Welcome, friends and fellow seekers of the Good True Beautiful. I'm glad you're here.
My Story
Hi, I'm Michael. I'm the author of The Pearlsong Refounding, an epic fantasy tetralogy that’s taken me a truly epic amount of time to write. In the midst of that decades-long work, I’ve also written several other books and essays—on spirituality, leadership, and personal development. I’ve also written a fair bit of curriculum for both young people and adults, dabbled in poetry, built a successful career as a coach for leaders and teams (www.michaelwarden.com), and even created a training community for men that I’m really proud of (www.thebraveheartmen.com). These days I divide my time between writing, coaching, and sharing stories from the road, where I currently live in my van named Van Gogh.
Yeah, I know: “eclectic.” But you know, when you’re both INFJ and Enneagram Type 4, a certain amount of quirkiness just comes with the territory.
Through all my professional wanderings, though, one passion has remained constant: Writing. Writing has always been my first love. I wrote my first “novel” when I was 10. It was a rousing affair about a ragtag group of strangers who were the sole escapees from an alien ambush takeover of Earth, and it was their job to rescue the planet. There was a salty ship’s captain, his dunce of a first mate, a rich older couple, an actress, a professor, and a farm girl…
Hmm…sound familiar? Well. maybe not. You're probably too young. Anyway, I didn’t see it until I was six chapters in, and then only when my schoolmate called it out after he read the opening scene: “Dude. That’s Gilligan’s Island in space! Ha ha ha ha ha!”
Now that I think on it, that’s not such a bad concept, is it? But back then, I was devastated. My first attempt at writing a real story, and it turned out to be a total rip off of a TV sitcom. Ah, the humanity.
I’m glad to say it didn’t stop me from writing, but it did stop me from sharing what I wrote with other humans. I kept my writing on the down low for years after that. Even when I got my degree in writing, and went on to work for a book publishing house as an editor, and later, as a managing editor, I would still hold back my own words from public display, opting to write books that other people paid me to write—a pen for hire. A lot of the stuff I wrote in those years ended up being about leadership development and team dynamics, and in time my study of those topics took me into the field of professional coaching. As a result, I’ve spent a fair chunk of the last 20 years training and coaching leaders and artists (including writers and other influencers), helping them clarify their identity and passion, and bring their gift fully into the world. I'm a certified graduate of the Co-Active Training Institute (a premiere school for coaching in the U.S.), and am also trained in Relationship Intelligence and Systems Work through the Center for Right Relationship. I've got a half dozen other specialized coaching certifications under my belt now, and am constantly expanding my skills in transformational work. I'm really passionate about helping other people become who they're meant to be, and I really believe in coaching as a catalyst for that positive transformation. I've seen the powerful change and growth it can bring to any person or team willing to do the work.
In my off hours, though, I kept on writing, year after year, until at long last I was ready to finally publish the completed tetralogy of The Pearlsong Refounding: Gideon’s Dawn, Waymaker, The Song That Shatters and The Word That Prevails. To say I’m excited to share it with you is a massive understatement. I’ve done my best to capture in print this epic tale that’s been unfolding in my head and heart for all these years. I truly hope it brings you as much enjoyment and meaning as it has brought me.
Here are some of the places I hang out online:
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My substack, “The Sojournist”: michaeldwarden.substack.com
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My coaching website: michaelwarden.com
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Instagram: @the.sojournist
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YouTube: www.youtube.com/@SojournistActual
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Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/pearlsong
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