Hi! I'm Nadia Colburn—writer, teacher, yogi, activist

Author of The High Shelf and founder of Align Your Story writing school.

At Align Your Story Writing School, we bring traditional literary and creative writing studies together with mindfulness, embodied practices, and social and environmental engagement. Join a community of over 25,000 other mindful writers. Get the tools and community to write your best work.

Wake up your writing :)

Dear Reader, The poet Mary Oliver wrote: Ten times a day something happens to me like this – some strengthening throb of amazement – some good sweet empathic ping and swell. This is the first, the wildest and the wisest thing I know: that the soul exists and is built entirely out of...

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3 days ago • 2 min read

August, Possibility, and More

Dear Reader, Happy August!I spent most of July off my computer. I have to admit that coming back home and being reminded of the political and social realities is a bit of a shock to my system. There feels like a disconnect between the beauty and kindness of so much of the world and the often...

about 2 months ago • 2 min read

A poem, transitions, and a reminder

Dear Reader, Friday was my daughter Simone's last day of high school. I've been feeling, as you may expect, many different emotions at once—great love, pride, and also a lot of sadness. I'm going to miss having her here on a daily basis; she's been such a consistent light in my life. (She's...

4 months ago • 2 min read

What the ocean reminded me, showing up as yourself, and more

Dear Reader, One of the hardest things for writers—and perhaps for all people, whatever we’re doing—is to stay connected to ourselves, who we are, and what lights us up. Because we’re social animals, it's really easy to get distracted by everything happening around us. But though we sometimes...

4 months ago • 3 min read

Writing into Joy...the Challenges and Rewards

Dear Reader! It’s spring here in Cambridge and the sun is out. It’s a great pleasure. When we write into pleasure and joy, our writing comes more alive—just like our landscape. But one of the biggest challenges many writers have is writing joy (a word, which, by the way, shares a root with the...

5 months ago • 3 min read

Intention, Implementation, and the Earth

Dear Reader, This weekend, I went to a visioning retreat with one of my favorite teachers, Lewis Mehl-Madrona, a doctor and native teacher who teaches narrative medicine. On the way here, I listened to a podcast by one of my favorite podcasts, Outrage and Optimism: Climate Change Podcast. In the...

5 months ago • 4 min read

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