courage

September 7, 2025

Returning the Favors

“Show me a successful individual and I’ll show you someone who had real positive influences in his or her life. I don’t care what you do for a living — if you do it well I’m sure there was someone cheering you on or showing the way. A mentor.” – Denzel Washington I was a Continue reading

kindness, Surviving Sue

author, back-to-school, books, courage, found family, kindness, mentoring, Surviving Sue
July 27, 2025

Don’t Play it Safe

I received the loveliest bit of feedback recently about my demeanor as a writer. The educator in me knows that very often we’re driven for concluding remarks when we seek input from others. Hoping for high fives and praise… hoping for thoughtful queries conveying interest and approval. But I learned something new last week that Continue reading

writing

author, courage, feedback, Inspiration, motivation, vulnerability, writing, writing tips
June 1, 2024

The Unfolding

In 2006, just six months before he passed away, author Kurt Vonnegut responded to a letter from a group of Xavier High School students in New York City. I’m sure you’ve read about this – the goodness of the message has gone viral more than once in the intervening years, most recently thanks to actor, Continue reading

Surviving Sue, writing

author, books, courage, Inspiration, personal development, writing
February 2, 2024

Podcast Friday – Plus!

Being vulnerable is a tough thing. Having a buddy to travel with as you peel back the layers and engage in self-disclosure is a joy and a blessing and those two words describe my friend, Wynne Leon perfectly. She’s a joy and a blessing, for sure! This week, not only did we have a thoughtful Continue reading

podcast

courage, creativity, Family, podcast, relationships, resilience, vulnerability, writing
January 19, 2024

Podcast Friday: Pancake Edition

I’m not sure how it happened, but Wynne and I are celebrating our Golden Podcast Anniversary. No, silly people. Not 50 years of podcasting – 50 episodes – and we’re a little thunder-struck: We have a wonderful episode on deck next week. You will love it… a delightful conversation with one of our favorite creative friends, Continue reading

podcast

community, connection, courage, creativity, gratitude, lifestyle, podcast, writers
January 16, 2024

From the Inside-Out

So much can happen in a year’s time. When I think about my inspiration to write about Dr. James Pennebaker’s book, “Opening Up by Writing it Down” I’d swear I wrote this post just a couple of months ago. Turns out…it’s been a year. Almost exactly. Whoa. Where did that time go? Across the past Continue reading

Surviving Sue

authors, courage, creativity, free workshop, love, resilience, writers
January 12, 2024

Podcast Friday: Sharing a Secret

I’m going to share a secret. I get nervous…really nervous when I’m talking about my book, “Surviving Sue”. Even when I’m chatting with my dear friend Wynne Leon on our podcast. I’m continuing to learn how to talk about the motivation to write my mom’s story… about living with her and persevering. Yes, surviving. The Continue reading

Surviving Sue

authors, books, courage, gratitude, love, personal narrative, vulnerability, writers
October 29, 2023

The Disappearing Girl – Part II

Hello there…and BOO! I’m playing a little trick on all of you…but it’s not about the story I’m sharing. I have a haunting tale to tell in four parts…. but for Part I of “The Disappearing Girl” you’ll need to hop over to my Heart of the Matter post to learn about an unusual photo Continue reading

Family

courage, curiosity, Family, ghost story, love, paranormal, photography
October 1, 2023

Characteristics of Courage

Where does courage come from and how might one build bench strength to be ever-more resilient in the face of onslaughts of all sorts? One of the resources I’ve used for several years is a book from Dr. Melanie Greenberg: The Stress-Proof Brain: Master Your Emotional Response to Stress Using Mindfulness and Neuroplasticity. I know! Continue reading

Wellness

courage, lifestyle, stress reduction, Viktor Frankl, Wellness
July 25, 2023

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Writer’s Vulnerability

Gifts come in unexpected wrappers. I doubt she suspected her post would be perceived that way, but when Georgia from the beautiful blog Person on the Page wrote about personal nonfiction a few weeks ago, referencing “Body Work” by Melissa Febos, she bestowed a gift upon me. The whole post was a treat, but Georgia’s Continue reading

Surviving Sue

author, courage, Family, gratitude, memoir, new book, vulnerability, writer
May 2, 2023

Cover Art: The Reveal

This is surreal, still. I did that thing…that ‘write a book’ thing and it’s actually becoming a reality. Last week I received the go-ahead from my publisher to share the cover art for the book (see below) about my mother’s life, “Surviving Sue”. Over the past several months, I’ve dropped a mention here and there Continue reading

Surviving Sue

authors, courage, family memoirs, writing
March 28, 2023

It’s Never Too Late for Courage

This week a friend asked if I’d talk to her brother who’s struggling with a workplace dilemma. She told me a little about his situation and my first reaction was that it sounded as if he’s dealing with anticipatory grief, unrelated to death, but a loss just the same. This sweet man, fifteen years into Continue reading

Wellness

courage, fresh starts, relationships, self-care, workplace stress
August 13, 2022

Rolling with the Unexpected

Learning to deal with unexpected health crises in the family. Continue reading

Family

courage, Family, health, lifegoals, priorities

“Surviving Sue”, a special story about resiliency and love: Eckhartz Press (paperback) and eBook on Amazon.

Peek Inside “Surviving Sue“

Visit Resources on Atkinson Group Solutions for more.

Podcasts

Listen to the “Sharing the Heart of the Matter” podcast.

You can find our podcast on Apple, Amazon, Spotify and Pocket Casts. Please subscribe!

Workshops

Chicago Writers Association Speakers Bureau – Writing for Wellness; Navigating Elder Care with Grace & Humor; How to Create a Writing Platform; AI for Caregivers

About Me

Learn about five books that inspired and supported my writing journey by visiting my personalized book review page on Shepherd.

BLOG ARCHIVES

Victoria Ponders

courage

Returning the Favors

Don’t Play it Safe

The Unfolding

Podcast Friday – Plus!

Podcast Friday: Pancake Edition

From the Inside-Out

Podcast Friday: Sharing a Secret

The Disappearing Girl – Part II

Characteristics of Courage

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Writer’s Vulnerability

Cover Art: The Reveal

It’s Never Too Late for Courage

Rolling with the Unexpected

Peek Inside “Surviving Sue“

Podcasts

Workshops

About Me

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