of their weekly writing practice.

I invite you to become part of my brilliant, supportive, intimate, honest, inspiring free online community.

I hope to see you up on the Roadmap soon!

First time visitor? Click here to learn about our community.

Like this Virtual Vacation?

You can also read about Laura’s travels to:

Peru 2017

In which Laura and Karyn and 18 writers explore Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley of Peru.

Serbia 2017

In which Laura leads a workshop at the Incest Trauma Center.

Greece 2016

In which Laura explores the wonders of Crete and Santorini with a wide-eyed group of Write, Travel, Transform adventurers.

Vietnam 2015/16

In which Laura, who grew up during the Vietnam War, goes to Southeast Asia and finds out what Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are really like today.

Commonweal 2015

A journey toward healing loss and grief in a magnificent Northern California setting.

Scotland 2015

In which Laura returns to Scotland with a new group for another jaunt through the wonders of the Scottish Highlands.

Scotland 2013

In which Laura attends the Edinburgh theatre festival and leads 14 writers to a magical retreat in the highlands of Northern Scotland.

Bali 2013

In which Laura visits Australia, and spends three weeks diving, exploring, and teaching in three regions of Bali.

Florida 2014

A journey into old age in America in which Laura brings her 86-year-old mother to Florida so she can see her last surviving sister one final time.

Mexico 2014

In which Laura attends the San Miguel Writer’s Conference and explores the artistic towns around Patzcuaro.

About Laura Davis

In the course of my career as a communicator, I have also worked as a columnist, talk show host, radio reporter, radio producer, blogger, editor, and speaker. Words have always been at the core of my work and my self-expression. Read More . . .

Photo taken by Jason Ritchey

Tags

adventure Aging Parents Alzheimer’s Bali cancer Commonweal creative writing creativity dementia Ellen Bass emp empty nest entrepreneur featured writers greece Laura's stories Laura's wisdom marketing memoir mexico Mother-Daughter parenting teenagers poetry reconciliation retreats sandwich generation Scotland spirituality teaching travel travel adventure Vietnam write travel transform writing practice writing retreat writing tips writing workshop

What People Are Saying About Laura Davis:

[shtmlslider name='shslider_options']

Retreating with Laura: Julie Sheehan

Julie Sheehan

For many years I put off my dream of writing and traveling. I told myself the kids were too little, my husband could never survive without me, that I couldn't possibly be so selfish. I couldn't imagine realistically stepping out of all of my responsibilities and roles. Then I started attending Laura’s summer retreat at Commonweal in northern California and that became an annual gift to myself for the next three years.

When the opportunity to travel with Laura internationally came up, my Land of Later mentality said I could never pull it off. But when my friend got cancer at age 39, I decided to stop taking life and it's endless opportunities to grow, live, nurture and explore myself for granted.

My children were 6 and 9 when I began allowing myself the luxurious pleasure of taking 10 days to two weeks each year to travel abroad with Laura, to spend time with like minded, soul searching people who share a passion for living and writing, to have all my meals prepared for me, to have the space and freedom to stretch out of my cage and check in with who I am, what I want, and how best to get there.

Laura is a skilled and nurturing teacher who encourages her students to take risks, to grow as human beings, and to be vulnerable. She has provided me with a forum where I can gain all my CEUs and learn techniques on how to become a more engaging writer, all while completing yearly emotional rehab.

I return home from each of Laura’s trip a little wiser, a little more open, and a lot more compassionate. I greet my family, friends and daily life with sparkly, clean energy and a renewed patience, brought about by way of re-writing old stories that I needed to let go of. I come home ready to move forward in my life.

A retreat with Laura Davis is one of the best gifts I ever received and gave myself. It took many years to realize that I was worth the time and financial investment, but now there is no looking back.

Julie Sheehan, Livermore California

Recent Comments

  • Pennie on What I Can’t Do
  • Susan on The Rooster
  • Jodie Wiggins on Virtual Vacation: The Junjarri: Australia, Day 5
  • Mary L. Cryns on What I Can’t Do
  • Amika Kemmler-Ernst on What I Can’t Do

Recent Posts

Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #101

Politics and Writing Biden chooses Amanda Gorman as youngest known inaugural poet Tomorrow’s ... [Continue Reading]

Other Posts:

  • Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #100
  • Writing Through the Pandemic: January 12, Number 3
  • Writing Through the Pandemic: January 12, Number 2

Writing Retreats

Whether you are a beginner, an established writer, a published author, or are looking for a creative vacation with your spouse…I have a retreat for you.

Read more . . .

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 Laura Davis