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"I decided I didn't want to be afraid all the time." That one decision changed everything for Nancy Jasin Ensley — and it might change something for you too.
In this episode of Stories and Stanza, host Abhra sits down with Nancy — a writer, registered nurse, teacher, and grandmother of fourteen from rural Michigan — for a conversation that moves between the craft of writing and the work of healing.
Nancy shares how a difficult childhood marked by PTSD and abandonment shaped her, and why it took her ten to twenty years before she could write her memoir, The Tire Swing. She talks about what it means to find stillness inside the tornado — her metaphor for those moments when life is chaos but you learn to breathe in the centre of it.
The conversation explores why childhood PTSD was only recently recognised as distinct, how journaling sustained Nancy through years of caring for parents with dementia, and why she believes writing is for everyone — not just those who publish.
Nancy brings her themes to life through her characters: "3B," a half-alien boy who overcomes bullying with nothing but a smile, and the Martians of Indigo 35, who gave up feelings entirely because they believed emotions caused war.
She also shares hard-won lessons on writer's block, the realities of editing and self-publishing, and the moment a difficult colleague read her memoir and called her by name for the first time — because behind the name tag, he finally saw a person.
The episode closes with Nancy reading "The Tire Swing" — a poem about the choice we all have to ride.
🕐 TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Childhood PTSD Reality
01:10 Podcast Intro Trailer
01:34 Meet Nancy Jasin Ensley
03:24 Early Life and Reading
05:23 Writing as Healing
08:08 Publishing and Craft Lessons
10:56 Themes Across Genres
16:02 Beating Writer's Block
22:10 Resilience and Self-Care
24:33 Fail With Me — Healing
32:36 Authenticity in Storytelling
40:06 Empathy and Mental Health
49:06 The Tire Swing Poem Finale
✍️ ABOUT NANCY JASIN ENSLEY
Nancy is an author, legal nurse consultant, hospice specialist, and teacher who has written across memoir, literary fiction, science fiction, mystery, thriller, action and adventure, and children's literature. Her career in nursing, hospice care, legal consulting, teaching, and supervision has given her deep insight into the human experience — and those experiences inform every story she tells.
"I write because it is how I listen. I write because it is how I remember. And by grace, I will keep writing."
🔗 Connect with Nancy: https://nancyjasinensley.com/
Find this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rynjo6P_igI
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