If You Don’t Laugh, You’ll Cry — Humor and Comedy as a Tool for Healing, with Alice F. Pauser

This week, I’m thrilled to welcome Alice Pauser, a prolific humorist and storyteller with over three decades of experience as a national freelance comedy writer and presenter. This episode encompasses how humorous writing and storytelling can be a catharsis and plays an important role in the healing process for some people.

Alice starts by sharing a bit about her upbringing that began in a small town in northern Wisconsin and was further shaped by her experiences in Catholic school. Alice reflects on how her writing career truly began in elementary school and how her grandmother always encouraged her creative and humorous spirit. 

We later discuss the challenges and rewards of moving from writing to performing on stage, exploring how Alice overcame her nerves to embrace storytelling and comedy. She also talks about her “Life is Better When You Laugh” workshops, which emphasize the importance of humor in mental health and overall well-being. 

This episode is filled with many of Alice’s humorous anecdotes, valuable insights on the therapeutic power of writing and laughter, some live reading from Alice’s book, ‘NUNderwear’, and tips for anyone looking to pursue storytelling or comedic writing.  

Key Topics:

• How Alice’s writing career began all the way back in 4th grade
• Reflecting on growing up in small town Wisconsin and attending catholic school
• How Alice’s writing style has evolved since elementary school
• Finding humor in writing through the help of Alice’s grandmother
• What motivated Alice to move her storytelling to the stage
• The creation of Alice’s Life Is Better When You Laugh workshops
• Humor and journaling as an important part of the healing process
• Alice’s time attending college in California
• Getting involved in writers associations and theater groups to help develop your creative voice

Connect with Alice online:

Website: https://scriptedchaos4u.com/

Workshops: https://scriptedchaos4u.com/workshops

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-f-pauser-251255243/

NUNderwear: https://scriptedchaos4u.com/nunderwear

Find more from Jill:

Email: [e-mail]

Website: https://www.thewritersrefuge.com/

Writing Coaching Programs: https://www.thewritersrefuge.com/coaching

Sign up for my free 3x weekly writing session: write to [e-mail] for ZOOM info

Special thanks to LVDY for allowing us to use their song, Saltwater, in the intro and outro of the podcast!