“The Way It Felt” with Erin Perkins
Erin Perkins was diagnosed at 34 with Stage II, Triple Negative breast cancer. She is a volunteer, writer, Young Breast Cancer Project board member, and stay-at-home parent. Erin is a self-published author of Young Breast Cancer Your Story and Mine: A Compact Guide.
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The Way It Felt
Fear doesn’t always arrive as a thought.
Sometimes it settles into the body first.
In today’s episode of The Burn, Erin Perkins takes us into the stairwell moment—the pause between a phone call and a future—where fear became physical, memory collapsed time, and motherhood collided with a childhood wound she didn’t know her body still carried.
Diagnosed at 34 with Stage II Triple Negative breast cancer, Erin traces how the terror of possibly leaving her young children reawakened the grief of being left herself. This is a story about the places fear lives—in the stomach, the hands, the breath—and how love insists on staying present inside the same body that is afraid.
This episode invites you to listen not just with your ears, but with your body—to notice what it remembers, and what it still carries.
Writing Prompt Inspired by Today’s Episode
Set your timer for ten minutes, write without stopping or editing yourself. There is magic in leaning into that time. The prompt is:
The way it felt…
Erin writes in detail about how fear, loss, and love lived in her body. The stairwell moment. The grip of her children’s hands. Even a stuffed dog—each sensation etched itself into her memory.
I invite you to write about a moment you felt so deeply in your body that it still lingers today. It might be fear, love, or relief. Where did you feel it? What does your body remember that your mind sometimes forgets?
If you find that you write best with a good prompt, check out our free prompts and learn about our writing workshops.
Happy writing! Until next time, take good care.
Episode Links
Read a transcript of this episode.
Purchase the “Mothers & Daughters” issue of Wildfire Journal.
More about our episode sponsor iRise Above Foundation.
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