Lizness School

Today's episode starts with a conversation with John Evans, a Lecturer in Nonfiction in the Creative Writing Department at Stanford University. John was Liz's memoir writing teacher during her year as a Fellow in Stanford's Distinguished Careers Institute. Their conversation is about why people get interested in memoir writing and why being in a memoir writing group can be so meaningful. John leads groups and workshops through Memoir Mentors His two published memoirs are Young Widower: A Memoir (University of Nebraska Press, 2014), and Should I Still Wish: A Memoir. (University of Nebraska Press, 2017) In the second half of the episode, Liz and Leah discuss what they learned about themselves by using The Values Bridge, an assessment tool created by Suzy Welch of the NYU Stern School of Business. Homework:More about John's writing: John Evans Author PageRecommended Memoirs:Arthur Ashe, Days of Grace: A Memoir. Arthur Ashe's poignant memoir was co-written with Arnold Rampersad and published posthumously in 1993. Katherine Graham, Personal History. Pulitzer Prize 1998. The fascinating story of the woman who changed American history running The Washington Post.Michelle Zauner, Crying In H Mart. A 2021 memoir by Zauner of the band Japanese Breakfast about her Korean-American family and identity. Other recommendations from John Evan’s syllabus:Dani Shapiro, InheritanceAnnie Dillard, Living Like WeaselsSamuel Wilson Fussell, Muscle - Confessions of an Unlikely BodybuiilderThe Values Bridge:Suzy Welch Becoming You book and newsletter. Assessment Tool developed by Suzy Welch: The Values Bridge If you are new to Lizness School, we suggest you listen to Season 1 to hear all about Liz's year as a Stanford Fellow. Everything from Neuroscience and Chinese History to Pickleball! Plus a great community experience with her fellow DCI Fellows.Season 2 is about how she puts her lessons to work in the wild with the help of her millennial mentor Leah Sutherland.To listen to Liz +. Leah's recap of Lizness School Season 1, go to our FINALE here.For more on Liz Dolan, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠For more on Liz's work in podcasting, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠Satellite Sisters⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Lizness School on all podcasting platforms including ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify.⁠⁠⁠⁠On Instagram, follow the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/liznessschool/⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow Liz at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/satellitesisterliz/⁠⁠⁠⁠.Follow Producer and Millennial Mentor Leah Sutherland @leahhsutherlandd on Instagram and Leah Sutherland on LinkedIn. To email Lizness School with your own voice memos/questions/thoughts/suggestions for Liz or Leah, use ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] Distinguished Careers Institute is a unique program for late career people. Fellows are graduate students at Stanford University, able to take classes in any area. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete information here.⁠⁠⁠⁠Email the podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] ⁠See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's episode, Liz and Leah review the goals they each set at the beginning of the school year. BUT FIRST, a listener supplies our searched-for alternative word for retirement. Tune in to hear it.At the end of the episode, we have an assignment for listeners to execute over the holiday break. Our first episode in 2026 will include our experience taking Suzy Welch's Values Bridge Assessment. You can do it too. take it here.We'll be back on January 8th to discuss the Values Bridge and interview Stanford Memoir Writing teacher John Evans.If you are new to Lizness School, we suggest you listen to Season 1 to hear all about Liz's year as a Stanford Fellow. Everything from Neuroscience and Chinese History to Pickleball! Plus a great community experience with her fellow DCI Fellows.Season 2 is about how she puts her lessons to work in the wild with the help of her millennial mentor Leah Sutherland.To listen to Liz +. Leah's recap of Lizness School Season 1, go to our FINALE here.For more on Liz Dolan, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠For more on Liz's work in podcasting, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠Satellite Sisters⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Lizness School on all podcasting platforms including ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify.⁠⁠⁠⁠On Instagram, follow the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/liznessschool/⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow Liz at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/satellitesisterliz/⁠⁠⁠⁠.Follow Producer and Millennial Mentor Leah Sutherland @leahhsutherlandd on Instagram and Leah Sutherland on LinkedIn. To email Lizness School with your own voice memos/questions/thoughts/suggestions for Liz or Leah, use ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] Distinguished Careers Institute is a unique program for late career people. Fellows are graduate students at Stanford University, able to take classes in any area. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete information here.⁠⁠⁠⁠Email the podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] ⁠See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today's episode is inspired by a letter we received from listener Laura Tiberi asking us to consider how life choices can be different for "those who are faced with significant transitions as a result of medical illness or injury." Laura was "retired by leukemia", has experienced two stem cell transplants and "is 3 1/2 years old in transplant years."We speak to Kira Dales, a fellow Fellow of Liz's at Stanford last year, who tells us of her life since a brain tumor and stroke. Her story includes physical, communication, cognitive and emotional recovery over the last 6 years.Kira Dales on Stanford DCI site and LinkedIn.Homework:Kira recommends Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir Of A Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad.Here is Suleika Jaouad's substack Creative Alchemy: The Isolation Journals.Here is an interview on CBS Sunday Morning with Suleika Jaouad and her husband Jon Batiste. If you are new to Lizness School, we suggest you listen to Season 1 to hear all about Liz's year as a Stanford Fellow. Everything from Neuroscience and Chinese History to Pickleball! Plus a great community experience with her fellow DCI Fellows.Season 2 is about how she puts her lessons to work in the wild with the help of her millennial mentor Leah Sutherland.To listen to Liz +. Leah's recap of Lizness School Season 1, go to our FINALE here.For more on Liz Dolan, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠For more on Liz's work in podcasting, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠Satellite Sisters⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Lizness School on all podcasting platforms including ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify.⁠⁠⁠⁠On Instagram, follow the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/liznessschool/⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow Liz at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/satellitesisterliz/⁠⁠⁠⁠.Follow Producer and Millennial Mentor Leah Sutherland @leahhsutherlandd on Instagram and Leah Sutherland on LinkedIn. To email Lizness School with your own voice memos/questions/thoughts/suggestions for Liz or Leah, use ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] Distinguished Careers Institute is a unique program for late career people. Fellows are graduate students at Stanford University, able to take classes in any area. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete information here.⁠⁠⁠⁠Email the podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] ⁠See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today, Liz Dolan gets advice about advice-giving from Gretchen Rubin, host of the new advice podcast Since You Asked, co-hosted with psychotherapist + author Lori Gottlieb. Gretchen is a seven-time New York Times bestselling author who studies happiness, habits, and human nature. She is also the co-host of the award-winning, top-ranked podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin, and has more than 1.4 million subscribers to her “Five Things Making Me Happy” weekly newsletter.Information on her award-winning Happier™ app here. More at gretchenrubin.comFollow Gretchen: Instagram – Facebook – LinkedInHomework:Read about the work of Suzy Welch, Professor at NYU's Stern School of Business and creator of Becoming YouThe Suzy Welch Values QuizSuzy Welch's The Values BridgeIf you are new to Lizness School, we suggest you listen to Season 1 to hear all about Liz's year as a Stanford Fellow. Everything from Neuroscience and Chinese History to Pickleball! Plus a great community experience with her fellow DCI Fellows.Season 2 is about how she puts her lessons to work in the wild with the help of her millennial mentor Leah Sutherland.To listen to Liz +. Leah's recap of Lizness School Season 1, go to our FINALE here.For more on Liz Dolan, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠For more on Liz's work in podcasting, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠Satellite Sisters⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Lizness School on all podcasting platforms including ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify.⁠⁠⁠⁠On Instagram, follow the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/liznessschool/⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow Liz at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/satellitesisterliz/⁠⁠⁠⁠.Follow Producer and Millennial Mentor Leah Sutherland @leahhsutherlandd on Instagram and Leah Sutherland on LinkedIn. To email Lizness School with your own voicememos/questions/thoughts/suggestions for Liz or Leah, use ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] Distinguished Careers Institute is a unique program for late career people. Fellows are graduate students at Stanford University, able to take classes in any area. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete information here.⁠⁠⁠⁠Email the podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] ⁠See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ken Stern visits Lizness School today to talk to Liz Dolan about his new book Healthy To 100: How Strong Social Ties Leads to Long Lives. Ken is the Founder and Chair of the Longevity Project, which he launched in collaboration with the Stanford Center on Longevity. He hosts the podcast Century Lives, also part of the Stanford Center on Longevity.Read Ken's newsletter Three Not-So-Bad Things on Aging and Longevity. Subscribe for free to the Stanford Center on Longevity Magazine. Homework:Liz's story about total darkness retreat: Would you ever do this?https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/magazine/dark-retreat-meditation-sensory-deprivation-spirituality.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShareAaron Rogers Sky Cave Retreat https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/26/us/aaron-rodgers-darkness-retreat-wellness-ctprLeah's story about bar with no phones - https://dc.eater.com/restaurant-news/163917/no-phones-bar-hush-harbor-unplugged-opening-h-street#:~:text=Hush%20Harbor%2C%20a%20month-old,small%20watering%20hole%20(1337%20HIf you are new to Lizness School, we suggest you listen to Season 1 to hear all about Liz's year as a Stanford Fellow. Everything from Neuroscience and Chinese History to Pickleball! Plus a great community experience with her fellow DCI Fellows.Season 2 is about how she puts her lessons to work in the wild.To listen to Liz +. Leah's recap of Lizness School Season 1, go to our FINALE here.For more on Liz Dolan, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠For more on Liz's work in podcasting, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠Satellite Sisters⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Lizness School on all podcasting platforms including ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify.⁠⁠⁠⁠On Instagram, follow the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/liznessschool/⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow Liz at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/satellitesisterliz/⁠⁠⁠⁠.Follow Producer and Millennial Mentor Leah Sutherland @leahhsutherlandd on Instagram and Leah Sutherland on LinkedIn. To email Lizness School with your own voicememos/questions/thoughts/suggestions for Liz or Leah, use ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] Distinguished Careers Institute is a unique program for late career people. Fellows are graduate students at Stanford University, able to take classes in any area. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete information here.⁠⁠⁠⁠Email the podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] ⁠See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.