{"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 Went Silent for 5 Days: Lessons from a Mediation Retreat","slug":"i-went-silent-for-5-days-lessons-from-a-mediation-retreat","published_at":"2026-01-25T04:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/heart-of-the-story-1377112/i-went-silent-for-5-days-lessons-from-a-mediation-retreat","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/heart-of-the-story-1377112","url":"https://nadinekenneyjohnstone.com/podcast","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/91dd1adb-9cd7-4457-b92c-23ba61e40510.mp3","summary":"232 Five days. No talking. No technology. Just awareness. Nadine shares her powerful experience from a five-day silent Vipassana retreat—and what emerged when there was nowhere left to escape. From boredom and resistance to unexpected joy, grief, and clarity, Nadine opens up about the emotional and spiritual breakthroughs that unfolded in stillness. She reflects on self-compassion, non-reactivity, and the freedom that comes from releasing expectations and the constant desire for things to be different. A moving loving-kindness meditation becomes the catalyst for deep emotional release and insight, revealing a simple but radical truth: happiness doesn’t live in the future—it’s available now. This episode is an invitation to slow down, listen deeply, and discover what silence can teach us about presence, peace, and being fully alive. Get access to the full episode when you become a paid subscriber on Substack . Covered in this episode: Why she chose to do a silent retreat for the second time What was different (and disappointing) this time What it was like to renounce technology The rules she broke The breakthroughs she had The shocking vision that made her weep Reclaim your writing time with the following offerings in 2026: Revision Made Easy: A 3-Step Process to Up-level Your Writing Virtual, Feb 28 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…","meta_description":"232 Five days. No talking. No technology. Just awareness. Nadine shares her powerful experience from a five-day silent Vipassana retreat—and what emerged…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2026,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/heart-of-the-story-1377112/episodes/i-went-silent-for-5-days-lessons-from-a-mediation-retreat/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-went-silent-for-5-days-lessons-from-a-mediation-retreat.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}