Donna's Blog: Writing to Heal
Exploring the Science of Emotion, Trauma, Health, and Healing
Thank you for joining me in my little corner of the web! I’m Donna Jackson Nakazawa, an award-winning science journalist and speaker passionate about exploring the intricate connections between neuroscience and human emotion. Over the years, my work has been dedicated to uncovering how our early life experiences shape our brains, bodies, and overall well-being. I’ve delved deep into the science of how trauma affects our health and how we can find pathways to healing.
I offer online courses that empower you to reframe your narratives and heal from past trauma through a powerful journaling process, based on the innovative, trauma-informed, mindful Neural Re-Narrating™ program I’ve taught at universities and behavioral health groups nationwide.
My newest book, The Adverse Childhood Experiences Guided Journal, a workbook that applies my writing-to-heal program through exercises and prompts, will give you the guidance and space to process painful thoughts, feelings and memories to bring you peace, healing, and hope.
Feel free to dig into my blog posts – past and present! If you find the information here insightful and valuable, I hope you will also join me on my Substack, Healing Together with Donna Jackson Nakazawa, where I aim to create a warm and welcoming space where we can further explore together the profound connections between our emotions, past experiences, and health. I will be sharing insights, stories, and science-based strategies, all grounded in the latest neuroscience research. For now, as I work on building an engaging and supportive community, all my articles and features will be FREE. I hope you’ll consider following and supporting my work as we build this meaningful space together.
My Online Courses
Your Healing Narrative
Write-to-Heal With Neural Re-NarratingTM
Breaking Free From Trauma
3-hour self-paced workshop
Available now!
Neuroscience-Based Writing Practices to Rewire Your Brain from Trauma
The trauma of your past can’t be undone, but you can take charge of how it affects you. This compassionate journal offers a safe space to help you process, heal, and reclaim your power.
Writing to Heal - Recent Blog Posts
- All Posts
- Angel and the Assassin
- Childhood Disrupted
- Chronic Illness
- holiday stress
- Neural Re-Narrating™️
- Subscribe
- The Adverse Childhood Experiences Guided Journal
- The Last Best Cure
- Unhealed trauma
- Writing to Heal
Hi Wonderful Readers, I wanted to tell you that I’m writing a feature on women, friendship and illness for MORE Magazine and ask for your input. The piece will focus on what friends need from their friends when they are facing a chronic condition — whether it’s lupus, fibro, RA, Lyme, MS, you name...
Hi there — today PBS’s wonderful online web magazine, Next Avenue, published my OpEd on how we can journey toward healing in the face of chronic illness… and the important distinction between being “cured” and being “healed.” I so hope you’ll check it out, and that you enjoy. Links below! I’m Not Cured, but...
The way we manage our emotional responses to the stresses we meet in day-to-day life — to what is happening right now, right here, in our life — predicts whether we’ll suffer from depression and anxiety ten years from now, says a new study in today’s Psychological Science. Researchers examined the relationship between how...
This past Easter weekend, we spent many afternoons in the woods, walking trails, going on photo expeditions. My husband, son and daughter and I are great lovers of what I call “green music” — the music of the rustling trees. We all enjoy the hum of how nature nurtures. I think for most of...
Some of you have inquired why my blog has been so quiet. Here’s why: book tour! This has been a busy week. it started with a conversation with Montel Williams on Joy Behar’s (of The View) show Say Anything, which we taped in New York. Montel is working hard to bring research funding and...
Are you ready? Today I’m announcing my Double Book Giveaway contest! This time, 1 lucky winner will receive A Double Giveaway Book Set: one signed copy of my new book, THE LAST BEST CURE, and one signed, first-printing hardcover copy of the...
A new Harvard study out today indicates that in the past several decades our general mood and sense of well-being have declined, making it harder for us to stay on what I call, in THE LAST BEST CURE, The Life Channel. I’ve written a great deal about rising rates of stress-reactivity, and how stress-reactivity...
