Meet Joey Doherty | Author & Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joey Doherty and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joey, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I used to glorify comfort, trying to make my life as easy as possible. That wasn’t fulfilling, so now I try to take risks as often as my intuition calls for it. It sure isn’t the easy path, but it is exciting. I still value creating a solid foundation to support myself, and it’s from this foundation that I’m able to take big leaps. This impacts my writing a great deal, because getting out of my comfort zone is like watering my creativity.

I try to focus on cultivating a life where inspiration naturally bubbles up. A life where a poem is bound to come crashing in. A life with enough risk taking and enough of the mundane and enough devotion connecting the two where naturally, I write. Writing a great poem or a great book is no longer the goal. The goal is now to live a life in such a way that great poems and great books naturally flow through me.

The pull to do something risky doesn’t always make sense to me. It rarely makes sense, actually. But the pull is undeniable and I’m always glad when I follow those holy breadcrumbs. This also makes my writing more internally resonant, because I’m writing from experience rather than ideals. There’s truth in words that unravel from messy unadulterated life, and those words are alive and they meet the messy unadulterated reader who gets to run with it however they choose. I don’t expect those reading my books to be perfect, and I no longer expect myself to be a perfect writer or person, for that matter. This loosening of my grip on life has helped me take more risks, both in life and my writing.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have self-published five poetry books. No formal writing education, only a curious mind and a desire to say what cannot be said. I’ve learned a great deal along the way and I’ll share the main lessons here, which will also serve as reminders for myself:

Be your own audience. Write what feels good to you. Write about the topics and experiences that interest you. Write about the questions that perplex you. Write about things that make you want to continue writing, otherwise, what’s the point? Writing a book isn’t always easy, but it is meant to be meaningful. When you’re able to tap into your authentic voice, this nourishes you and whatever readers find you. If you’re writing to be famous, your writing will miss crucial pieces of yourself in order to appeal to the masses. Be careful with your art. Hold it close to your heart. Treat it like a child. That is when you produce your best and most aligned work. Finally, you are only as good of a writer as you are willing to face yourself honestly. So, get to know yourself, both the pieces you show everyone and the pieces you keep locked away. Allow more and more of yourself to be revealed with each poem.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m not much a city guy (and neither are my friends), so I would focus on taking them to my favorite parks, including Rhododendron Cove Nature Preserve, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, Clear Creek Metro Park, and Glen Helen Nature Preserve. To get a glimpse into the city life around here, I would take them to Brother’s Drake Meadery for music, especially Jazz Wednesdays. I would also squeeze in another park (lol) that’s near downtown, which is Scioto Audubon Metro Park for rock climbing and slacklining. Finally, Staufs in Grandview is a classic for coffee and Northstar Café is a classic for food.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are countless teachers I could thank. God, friends, family, trees, rocks, my childhood river, etc. Although when it comes to this season of life and the topic of risk taking that I spoke to earlier, what comes to mind is the book, The Way of a Pilgrim. I read it recently and was deeply impacted by the main charter’s unceasing devotion to going wherever his intuition was leading him.

Website: www.joeydoherty.com

Instagram: @joeydoherty

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-doherty-lpc-b31b52b2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joeygdoherty