{"podcast":{"title":"Heart of the Story","slug":"heart-of-the-story-1377112","podcast_index_feed_id":1377112,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/heart-of-the-story/","website_url":"https://heart-of-the-story.captivate.fm","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/5cd3aa09-2817-4335-b61f-e94ea422278d/bNjcx8ZOZ-rVkU7q04maJtO4.jpg","author":"Nadine Kenney Johnstone","episode_count":52,"summary":"Author and writing coach Nadine Kenney Johnstone shares interviews with today's top women writers, including Jen Hatmaker, Catherine Newman, Maggie Smith, Molly Wizenberg, Abigail Thomas, Dr. Hillary McBride, Emily P. Freeman, Laura Tremaine, Sari Botton, Francesca Royster, Susan Piver, Jane Friedman, Mae Yoshikawa, and more. Nadine also shares her own stories of healing, hope, and following her heart.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/heart-of-the-story-1377112"},"episode":{"title":"I Stepped Away for a Year: Lessons from My Sabbatical Year","slug":"i-stepped-away-for-a-year-lessons-from-my-sabbatical-year","published_at":"2026-01-18T04:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/heart-of-the-story-1377112/i-stepped-away-for-a-year-lessons-from-my-sabbatical-year","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/heart-of-the-story-1377112","url":"https://nadinekenneyjohnstone.com/podcast","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/f236f9b9-460f-42bd-999d-579f3bcb918f.mp3","summary":"What happens when you don’t fully step away — but you stop rushing forward? Nadine reflects on the key takeaways from her semi-sabbatical: a year of working part time, studying deeply, and intentionally becoming a beginner again. Instead of chasing output, she followed curiosity. Instead of mastering, she practiced. This episode explores what a slower, experimental year taught her about identity, learning, rest, and growth — and why becoming a beginner might be one of the most transformative choices we can make. If you’ve been craving space to learn, try something new, or rethink your relationship with work and productivity, this episode is for you. Covered in this episode: How jealousy inspired her sabbatical What she scaled back on and give up completely The silly and scary things she wanted to try in 2025 How she funded her sabbatical What her fears were The unexpected experiences that unfolded What changed when productivity wasn't driving everything The key lessons she learned Reclaim your writing time in 2026: Publish the Personal (Virtual): Fridays Jan 23-Feb 27 Revision Retreat: Craft Your Best Draft (In-person): Aug 2026, Madeline Island School of the Arts, WI About Nadine: Nadine Kenney Johnstone is an award-winning author, podcast host, and writing coach. After fifteen years as a writing professor, she founded WriteWELL workshops and retreats for women writers. She interviews today’s top female authors on her podcast, Heart of the Story . Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure , was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart , is an essay collection and guided journal. She has been featured in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Natural Awakenings,Chicago Magazine, and more. She writes a regular co…","meta_description":"What happens when you don’t fully step away — but you stop rushing forward? Nadine reflects on the key takeaways from her semi-sabbatical: a year of worki…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3244,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/heart-of-the-story-1377112/episodes/i-stepped-away-for-a-year-lessons-from-my-sabbatical-year/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/heart-of-the-story-1377112/i-stepped-away-for-a-year-lessons-from-my-sabbatical-year.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}