Welcome to It's Only Up From Here.
A space where we dive all in. From navigating change and grief, the many forms of love, embracing self-reflection and hope, to the journey as an artist, this series serves as a reminder of the alchemy of transformation through the power of words and poetry.
Connect via
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast
The Healing We Find in Fiction, Poetry, and Stories
“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.” – James Baldwin.
In this episode, I speak with It’s Only Up From Here’s very first guest, Casey, writer and host of Love Letters and Books podcast, where we unpacked the healing found between the pages of a story or poem. Casey shares with us a painful, yet significant inflection point in her life, how she unearthed true healing reading fiction, and what fiction offers her that prescribed self-help books do not. We also unpack how diversifying what we read and reading stories by marginalized voices – even voices from backgrounds that are not ours – can create a deep sense of connection to how we are feeling.
In this episode, you’ll hear one of my original poems, To the Girls Who Leave the World.
Connect with It’s Only Up From Here through
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast (https://www.youtube.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/ (https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/)
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast (https://www.tiktok.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast)
Email: itsonlyupfromherepod@gmail.com (mailto:itsonlyupfromherepod@gmail.com)
Connect with Casey through
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LoveLettersandBooksPodcast (https://www.youtube.com/@LoveLettersandBooksPodcast)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelettersandbooks/ (https://www.instagram.com/lovelettersandbooks/)
TikTok: tiktok.com/@lovelettersandbooks (http://tiktok.com/@lovelettersandbooks)
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4i9k6TcUQhttqAvjiMyJkl?si=841a3884bf9d486d (https://open.spotify.com/show/4i9k6TcUQhttqAvjiMyJkl?si=841a3884bf9d486d)
Email: lovelettersandbookspodcast@gmail.com (mailto:lovelettersandbookspodcast@gmail.com)
Stories & poems mentioned in this episode:
I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lam
“Santa Fe” by Joy Harjo
Daphne's Book by Mary Downing Hahn
I Am J by Cris Beam
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
28 Apr 2026
What Does It Mean to Be Courageous with Your World?
Fear can be paralyzing. Fear can be destabilizing. And fear can make you feel like you’re falling apart. But sometimes, falling apart can actually be you slowly falling into the spaces you’re truly meant to be in. And those spaces can be full of courage, bravery, and strength. Just because your world feels like it’s over – doesn’t mean it is. Maybe it’s just that one chapter is over. There's no freedom found in staying stuck in fear.
In this episode, you’ll hear one of my favorite original poems, Breathwork.
Connect with me through
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast (https://www.youtube.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/ (https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/)
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast (https://www.tiktok.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast)
Email: itsonlyupfromherepod@gmail.com (mailto:itsonlyupfromherepod@gmail.com)
7 Apr 2026
What If We Started Unmasking in a World That Loves Performance?
What happens when you stop creating yourself for an audience, but for yourself? What if we started showing up authentically, in a world that oftentimes loves the performed version of us? Walk with me as I explore what it means to start dismantling the idea of being “too” anything. And also explore what it means to stop putting yourself under the microscope of judgment and start accepting that sometimes the most interesting or different thing about you can be one of the most beautiful things about you.
Sometimes, the most tender, vulnerable parts of ourselves are the most needed.
In this special, first-of-its-kind episode on this podcast, I collaborated with writer/director Kelly McCready to take you on an interpretive and expressive visual journey through this topic.
In this episode, you’ll hear my original poem, Ocean’s Tide.
Connect with me through
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/ (https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast (https://www.youtube.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast)
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast (https://www.tiktok.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast)
Email: itsonlyupfromherepod@gmail.com (mailto:itsonlyupfromherepod@gmail.com)
Connect with Kelly McCready through
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyraemac (https://www.instagram.com/kellyraemac)
Website: https://kellymccready.com/ (https://kellymccready.com/)
Email: kelly.r.mccready@gmail.com (mailto:kelly.r.mccready@gmail.com)
Kelly’s upcoming directorial project includes Perfect Love, a film that offers a nuanced, non-performative view of sexuality, queer women, and human connection.
CREDITS:
Director/Visual Editor: Kelly McCready
Writer/Audio Editor: Lauren Summers
27 Jan 2026
Art During War: Politics, Poetry, and the Power of Still Creating
Happy New Year… but is it really happy? Thinking these days about how art is necessary during times of war and crisis. How art is necessary for survival. And how art has always been a tool of resistance and refuge during turbulent times. In this episode, I explore how art intersects politics, and how it’s no small feat to keep creating during these politically charged times. Stay safe, stay creating, and stay woke.
In this episode, you’ll hear my original poem, Ode to the Black Girl’s Hair. Thanks for listening, y’all.
Connect with me through:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/ (https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast (https://www.youtube.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast)
Email: itsonlyupfromherepod@gmail.com
30 Dec 2025
The Embarrassing Thing: On Yearning and Community
This episode was inspired by one of writer Yrsa Daley-Ward’s gentle interrogation prompts on Instagram: “Write about the desire that embarrasses you.” So I talked about that embarrassing thing – yearning. In this episode, I dive into what it means to want deeply and openly in a culture that often treats yearning as weakness. I reflect on platonic love, longing for community, and vulnerability, muse on bell hooks (who spoke of this greatly), and unpack how desire can be both tender and transformative.
In this episode, you’ll hear my original poem, Love Is. Thanks for listening, y’all.
Connect with me through:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/ (https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/)
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast (https://www.tiktok.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast)
Email: itsonlyupfromherepod@gmail.com
4 Dec 2025
The Stories My Ancestors Left Me: Creating From Grief, Love, and Legacy
Content Warning: Mentions of Death, Grief
Walk with me as I reflect on my maternal grandfather’s passing this summer, and the idea he spoke about before transitioning, of being “ready to go home.”
I explore the unfinished stories we carry forward, the lives we honor by living our own fully, and how the creative work we do becomes an offering to our ancestors. What do we do with the love that stays? We create for ourselves what couldn’t be finished.
In this episode, you’ll hear my original poem, I’ll Never Be. Thanks for listening, y’all.
Connect with me through:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast
Email: itsonlyupfromherepod@gmail.com
20 Nov 2025
Making “Fetch” Happen as an Artist: Finding Your Own Pace
As an artist, you’re always attempting to make “fetch” happen (IYKYK). I was born creating, but these days, I often feel like a novice in the never-ending grind of trying to (and wanting to) promote my work. Walk with me as I explore the tension between creating art authentically and the pressure to constantly promote and produce in today’s grind-heavy culture. Making art at your own pace is still real, still worthy, and still hits exactly how it’s meant to.
In this episode, you’ll hear my original poem, Superpower. Thanks for listening, y’all.
Connect with me through:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/ (https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/)
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast (https://www.tiktok.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast)
Email: itsonlyupfromherepod@gmail.com
5 Nov 2025
I Blamed Writer’s Block – The Truth Is, It Was Just Me
Here’s the episode where I blame my inability to consistently post on writer’s block. This is also the episode where I realize that I have got to stop using that as a cop out.
Walk with me as I chat about the fact that we have to follow our passions quite simply because it’s our calling. Not for what validation the output will give us. Not to be published. Not to be spotlighted. But quite simply because we owe it to ourselves, because self-expression is a form of healing, and because our passions deserve to be honored.
In this episode, you’ll hear my original poem, Beside Myself Trying To Be Myself. An oldie but goodie. Thanks for listening y’all.
Connect with me through:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/ (https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/)
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast (https://www.tiktok.com/@itsonlyupfromherepodcast)
Email: itsonlyupfromherepod@gmail.com
26 Apr 2025
Sometimes Our Words (and Hope) Are All We Have
I’m back, 30, and feeling more directionless than ever. But sometimes, hope is an act of defiance, and all we've got in this crazy time we call 2025.
In this episode, you’ll hear my original poem titled A Time Where I’ll Reek of Hope. Thanks for listening y’all.
Connect with me through:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/
Email: itsonlyupfromherepod@gmail.com
11 Feb 2025
On Giving In: Sometimes, It’s OK to be Lonely
We spend so much of our lives trying to control outcomes – mapping out plans, holding onto expectations, and resisting change. And in the age of the epidemic of loneliness, it’s no secret that it absolutely sucks to feel lonely, and we often feel a need to “control” or “fix” it. But what if sometimes… it’s OK? What if true peace comes from giving in? Not as a form of defeat but as an act of surrender. Bare with me as I try to flow instead of force.
In this episode, you’ll hear my original poem titled On Giving In. Thanks for listening y’all.
Connect with me through
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsonlyupfromherepodcast/
Email: itsonlyupfromherepod@gmail.com
15 Jan 2025
Inflection Points and Big Moves: My New York Story
Author and New York transplant, [Your Name], shares her transformative journey from navigating uncertainty to embracing the unknown, revealing the profound growth that comes with taking bold life moves.
29 May 2024
Trailer
Welcome to It's Only Up From Here.
A space where we dive all in. From navigating change and grief, the many forms of love, to embracing self-reflection and hope, this series will serve as a reminder of the alchemy of transformation through the power of words and poetry. Every episode will end with an original poem.
It's Only Up From Here serves as a nudging light at the end of the tunnel and to illuminate the hero that lives in every one of us. This is Lauren, your host of It's Only Up From Here. A podcast series coming Summer 2024.
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Podcast Authority Score: 20 / 100
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