Through our stories, we process what happened to us. This is some of my process.

publications

Here, you’ll find the stories and reflections that define my journey, my work, and the transformations I help others create. As a storyteller, writing coach, and advocate for personal growth, I believe that through telling our stories, we can break free of old patterns, find healing, and grow into the people we were meant to be.

Whether through memoir, workshops, or personal writing, my mission is to help you uncover and write the story that will inspire your next chapter.

Dive in, explore, and let these works spark new insights in your own life.

Shanti Brien, writer, author, mentor. ShantiBrien.com

My Memoir: Almost Innocent

Write your story, change your life - ShantiBrien.com

Shanti Brien smiling while holding her published book titled "Almost Innocent."

my insider’s account of the messy, tragic, and often unjust legal system in America

From defunding the police to the college admission scandal, from the national rise in crime to seditious mobs escaping prosecution, criminal justice is one of the most urgent issues of our time. Part memoir, part political commentary, Almost Innocent details the stories of nine legal cases and goes behind the headlines to break down the dichotomies our country grapples with—us versus them, good versus bad, guilt versus innocence, Black versus White—and challenges us to explore the humanity in between.

Weaving stories of the obviously guilty to the surprisingly innocent, Almost Innocent is a love letter to my clients. Though their profiles are as individual as their sentences—the teenage gang member whose gun never fired, the victim of the world’s most vindictive HOA, the soft-spoken three-strikes rapist, and the get-away driver—all touched my life in surprising ways. They saved me from stupid mistakes, strengthened my football-ravaged marriage, and taught me about humility, redemption, and humanity.

Almost Innocent is an intimate portrait of the criminal justice system, offering suggestions for what it could be: more fair, more humane, and more just.

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“Shanti Brien asks the two urgent questions of our time: is anyone entirely innocent, and why is it so easy for us to draw lines between us and them? Almost Innocent is a deft but humble investigation into who is worthy of compassion and where justice may have lost its way.”

—Kelly Corrigan, New York Times bestselling author of The Middle Place, Glitter and Glue, and Tell Me More
“Shanti Brien takes us on a fast-paced look at the strange and often infuriating criminal justice system where guilt or innocence doesn’t seem to matter. While reading the fascinating details of her ripped-from-the-headlines cases, I realized the rare importance of the lessons she shares about the unfairness of the legal system. I was also surprised to find myself so absorbed in the fantastic story of a young lawyer finding herself in the legal system that I devoured Almost Innocent in three sittings.”

—David Meerman Scott, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Fanocracy
“Shanti Brien’s Almost Innocent is a beautifully written memoir that shines a brilliant and authentic light on the lives of the accused and those who fight for them.”

—Julie Barton, New York Times bestselling author of Dog Medicine: How My Dog Saved Me From Myself

more publications

My Chat with Gisele on Marriage and “My Turn” - Medium.com

My teenage son is pushing me away. I'm heartbroken and proud of him. - Business Insider (2024)

Being a Native woman during Thanksgiving is complicated; I can still find purpose and joy - Today Show Magazine (2024)

I searched for home and my identity as a native woman; I ended up in a Margaritaville Hotel- Medium.com

After 40-years of friendship and a year of fighting cancer, I worried we still didn't know each other - Kelly Corrigan Wonders podcast (2025)

OpEd: Don't Ask How to Get Out of Jury Duty, Ask How to Get In - Mercury News (2020)

“But a funny thing can happen when you finally get what you want; you realize you were really searching for something else all along. What I really meant by “my turn” wasn’t just about my job or career; it was about my marriage.”

— Shanti Brien, My Chat with Gisele on Marriage and “My Turn” - Medium.com