Episode 84: Becoming the Author of Your Life with Lindsey Van WagnerEpisode 84: Becoming the Author of Your Life with Lindsey Van Wagner
The Well-Tended Life
Keri Wilt and Lindsey Van Wagner share an honest conversation about sobriety, storytelling, and daily practices that help people reshape their lives. Through shared experiences of burnout, recovery, and writing, they show how small, intentional steps can change the story you’re living.
1:09:09•1 Apr 2026
Becoming the Author of Your Life with Lindsey Van Wagner
Episode Overview
- You are already authoring your life, so becoming conscious of the story you’re telling yourself can shift you from victim to victor.
- Sobriety, even when it feels like an ending, can open the door to a more honest, meaningful chapter of life.
- Simple practices like morning pages or a single daily page help clear mental clutter and reconnect you with your true voice.
- Daily reflection on joy, goodness, and growth makes it easier to see what’s working, what isn’t, and where small changes are needed.
- Treating life as an experiment—trying new practices, gathering “data”, and letting go of shame—supports ongoing healing and change.
“People don't understand. You are the author. Like you can be the author of your life.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation between host Keri Wilt and author, teacher, and wellness coach Lindsey Van Wagner brings together recovery, creativity, and spirituality in a way that feels like a long chat on a front porch swing. Lindsey shares how getting sober over ten years ago felt “like a death sentence” at first, yet became the beginning of a completely new chapter.
She talks honestly about her “lost years” of alcohol and drugs, a high-pressure government job, and the inner voice that just wouldn’t quiet down. That same voice eventually led her to build a holistic wellness studio, write her book *Spirit Vigilante*, and coach others in becoming what she calls “the author” of their own life. You’ll hear Lindsey and Keri swap stories about burnout, over-giving, and the wake-up calls that force you to reassess everything.
Keri describes seeing herself in the “locked-up, weed-filled, abandoned secret garden” from *The Secret Garden* and realising, “Oh, wait, that’s me,” while Lindsey reframes regret as learning and insists, “You are the author. You are writing your story unconsciously.” The chat is full of practical tools too.
Lindsey explains how simple practices like “morning pages” (or even one page a day) can clear the mental clutter and reconnect you with your true voice, while Keri shares her daily rhythm of “read, reflect, weed, seed, and water” to spot joy, goodness, and growth. Both women stress the power of tiny experiments, saying yes to what lights you up, and using your story as “medicine for other people”.
If you’re sober-curious, in recovery, or just tired of living on autopilot, this gentle yet honest conversation might nudge you to ask: what story are you writing today, and is it one you actually want to live?
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