#195 Writing Through Brain Fog, Chronic Illness, and Uncertainty with Rachel Weaver

What happens when you wake up one day dizzy and it never stops? In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus talks with acclaimed author Rachel Weaver about her powerful new memoir, *Dizzy*. Rachel shares how she navigated nearly two decades of chronic illness before finding relief, and how she transformed that experience into a compelling braided memoir that weaves together her years working in the Alaskan wilderness, her medical journey, motherhood, marriage, and questions of power, resilience, and identity. Rachel discusses: • Why she chose to open *Dizzy* with the dramatic scene of falling through the ice in Alaska • How nature became a source of metaphor throughout the memoir • The surprising parallels between encounters with bears and encounters with doctors • Writing through brain fog, screen sensitivity, and chronic illness • How she developed the book's braided structure • Avoiding repetition in an illness narrative • Finding an ending for a memoir when the story is still unfolding • The five-year process of writing and revising Dizzy • Why writers should focus on process before product • The path to publication for both Dizzy and her forthcoming novel, *The Last Run* Watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU7-lLHkHEM About Rachel Weaver Rachel Weaver is the author of the memoir *Dizzy* and the novel *Point of Direction,* which was named a Top 10 Book to Pick Up Now by *O,* *The Oprah Magazine* and won the Willa Cather Award for Fiction. Her forthcoming novel, *The Last Ru*n, publishes in June 2026. Before earning her MFA in Writing and Poetics from Naropa University, Rachel worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Alaska studying bears, raptors, and songbirds. She teaches at Wilkes University and Lighthouse Writers Workshop and holds a Certification of Professional Achievement in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University. Learn more at: Rachel Weaver's website **Get More From Estelle Erasmus** - **Check out My Latest Substack Post: Step Into My Time Capsule: Back When Print Magazines Ruled** https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/step-into-my-time-capsule-back-when - **Estelle on My First Byline (**a walk down memory lane as a former beauty editor at *Woman's World*) https://yourfirstbyline.substack.com/p/my-first-byline-estelle-erasmus - **Private Small-Group Memoir/Essay Class** My Next 6-week session that begins September  2026 has one more spot left. Email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details. - **Read & Subscribe** Substack: *NEW post:* A Recap of the Editor-on-Call Event with Susan Dabbar of PROVOKEDmagazine*.* My next Editor-on-Call event is September 16. Sign up for my substack to get notified early. - **Watch** Estelle's TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond - **Book** Writing That Gets Noticed — named a *Poets & Writers* "Best Book for Writers." - **Listen/Watch** Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2026  Podcast of the Year, Business (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast ### About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, TEDx speaker, and author of *Writing That Gets Noticed*. She is the host, founder, and executive producer of *Freelance Writing Direct* and an adjunct professor at NYU. Her work has appeared in more than 150 publications, including *The New York Times*, *The Washington Post*, *WIRED*, *PBS/Next Avenue*, *The Independent*, and *AARP The Magazine*. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. ### Follow Estelle Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus Twitter/X: @EstelleSErasmus Bluesky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review Freelance Writing Direct, and share it with the writers in your life.