In this episode, Bill and Marty welcome writing coach, counselor, and memoir teacher Jerry Waxler to discuss how memoir supports personal growth and connection. Marty shares how Jerry’s guidance led him to restructure his book about beauty into a memoir to create a more intimate narrative. Jerry explains the “redemptive arc” as a core principle of memoir, describing how stories move from struggle to growth and agency, with parallels to the 12 steps and recovery. The group explores how memoir reading and writing build empathy across cultures and experiences. Jerry also addresses shame, privacy, and how telling difficult truths can bring insight, release, and healing, and he shares his website for memoir coaching and classes.

About Jerry:

Jerry Waxler hit bottom early in adulthood and began a long climb through recovery, self-help, therapy, and wisdom traditions. At fifty, he returned to school to become a therapist, only to discover that to help others, he had to keep growing. Memoir reading provided insight into the vast library of human experience offered in memoirs. And writing his own memoirs helped him rebuild shattered segments of his past. His continued interest in Twelve Step recovery, and his ongoing research into the many branches of psychotherapy, led him to Internal Family Systems, which he sees as a pinnacle of his journey toward mental wholeness. Now, 55 years sober, Jerry’s life work is helping others grow through therapy, writing, and the transformative power of turning private memories into shared stories.

Contact Jerry:

Website: https://www.jerrywaxler.com

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome and Guests

01:07 Why Memoir Now

02:37 Meet Jerry Waxler

03:33 Counseling and Memoir Coaching

05:28 Redemptive Arc Explained

11:43 Agency Through Writing

13:26 Reader Immersion and Empathy

17:55 Theme Versus Story Thread

21:15 Beauty and Redemption Stories

23:06 IFS and Modern Redemption

24:44 Against Despair Narratives

25:53 Memoir Shapes Culture

26:24 Story of Self Empathy

29:31 Books That Expand Worlds

34:06 Memoir as Social Wisdom

37:15 Writing Through Shame4

4:28 From Memory to Narrative

49:00 Wrap Up and Contact

Links and Resources:

• The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini - https://khaledhosseini.com/books/the-kite-runner/

• The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls -https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Glass-Castle/Jeannette-Walls/9780743247542

• This Boy's Life, Tobias Wolff - https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/this-boys-life-9780747546016/

• Notes of a Native Son, James Baldwin -https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/643832/notes-of-a-native-son-by-james-baldwin/

• True You Podcast Facebook Page -https://www.facebook.com/trueyoupodcast

• True You Podcast Instagram Page -https://www.instagram.com/trueyou.podcast

• Internal Family Systems -https://ifs-institute.com/

• Compassionate Results Coaching -https://www.compassionateresultscoaching.com/

• Bill’s book, ‘Compassionate Results Guidebook’ - https://compassionateresultsguidebook.com

• ‘Listening is the Key', Dr. Kettelhut’s website -https://www.listeningisthekey.com/

• Marty’s new book, ‘Leadership as Relation’ -https://amzn.to/3KKkCZO• Marty’s earlier book, ‘Listen… Till You Disappear’ -https://amzn.to/3XmoiZd

• Parts Work Practice - Free IFS Practice Group Sessions -https://www.partsworkpractice.com

• Contact Marty -mkettelhut@msn.com

• Contact Bill -bill@compassionateresultscoaching.com🔗 Compassionate Results Coaching links: https://www.compassionateresultscoaching.com/links➡️ To learn more about the Internal Family Systems Model, visit https://www.compassionateresultscoaching.com/about-ifs ➡️Join the Parts Work Practice Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/partsworkpractice🔗 Parts Work Practice page: https://www.partsworkpractice.com/📖 Get the Compassionate Results Guidebook here: http://compassionateresultsguidebook.com/➡️Attend IFS Coaching Groups: https://www.compassionateresultscoaching.com/coaching-groups