Show Notes
MaryAnn spent most of her life believing she simply wasn’t a writer. As a child she froze at the thought of writing from the heart, and by her final year of school she was navigating an unplanned pregnancy and marriage and the HSC. Mary Ann went on to become a mother of five by the age of twenty-five. At that time writing was the last thing on her mind.
It wasn’t until grief entered her life — first the loss of her father, then her mother’s cancer diagnosis — that MaryAnn turned to journaling, just to get through. What began as a private coping habit slowly grew into something more: a voice, a practice, and eventually an identity she’d never imagined for herself.
In this episode, MaryAnn shares how journaling led her to creative writing classes, poetry, and a manuscript inspired by her mother’s life as a young, unmarried mum.
This is a conversation about the winding path to becoming a writer, and how it’s never too late to pick up the pen.
Mary Ann also happens to be a part of my Little Life Stories program and it has been an absolute honour to work alongside her as she writes down her memories and shares her childhood stories. She is an inspiration to me, and I hope that Mary Ann’s writing journey also gives you that little spur on to consider picking up a pen and open a fresh blank notebook page and begin recording your own memories.If you’d like some support in doing that, please know that you are most welcome to join Little Life Stories. You can read more about that here.
If you enjoyed this episode, follow Tell Me Over Tea wherever you listen, and if you feel inclined, please leave a little review — it helps more story-lovers find their way here:)
Kim x
Where to find me:
✨I write, on Substack, a weekly newsletter, you can subscribe to that here: Betty Mae Wrote newsletter. It’s the space where I share stories (both mine and other people’s) and it’s also a way of keeping up to date with all things Betty Mae Wrote, Little Life Stories, Lovely Letters and the podcast.
✨The Tea + Toast Letter Club! A little moment to pour yourself a cuppa, find a comfy spot, and enjoy a letter (and some other goodies) in the mail every month. You can read more about it here.
✨If you’d like to get back into the gorgeous slow soothe of letter writing, please know you are always welcome to join: The Lovely Letters Project (it’s free!)
✨To find out more about my memory writing program, Little Life Stories you can do that here: Little Life Stories
✨I’ve created a simple and beautiful starting point for your own storytelling: The Five Minute Memory List.It’s a short, exercise (a cuppa’s worth), to help you gather memories and begin. It’s fun and easy peasey and it’s something you can use in your letter writing, journaling and personal life writing. You can grab that by subscribing to my newsletter (you’ll find it in the welcome letter one you’ve signed up): here
✨Or if you simply need a good old sticky beak around the place, please head on over here to the website:www.bettymaewrote.com
✨Oh and if you’re an Instagram type, be sure to follow me on Instagram: @bettymaewrote
Tell Me Over Tea is a cosy storytelling podcast about the stories that matter — one memory, and cuppa, at a time.
Written and hosted by Kim, founder of Betty Mae Wrote — a slow-living space for letter writing, memory keeping, and everyday storytelling, from a tin cottage on the Far South Coast of NSW.
Music: Kim on the uke;) Rattling teacups – also KimProduction and Editing: Surprise, surprise, guess who? Yep! Kim again!
Art by Lewis Dillon (thanks, Lew!)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bettymaewrote.substack.com
