Episode 170 · February 4, 2025
Casie Brim creates an old-fashioned valentine: Journaling with your partner
with Casie Brim, Trauma nurse practitioner and author of 'Your Turn: A Journal to Create with Your Beloved'
32 min
Casie Brim creates an old-fashioned valentine: Journaling with your partner
Never miss an episode
In this episode
In this episode I sit down with Casie Brim, a trauma nurse and first-time author who created something I think is just perfect for February: a couple's journal called "Your Turn: A Journal to Create with Your Beloved." Casie's day job has her seeing lives change in a single instant, and that perspective is exactly what inspired her to encourage couples to slow down and truly connect. The time is now, as she says — and she means it.
We talk about how Casie found her calling as a trauma nurse, all the way back to a serendipitous high school conversation, and how she climbed from nurse assistant to educator to nurse practitioner with a doctorate. Then we get into the journal itself — how it grew out of the love notes she and her husband passed back and forth while dating in a little military-issued notebook, and how all three of her daughters got involved, from cover art in Canva to writing their own heartfelt prompts.
I love that this conversation is really about connection — the kind you can't get from a text or a Snapchat. Whether you're newly dating or empty nesters looking to rekindle something, Casie shares why writing things down and handing them back to your partner can open up deeper conversations. And for anyone with a creative project sitting on their heart, she shares the encouragement to just go for it. Keep going.
Key takeaways
- The time is now. Casie's work in trauma showed her how fast life can change, and that urgency is exactly why she stopped waiting and finally created the project on her heart.
- Genuine connection is worth protecting. A text or a Snapchat can't carry tone or depth the way a written note or a real conversation can — the journal is designed to bring that back.
- Writing things down and handing them to your partner solidifies who they are and what they hope for, and it sparks deeper conversations long after the entry is written.
- The journal works for any couple — newly dating, long-married, or empty nesters wanting to rekindle and refocus after the busyness of life.
- Hard conversations early matter. Casie credits talking through the not-fun topics (kids, finances, the future) for the marriage she has today.
- If a creative project is on your heart, just do it. Critiques will come, but there will be more positive than negative — so let it be said and keep going.
- Surround yourself with the right people: supportive friends and a partner who say 'write it, do it, go for it' make all the difference.
- Thriving isn't always the next task. Casie's word for the year leans toward 'center' or 'focus' — savoring the moment she worked so hard to reach instead of rushing to what's next.
“A culmination of events made me think of this journal. I see people's lives change in one instant, one second, one decision. The time is now.”
“It is normal and expected that your partner is going to irritate you, that they'll have habits you don't like — but that doesn't mean quit.”
“It really solidifies who they are and what they hope and dream for the future.”
“There will be critiques. It's coming. Oh, well — just do it. You know it's good, you know it made you happy, and who cares about the rest.”
Resources mentioned
About Casie
Trauma nurse practitioner and author of 'Your Turn: A Journal to Create with Your Beloved'
Casie Brim is a trauma nurse practitioner who has served on the trauma team since 2011 and holds a doctorate, with a background that includes work in surgical and neurotrauma ICU and teaching nurse practitioner students. A lifelong lover of language and writing, she created 'Your Turn: A Journal to Create with Your Beloved,' a couple's journal inspired by the love notes she and her husband passed back and forth while dating. She and her husband have three daughters, all of whom helped create the journal.
Prefer another app? Open this episode on Spotify.
Free community
Connect, learn, and grow — together.
Listening is where it starts. The free community is where it sticks — Nancy, the conversations, and a circle of women cheering each other on. It's free to join, and there's a seat for you.
Join the free community →Keep listening
Episode 171 · Feb 11, 2025
Show notesDawn Starr: A Shining Star in Mary Kay Cosmetics
Early in her career, Dawn Starr thought she had the perfect job until one day her daughter’s daycare called and told her that her daughter was sick and needed to be picked up.
Episode 169 · Jan 28, 2025
Show notesBrittanie McCoy: Stepping Out in Faith
Brittanie McCoy doesn't do anything half-way. Since being called to start a ministry, she has jumped in with both feet and put her heart into creating a space (& soon to be place/physical location) for others to know God.
Episode 172 · Feb 18, 2025
Show notesJill Stitt: How Praying for a New Testimony resulted in Leaning into her Gifts and Sharing Some Sparkle Along the Way
Jill Stitt is Co-Owner of Colonial Title with her husband, Keith, and up until a few months ago, she was a silent partner.