Ever feel like you’re not quite enough? Life can feel fragmented and too fast — with 3000 tasks on your to-do list and 6 hours of sleep a night —and before you know it, that story starts running on a loop: I’ll never get it right.
I get it, because I’ve been there too. But here’s the truth: You don’t need fixing.
You’re already enough. All you need is a moment to slow down, clear out the mental noise, and listen to your own voice.
write your way to calm.
Join a workshop.
I’m also a Buddhist who practices mindfulness by moving my pen forward every day.
I'm excited to teach you
how to write like you.
I’m a 5-books-published writer, James-Beard award-winning author, and a deeply experienced writing teacher.
Hello there!
I'm Shauna.
Mindfulness is the awareness
that arises over time from
staying present, on purpose,
without judgment,
in the service of finding calm & making friends
with our mind.
This is my definition of mindfulness, slightly adapted from that of Jon Kabat-Zinn
For me, writing has always been a mindful act.
My husband Dan, who was a chef for 30 years, and I wrote and published 3 cookbooks in the next 8 years:
My published books
The book that means the most to me is ENOUGH: Notes From a Woman Who Has Finally Found It, which was published in 2019. I started writing this book, mindfully, slowly, after I suffered a mini stroke in 2015. I wrote essays about all the stories I had been telling myself, all of my life. A traumatic childhood and the silence so many women carry taught me that I was not good enough.
I wrote my way out with this book. I've heard from thousands of women that this book changed them. I'm still excited from a woman who has found ENOUGH and writes me to say she heard her own story in mine.
ENOUGH
Join a workshop.
What does your mind feel like when you’re scrolling fast on the phone, looking for a dopamine hit?
Scattered. Anxious. Overwhelmed.
What does it feel like when you’re settled in with a book you love?
Focused. In the moment. Calm.
When you deliberately cultivate more moments of full presence in your life, your mind grows more calm.
Create a mindful writing habit? You'll create more calm in your life.
That's where joy begins.
Write your way to calm and joy.
When you work with me, you'll enter a flexible, supportive community where you can explore your creativity without feeling boxed in. Here, there are no grades, no deadlines, and no critiques of how you need to make your writing “better.”
By creating a mindful writing habit and practicing with other women like you, you’ll find that — over time — you’ll let go of the expectation of perfection. The prompts you will receive in workshops and weekly live writing sessions will spark your curiosity and help you explore the messy, beautiful complexity of your life.
Yes, you’ll create some powerful writing in this community.
But even more essential is this — you’ll learn how to give yourself permission to write like you.
You'll learn how to allow yourself to live like you.
Let your light shine here.
Join a workshop.
Even at this age, I wanted to write.
This little kid you see here? The one wearing the fabulous red and white shoes? That's me.
At 5 years old.
In this photo, I'm standing at the base of the Space Needle in Seattle. We were visiting my grandparents at the time.
I have lived outside of Los Angeles, in New York City, in London, and on a rural island in the Pacific Northwest. Now, I live in Seattle.
At that age, that girl knew exactly what she wanted to do in the world. As soon as she figured out that human beings wrote books — magical, incredible books, the gift of the world — she wanted to write them.
I have 5 published books now. And I still write every day.
That kid knew. I'm finally honoring her wish.
I am writing.
