Sleeping Snakes and the Lake with Katie Murray

Katie Murray was diagnosed at 41 with Stage II, ER+ lobular breast cancer. She is a writer, teacher, and lover of all things green and natural. Katie is a mum of four children and is most at home in her garden, reading, sowing seeds, planting and tending her little patch of earth, or swimming in the lake. Katie lives in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with her husband and two (younger) children.

Katie reads her essay “Sleeping Snakes and the Lake” from the 2025 Living Well issue of Wildfire Journal. Her piece offers a meditation on healing—not the kind defined by treatment end dates or clean scans, but the slow, quiet kind that arrives unexpectedly years later, in moments as small and tender as noticing baby eyelashes.

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 Sleeping Snakes and the Lake

"For the first time in a long time, I felt hope."⁠

In this episode of The Burn, Katie Murray returns to tell the truth about survivorship beyond the milestones. Diagnosed at 41 with Stage II hormone positive invasive lobular breast cancer, Katie reflects on panic attacks, hidden shame, open water swimming, and the unexpected moment she realized her body was still healing—five years later—through the return of her baby eyelashes.⁠

"It made me feel safe: my body was still only beginning to shift and recover enough to grow some baby eyelashes, so what else was to come? What other wonders were in store for me?"⁠

This conversation moves through the quiet aftermath of cancer: the pressure to function, the grief tucked into ordinary drawers, and the long timeline of becoming someone new.⁠

This episode is for anyone who has wondered if they’re “doing survivorship right,” anyone still carrying hidden shame, anyone learning that healing may arrive slowly, softly, and entirely on its own timeline.⁠

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Writing Prompt Inspired by Today’s Episode

Set your timer for eight minutes, write without stopping or editing yourself. There is magic in leaning into that time. The prompt is:

There was a time I thought I was done healing…

I invite you to start here and let that sentence finish itself. What changed for you after that moment? What does healing look like for you now—in your body, your emotions, your identity?

I think most of us have a moment when we believe we’re done with something, only to realize there’s still more unfolding. So write toward what surprised you.

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.

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Episode Links

Read a transcript of this episode.

Purchase the 2025 “Living Well” issue of Wildfire Journal.

Find Katie on Instagram.

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