Laura Joyce Davis started her podcast, Shelter in Place, just as the pandemic shut California and the United States down on March 17, 2020. We talk about finding joy in hard times, defining the meaning of home, and sheltering in place as parents. I hope you enjoy this discussion about shelter in place and finding your way home with Laura Joyce Davis.
Laura is a Minneapolis native who now calls Oakland home. She is an award-winning fiction writer, a Fulbright scholar, a WNYC Podcast Accelerator finalist, and a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee. She is a mom of three young kids who believe that anything is possible if you have a cape, a crown, and a very good book (she doesn’t disagree). In past lives she’s been a collegiate running coach, a Big Ten athlete, an award-winning a cappella singer, and a blue ribbon winner at the 4-H county fair. Both at Shelter in Place and in Laura’s past writing are grounded in the conviction that changing our communities begins with changing ourselves.
In this episode, Laura and I talk about:
- her early sparks of joy, enjoying nature
- how she made the decision to start her podcast, just as the pandemic was shutting down the Bay Area
- what sheltering in place was like with children
- shelter in place and finding your way home
- the overwhelming impacts of the fires in California in August 2020
- Laura’s family moving to Massachusetts during the pandemic
- the first two seasons of Shelter in Place the podcast
- how we look to define “home”
- the three ways that Laura jump starts joy: playing, speaking, and listening
Resources:
Shelter in Place Podcast website