Creator Spotlight: Sam Messersmith
A Certified Forest Therapy Guide Helping Others Rediscover Connection and Belonging
Creator Spotlight Questions
This Week’s Featured Creator
This week, I’m delighted to introduce Sam Messersmith, the writer behind Wandering Willow
Quick Introduction
I first discovered Sam’s Substack about a year ago and was immediately drawn to her deep connection with the natural world and her beautiful sense of belonging within it.
Sam shares herself and her creative work with a genuine, grounded authenticity. She invites readers into her community with open arms, and before long, it feels like stepping into a space that is safe, nurturing, and deeply restorative.
What shines most is her perspective on our relationship with the natural world, one that feels both grounding and deeply inspiring.
I hope you enjoy getting to know Sam as much as I have.
Conversation with Sam Messersmith
What is the heart of your Substack, and what do you hope readers experience when they spend time there?
The heart of my Substack—well, my Substack is called Wandering Willow because of a love of nature and a longing to wander. I think wandering can be done anywhere: in the inner world or the outer world. My thoughts wander quite a lot, and wandering in nature is a good way to spend some time, à la forest bathing, as I am also a Forest Therapy Guide.
The heart of it is just remembering that we are nature. We’re not part of nature; we are nature. Nature is almost always a mirror for exactly what we need, and/or it holds space for what we need. Nature is at the heart of everything that I do, and so it’s quite an inspiration for my writing as well.
I hope that readers experience some curiosity in my space. I think curiosity is a great way to live—getting curious about the natural world and our place in it. Perhaps even choosing to think differently about how we see the more-than-human world, and ourselves.
Ultimately, I want freedom, peace, safety, and connection for myself. Those are my pillars, and I hope that maybe people would experience that as well when they spend time at my Substack, Wandering Willow.
My outdoor writing space—there is always a cat nearby (or on my notebook) when I write. Han (left) and Chewy (right)
What inspired you to begin writing or creating on Substack?
This question is always one of my favorites because, in a nutshell, Forest Therapy is the reason that I’m here on Substack.
I’ve written about how Forest Therapy changed my life here. I had a bit of a burnout moment and quit my job with no safety net. There were a lot of mental health struggles at the time, and after trying a lot of different modalities and therapy, I still wasn’t finding the relief that I needed.
I went down an internet rabbit hole and found Forest Therapy. As soon as I read about it, something clicked, and I knew it was for me. I wanted to become a Forest Therapy Guide before I had even gone on a walk. Reading about the premise of forest bathing was enough to hook me, but once I actually experienced it, it was a truly mystical, magical, life-changing experience.
That experience put me on the path to becoming a certified Forest Therapy Guide. In doing that, there’s a certain return to yourself that happens. I’ve noticed that a lot of people in transitional phases of life are drawn to this work, and that was certainly true for me.
It helped me rediscover myself, come home to myself, and reawaken the writer in me.
I used to play on a typewriter as a kid before I even knew how to spell. I wrote short stories as a preteen, poems as a teenager and into my twenties. Writing has always been how I process my emotions. Then life got busy, and that part of me faded into the background.
Forest therapy gave me the space and quiet to remember who I am. It’s a deeply spiritual and powerful practice for me, and the writing came naturally from that experience.
I’d always had “work from home, writing” on my vision board, even before the pandemic. The pandemic brought the work-from-home part, and Forest Therapy brought the writing.
I’ve always had this deep urge to write. I can’t fully explain it—it’s just something I’ve always needed to do. Substack finally gave me a place to share that writing with other people. And honestly, I also thought I’d make money. Anyone who’s been here a while knows it’s possible, but it’s not easy. That’s ultimately what brought me to Substack.
Photo of me in Tazewell, TN in 2024 where I completed my Forest Therapy Guide training
Is there a topic, question, or idea that continually calls you back in your work? If so, what is it, and why does it matter to you?
The idea that continually calls me back in my work is that everything is connected. Everything is connected.
Where I feel that most strongly is in nature. Nature is the place where I remember. Nature is the place where I can listen and be taught and be held, and be accepted for who I am. It feels like home in the deepest sense of the word.
Nature is where I remember that we are connected. We are nature. We’re not only connected to nature—we are nature. In the forest, I’m connected to the trees through my breath, and I can feel that connection when I’m there amongst the trees and the grass. There’s no separation between us. Just fully experiencing that same sunlight on me and the wind on my skin, and knowing it’s all one single thread that runs through all of life.
I know that there’s also so much more to life, to the world, to the universe, and that we’re still all connected. Even the planets have their own influences on us, from the tides to astrology and sunlight. It just really reminds me that we’re all connected. Everything is connected.
For me, that also means I belong in that. I’m accepted in that, and those are threads that I’ve been pulling at all my life—to just feel like I belong.
Photo taken by me in Tazewell, TN 2024. Hearts in nature are my jam.
If your writing or creative work could make one meaningful difference in someone’s life, what would you hope that difference would be?
I hope for the things that I wish I had.
They say that there’s a loneliness epidemic, and we all feel so disconnected. For me, I struggle to feel like I belong. So I want that for myself, and I want that for everyone.
I want everyone to feel like they belong, that they’re connected to something greater. They’re connected to each other as human beings. They’re connected to the plants and animals and elements. I hope they can feel a true sense of connection and know that they belong.
They deserve to be here, on this planet, in this place, at this time. They inherently belong, and the world needs them and their gifts to be shared here. They’re here for a reason.
Me at Coopers Rock, WV in 2025. My husband is the source of the bubbles, at my request.
A Favorite Photo
This photo is of my husband and me, on September 23, 2016. We celebrated our 1st Wedding Anniversary with a paint night. It is my favorite painting we’ve created together (we’ve done many date night paintings at Painting with a Twist). Painting in a group is really fun, and I was surprised at how much my husband enjoyed painting and the process. He absolutely gushes over my work, and it’s one of my favorite things about him. These paintings hang just above our tv, and I look at them everyday.
What is something that brings you joy or peace in your everyday life outside of writing?
Our two cats bring me a lot of joy and peace every day, and also some frustration too if I’m being honest haha. They keep me grounded, and mindful. They remind me to take breaks and play. They also remind me to eat lunch when I get way too focused on a task and forget to eat. Their silly antics make me laugh. They always have to come with me when I go out on the deck, even if I’m just watering the plants for 5 minutes. Tending to our potted zinnias and marigolds has brought me a lot of joy this year too.
Featured Article
Birdsong is a Basic Need
It felt like a homecoming—a softening, a small opening to wonder, and a beautiful reminder of how healing nature can be.
Click the link below to read:
Creator Contact Information
Gather in community once a month to share what is lighting you up at:
Publication Name: Wandering Willow
Anything else you’d like readers to know?
If you’re longing for a gentler relationship with yourself and the more-than-human world, I’d love to welcome you to Wandering Willow. I’m also slowly growing into offering online forest therapy experiences, alongside my writing, for those who feel called to remember their connection with nature.
If This Resonates With You
One of the most meaningful ways to support a creator is simply to read their work and stay connected to it.
If something here speaks to you, I encourage you to take a moment to explore Sam’s Substack.
You can also support their work in small but powerful ways:
Subscribe to their publication so you don’t miss new writing
Leave a comment to let them know what resonated
Restack or share a piece you loved
Pass their work along to someone who might need it
These small actions are what help independent writers continue creating and what make spaces like Substack feel alive.
Interested in Being Featured?
Creator Spotlight exists to celebrate writers, artists, and creators whose work brings meaning, reflection, creativity, and connection to the Substack community.
If you’d like to be considered for a future feature, feel free to reach out. I’m always open to discovering new voices and sharing work that deserves to be seen.
You may also enjoy this earlier reflection on lifting voices and supporting one another within the Substack community:
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Thank you for being part of a space where creators support creators and thoughtful work is shared and celebrated. Your presence here means the world to me.
With much love and gratitude,
Lis 💖
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What a joy to read! I loved learning more about Sam’s journey AND seeing the fabulous images to bring that it to life. The photo of you and your husband with the painting is so sweet. I’m feeling inspired to find something like that for me and mine to do. Bravo Lis and Sam! Thank you for a beautiful start to my Friday 🫶.