Becoming an Author, Creative Burnout, and Walking the Camino de Santiago with Alison Cochrun

Becoming an Author, Creative Burnout, and Walking the Camino de Santiago with Alison Cochrun

From Paths by Paths

February 26, 2026 · 60 min

About this episode

Alison Cochrun discusses her transition from high school English teacher to full-time author, exploring themes of creative burnout and personal transformation through her journey on the Camino de Santiago.

Alison Cochrun spent over a decade as a high school English teacher before a shift led her to become a full-time author. In this episode, we talk about the reality of that transition, from the adrenaline of writing her first book draft in just six days to the grueling, transformative experience of walking 200 miles on the Camino de Santiago. We dive into the messy parts of the creative process, including how she uses fiction to process her own life and how a period of severe depression and writer's block led her to the Portuguese coast. It is a conversation about burnout, the necessity of time alone, and why the hardest parts of a journey are often what make it worth doing. Follow Alison Instagram: @alisoncochrun Website: alisoncochrun.com If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with a friend, subscribing, and signing up for my newsletter at pathspodcast.com to get updates on new episodes. Connect on Instagram: @paths_pod Listen and subscribe on: Spotify Apple Podcasts

People in this episode

Guest: Alison Cochrun

Topics covered

  • becoming an author
  • creative burnout
  • Camino de Santiago
  • writing process
  • mental health

Keywords

  • writing
  • depression
  • solitude
  • transformation

Mentioned in this episode

Products: book writing, Camino de Santiago

Places: the Portuguese coast

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