Intentionality in Writing: Hendrika de Vries on Resistance, Feminism, and Telling the Truth (Ep199)

Main Topic:  “Intentionality in Writing: Hendrika de Vries on Resistance, Feminism, and Telling the Truth”

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 Free masterclass: The Alchemy of Memory — Writing the Hybrid Memoir (Wed, Oct 8, 2025). Learn to braid personal narrative with research, family history, and big ideas—plus structures, privacy choices, and momentum tools. Includes a short meditation + oracle card pull. Save your seat → valerieihsan.com/hybrid

 

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Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Valerie): prepping for yard sale; planning my free masterclass on hybrid memoir writing for October 8^th.
• (Erick): Southwest Writers Conference speaking gig last weekend, working on new conference pitches; (What can I create new for them?); new Google ads running right now for ghostwriting and editing
• (Henrika): Santa Barbara writing community; Chicago Lit Festival (met with other She Writes Press writers) 
• What are you reading?

• Valerie: 
• Unstuck (Rachael Herron) (need recommendations for audio books)
• Just finished:   
• Creative Act (Rick Rubin) 
• (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; 
• Erick: Voice of the Fire (Alan Moore)
• Lost in the Dark (Brad Weismann) Gettysburg: The Last Invasion
• (Hendrika): Swimming Pretty (history of aquatic swimming by Vicki Valosik); Why We Swim (Bonnie Tsui) (how we lose our differences); Black Cake (Charmaine Wilkerson)(protagonist is a swimmer)
• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: 
• Tidbit #2: 

 

Segment 3 (Main Topic):  

Notes:

 

Hendrika is a retired family therapist, a teacher, and a writer, chronicling her life experiences with oppression and resistance in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, migration, competitive swimming, and misogyny in 1950s Australia. A fierce feminist and activist, de Vries infuses her writing with historical depth and personal perspective on challenges facing women and anyone deemed other. She is the author of When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew, award-winning memoir of her WWII childhood. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times and the LA Times. She lives in Santa Barbara, CA. Find out more about her at www.agirlfromamsterdam.com.

2019 Mary Sarton Women’s Book Award winner

2019 Nautilus Award for Memoir and Personal Journey winner

Non-fiction Author Association Gold

2020 Eric Hoffer First Horizon and Culture award winner

2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist - Memoirs 

2021 NYC Big Book Awards winner - Memoir and Young Adult Non-fiction 

 

Intentionality in Writing: Hendrika de Vries on Resistance, Feminism, and Telling the Truth

 

Valerie's notes:

1. They aren't just our stories. How have other people done this? How our story relates to the human story. Allowed the little girl to have a voice. How to structure to allow the reader relate to inner experience.
2. intuitive writer, start with notes, jot down memories, voice arrives (I was walking; I was unhappy, how does this relate); authentic voice is how it starts, gradually themes show up. Layers. 
3. Differences between essay and memoir (angry vs what is the story here)
4. learn life-saving: look at the risks, sometimes when you try to save someone, they'll try to drown you.
5. face life as an athlete, commitment and dedication, couldn't translate to writing process (haha), grab time, 11-2 magic time to write, set aside time a few times a week to write (let the story come); think about it while swimming and walking; 
6. risk life to follow values but measuring the risk; 
7. "truth-telling is activist resistance" (Bruce Lipton); The Year of Living Kindly (Donna Cameron)

my childhood experiences were psychological examples of resistance: how do we move through difficult times; is memoir self-indulgent? 2017 saw Neo-nazis walking in Virginia then knew others needed to hear about my story because I didn't think this could ever happen again; themes/resistance/loss/what sustains us? How do we create these turning points? How do these define us?

Focus on the human resistance (victimhood wasn't allowed); find the good moments; pacing in the story (and our lives) mixing the trauma with tenderness and humor. Find the light in the moments.

Don't do it alone. Writers conferences and being with other writers. Share stories and being in community, stimulates our writing, not being afraid to share. Find your community. 

Robert Jay Lifton:  "Surviving Our Catastrophes" 

 

Henrik's first memoir: When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew (also available in audio now)

“Open Turns: From Dutch Girl to New Australian”

Hendrika de Vries | September 2, 2025 | She Writes Press | Memoir 

Paperback | 978-1647429508 | $17.99 

Ebook | 978-1647429515 | $12.99 

 

 

And don't forget:

Free masterclass: The Alchemy of Memory — Writing the Hybrid Memoir (Wed, Oct 8, 2025). Learn to braid personal narrative with research, family history, and big ideas—plus structures, privacy choices, and momentum tools. Includes a short meditation + oracle card pull. Save your seat → valerieihsan.com/hybrid

 

Go to valerieihsan.com to schedule a free consultation to see if Aligned Author is right for you.

 

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