What does it take to stop performing your life — and start writing the truth of it?
In this episode of The Big Silence, Karena Dawn sits down with poet, spoken word artist, and author Allie Michelle to explore the healing power of the written word. From ditching school to hide in the poetry section to building a literary career on radical honesty, Allie shares the journaling practices, EMDR breakthroughs, and creative philosophies that helped her move from dissociation to deep self-awareness, and why she believes the words you write for no one might be the ones with the potential to change everything.
Highlights:
(00:52) From Library Kid to Poet: Finding Words That Held Her
● Allie ditched school to hide in the poetry section and found writing before she found herself
● Growing up shy, she used poetry to process emotions she couldn't speak out loud
● Working the Teen Line crisis hotline at 14 gave her emotional tools way beyond her years
● How slowing down in Hawaii finally made space for her voice
(05:31) Journaling as a Lifeline: How to Get Radically Honest on the Page
● Why her journals are her favorite writing: stripped down, unperformed, completely true
● "We don't have as much negative space to process our feelings like we once did. Journaling is that space of just, how am I really feeling today?"
● For beginners: the prompted journal Becoming a Warrior as a diving board and the rule of big pen energy
(11:52) AI, Authenticity & Where Allie Draws the Line
● "Integrity is not a line in the sand. It's a state of awareness." — the framework she uses to navigate AI ethics
● How fiction bridges empathy gaps and why that matters more than ever right now
● The difference between feedback from people you trust and the noise of the internet
(22:41) Healing the Self: EMDR, Somatic Work & Coming Back Into Your Body
● Spending the first half of her life dissociated and what finally brought her back
● EMDR as a game-changer: eight sessions that completely altered her nervous system
● From craniosacral therapy to holotropic breathing- how she built a full toolkit for self-regulation
● "It's not about being perfect. It's just learning to be this really wonderful container for myself."
(24:52) Archetypes, Identity & The Many Versions of You
● Why she loves archetypes and how they allow for fluidity, not fixed identity
● The Lover: tasting life fully, Eros, the sweetness of doing nothing, and its shadow of codependency
● The Seeker: obsessed with growth, the itch to stretch your spirit
● "Part of loving ourselves and also loving people really well is listening for which one is alive and present."
Guest Resources
● Follow Allie Michelle on Instagram
● New Poetry Collection: Don't Wait to Light the Candles
● Fantasy Novel: Legends of Lemuria
Resources Mentioned:
● Gabby Bernstein describes EMDR therapy
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