Welcome back to Writing the Heart
Today, we return to Jedidiah Jenkins’s beautiful memoir, To Shake the Sleeping Self. On his thirtieth birthday, Jedidiah walked away from a secure job and comfortable routine to pedal a bike all the way from Oregon to Patagonia. But the journey that matters most takes place inside Jedediah’s mind and heart. Raised in a deeply conservative Christian home, Jedidiah writes with such grace and real honesty about coming out, wrestling with inherited faith, and learning to fully become himself without turning his back on the people who raised him.
That’s what I love about him. He doesn’t pretend living with full-on authenticity is simple. Nor does he offer up quick, neat answers. He just stays open—to mystery, contradiction, love, change. He stays open to It All. He’s a warm, grounded soul who speaks candidly about how fear moves inside him and the importance of finding your courage and being radical honest with ourselves.
If you don’t follow him on Instagram yet, definitely check him out.
In today’s video, I’m reading another excerpt from the book and sharing a prompt pulled right from its pages. This one is built for a raw free write, so start in the body. Feel what’s physically there, follow whatever floats up, and let your pen move without worrying about where it goes.
To finish up, I share a quick craft talk on how physical action can totally transform your writing. One of the easiest ways to bring personal stories to life is giving yourself—the narrator—something to do. Action creates momentum, and momentum keeps the reader right there with you. If a spark catches while you write today, lean into it over the weekend and see what happens when you turn it into a story.
I’ll see you on Monday with a new book and a new prompt!
Please leave a comment if you feel so moved. I read every one of them.
If you haven’t bought my memoir, Into the Soul of the World: My Journey to Healing, yet, I hope you will.
Here’s what author Hampton Sides wrote about it:
“Brad Wetzler has led the very definition of an adventurous life, but in Into the Soul of the World, he gives an unflinching account of his interior adventures. Wetzler’s soulful quest, by turns anguished and transcendent, will resonate with readers around the world who struggle to find purpose and a sense of the holy in the ambient jitter of the digital age.”
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