Firecracker and a Humble Queen
Dreaming big: true story of a baller in Philly. Visit TreeHouseLetter.com to see photos.
Mar 13, 2022•8 min
TreeHouseLetter
Rise above the tedium and join me in the TreeHouse. Sharing the best ideas and writing, MyLinh Shattan has a particular fondness for words, music, and the power of story. “I adore your podcasts; each and every one is a little gem. You never say three words when two will do. Everything you do shows unusual respect and appreciation for your listeners’ time and intelligence.” Buzz, former Managing Editor for News and Public Affairs Programming at WHRB-FM/Harvard Radio Broadcasting
Last refreshed: ⓘ
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
Episodes
Essays that changed me: Rachel Cusk and “Making Home”
The essay had me going back to it, not in the tangible way of opening the book though I did that, but in my mind. Have I inherited my mother’s view of home or my friends’ and what are my principles? Cusk chronicles the complete remodeling of her London flat and near compete personal breakdown. How much space does a body need? What makes a house a home?
Mar 10, 2022•11 min
Writing on the Road and the Creative Process
How do you write when you're traveling? How do you know you're a writer? Thoughts on the creative process with highlights from 4 writing books. Writing tight and making every word count while keeping true to your voice. Toolbox, ages 9 to 99. Learn more about the books on treehouseletter.com.
Mar 05, 2022•10 min
Poetry for Emergencies: Ukraine, Howard Nemerov, and the War Dead
2 poems for a crazy world as we think of our friends of freedom in Ukraine, who have everything at stake. Former U.S. Poet Laureate Howard Nemerov wrote: Poetry is a way of getting something right in language. Learn about the Soldier Scholar and Warrior Poet, why rhetoric and courage are essential in dire times.
Mar 03, 2022•12 min
Sex Over 70 Years and the Synecdoche
2 Books, 2 Rhetorical Devices, and the Music in the Prose of Flaubert's Madame Bovary and Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover. How the language of sex has changed over 70 years and why we still read these classics.
Feb 27, 2022•16 min
Adult Child and a Zen Koan
Adult child is an oxymoron but you never stop worrying about your children, whether they're 18 or 48. A ski story, 2.5 Zen koans, and the em dash. Bonus Footnotes: the Easter egg of the TreeHouseLetter.
Feb 24, 2022•6 min
Love in a Sad Cafe
The only love you can be sure about is the love you give. This episode considers the Music in the Prose of Carson McCullers' story, The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. Just what is it about her writing that makes the tale timeless? What does she teach us about love?
Feb 19, 2022•11 min
A Valentine Canine and the Circle of Life
These holidays can seem a chore, another small way to feel defeated if I don't get it right. When I skip it like I did this year, opting to adopt this shepherd mutt from Texas, I figure I'm rebelling against the commercial mandate. Isn't it better to show love and affection on my own schedule? or in my own way?
Feb 16, 2022•8 min
If You Want to Write, Your Writing Has to Have Rhythm
Toolbox: On Sentences and How to Improve Your Writing Immediately. No one ever taught me this. But, as someone who wanted to improve my writing as a craft, this is something I set out to understand: why is writing good? The best writing has rhythm and readers might not even be aware of it, but that’s why we return to the writing again and again. The story and structure have to be there, but without rhythm as the foundation, the writing doesn’t work.
Feb 12, 2022•14 min
The Meaning in Music
Your job will change, where you live will change, the people in your life will change, but you will always have your music. What is the meaning in music? And, what makes it lasting ? The best music is like the best writing. Without analysis, we know this: we like what we like and we love what we love. Here's why.
Feb 09, 2022•10 min
Coaching Habit by Stanier: Short Take on How to Avoid Crappy Advice for the Wrong Problem
If you're like me and have to work with people, at home or in the work place, then you're looking for ways to improve interactions and relationships. Here's insight from Global Coaching Guru, Michael Bungay Stanier, with a link to his TEDx video.
Feb 06, 2022•4 min
Books as Trophies, the Bibliophile vs the Bibliophagist
I have a book problem. It's a good kind of problem, if a heavy one. Learn the difference between these terms and hear a bonus passage about the Argentine writer, Jorge Luis Borges, a scene from Jay Parini's memoir, Borges and Me: an Encounter.
Feb 02, 2022•10 min
Thay's Miracle: Short Take on a Long Life (Thich Nhat Hanh)
A tribute to the Vietnamese Zen monk: I read his book No Death, No Fear after my father passed away. Thay (name for teacher) was from my mother's town of Hue and I imagine he approached his death in the manner in which he wrote.
Jan 31, 2022•4 min
The Sexy Semicolon, Really?
Loved and loathed, the semicolon has survived 500+ years. What you need to know, Orwell's Sixth Rule, and why the winking mark is sexy.
Jan 26, 2022•8 min
Poetry for Emergencies: Lain S. Thomas at Daybreak
Sometimes I wake in the middle of the night and I'm scared. Tragedy befell friends and a go-to for me has been poetry. Thomas at daybreak is a restorative for the soul.
Jan 14, 2022•8 min
New Year: Goals Versus Habits
What are your resolutions and goals? Consider focusing on habits instead. Learn about Chi Running and the benefits of good habits.
Jan 10, 2022•13 min
Graveside Gratitude, Giving Thanks in November
I learned more from two friends in death than I had learned from them in life. Giving thanks to those departed souls.
Nov 24, 2021•6 min
Summer's End
The last First Day of School, the end of summer, just what summer means, and life's next stage
Sep 21, 2021•11 min
Alaska Mountains May Spoil You For All the Rest
Southeast Alaska, the Inside Passage, Klondike Gold Rush
Jul 30, 2021•14 min
Father and His Letters
A dying art, a gift from yesterday, there's nothing so full bodied and rich as words on paper. Photos may capture the appearance in any given moment, but words, his words, they capture his mind and spirit
Jun 21, 2021•5 min
Memorial Day, Reflection and Celebration
On generational service and the reasons we serve. Remembering sacrifice and celebrating a new Army lieutenant in the family.
May 31, 2021•14 min
April Dreams
A Story and Two Short Poems: by a Zen Monk & Mary Oliver
Apr 26, 2021•9 min
Two Truths and a Lie, a Fools Game
April Fools Day and Humor in Uniform. Three stories from cadet life. The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes. Churchill
Apr 01, 2021•8 min
I Met a Man at the Top of Chimney Rock
“Would you mind if I take off my shirt?” he said. A story from a retreat in North Carolina. The Odyssey, the Devil, and a Home
Feb 10, 2021•12 min
Family Travel in a Pandemic - By Air and By Land
Fun things-to-do and great eats in Key West. New Year's on Wheels - Road trip (Ct to VA) and family skating.
Jan 07, 2021•14 min
Giving Thanks in 2020 & Simon's List
Tough times define us. Whitman's Ghost or Simon, played by Joe Pesci in the 1994 film With Honors, shares a message.
Nov 27, 2020•7 min
Spirits of the Fall: Episode (4) Toddler Vision
Brady Shattan joins us to talk about spirit friends, his guardian angel and extrasensory perception.
Oct 31, 2020•38 min•Ep. 4
Spirits of the Fall: Episode (3) Visits From Beyond
What happens when someone dies, when the worldly connection is broken? Where are the healers and the mediums and the shamans today? This is the third episode in Spirits of the Fall: True Stories of the Season, eerie occurrences, real-life horrors, ghosts, and second sight.
Oct 26, 2020•16 min•Ep. 3
Spirits of the Fall: Episode (2) Where the Driveway Ends
Second in the series of the season: real-life horrors and ghosts.
Oct 20, 2020•14 min•Ep. 2
Spirits of the Fall: Episode (1) In the House
This is the first in a series of True Stories for the season, of eerie occurrences, real-life horrors, visits from the beyond, haunted rooms, and childhood visions.
Oct 14, 2020•15 min•Ep. 1
Hosted on Spotify for Creators (Anchor)
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android