15: Liminal Space in the Golden State with Alisha Sommer

Alisha Sommer and her family recently moved to California from the Midwest, and it was a dream six years in the making. We talk about the challenges (and surprising benefits) of liminal space, learn about a daily writing ritual she’s been doing for nearly three years, why she gets up so early, navigating the “both/and” space, and the art of the evening bath. | Pick up a copy of Wild Words wherever books are sold.

Alisha Sommer is a Bay Area freelance writer and photographer who has a gift for holding sacred space, for deep listening, and for seeing the ordinary in extraordinary ways. In the past, Alisha founded and edited a print literary journal (Blackberry: a magazine), published personal essays, creative nonfiction, and poetry for a variety of online and print publications, ghostwritten, collaborated with Angela Burke for Black Food & Beverage, and taught at Squam Art Workshops. Currently, she hosts creative gatherings in Sonoma, CA like the Fever Dreams Collective Retreat with Jennette Nielsen, and facilitates the online writing workshop liberated lines with Robin Sandomirsky.

Connect:

• AlishaSommer.com
• Sommersalt Blog
• Instagram

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• The daily writing ritual Alisha’s been doing for almost 3 years
• Thoughts on her 4:45 am wake up call
• The intentional (and practical) steps she and her family took to move from the Midwest to the West Coast
• The unexpected moment she knew she could actually live in California
• Upsides to moving through liminal space
• The challenges making friends as an adult (and an introvert)
• What it looks like to bring your creativity to the workplace
• Navigating the “both/and” space when you make a big life change (even if it’s something you want)
• Why creative constraints can actually be helpful
• The art of the evening bath

LINKABLE MENTIONS

• The OnBeing podcast episode that inspired Alisha to start a daily journaling practice
• The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron