Writing to Wisdom, Writing to Wonder: A Weekend Memoir Workshop

 Saturday, July 29 & Sunday July 30, Harmony Woods, 10am to 4pm.

“We are are…on our own individual, lonely, heroic journey to discover who we are, where we are, and what our relationship is to this body, this life, and this mystery in which we find ourselves.”

Pat Schneider, How the Light Gets In

Just as our hearts want to cultivate wisdom, our writing selves aim to speak what matters most. Ironically, words can lead us to silence, a greater listening to the dignity of our whole selves and a brave leaping into the unknown. In that listening and receptivity, we write until we surprise ourselves and honor what comes forth. Accessing a different part of our brain than our daily tasks, writing can be a rich arena to explore insight, reflection, and the cultivation of wisdom.

Autobiography and memoir are different creatures: autobiography is the story of a life (the rich and famous get to write them); memoir is a story from a life, a major theme from the journey. There is much to celebrate in a life’s journey, and there is also inevitable loss.

Our forum will be a place for the intimacy of both kinds of stories—the joys and the wounds—respecting the privacy of individuals while supporting one another.

Together, we’ll:

* Use various methods to bring forth a multitude of ideas, themes, and stories from your life and history to mine for writing for this class and in the future.

*Listen and leap! Writing is an act of discovery, not repetition.

*Discern—separating the gems from the noise. Writing reveals the struggle between the personal and the universal.

*Crafting our words to make them meaningfully connect to others.

About Sarah

With a BA in religious studies and an MFA in poetry, Sarah’s words have been published in various literary journals and anthologies; she is the author of six books on world wisdom traditions published by Skinner House Press; and she has written feature articles for Tricycle Magazine (“When my Son Became a Monk,” “Lost at Sea,” and “Minefulness: A Case Study.” Her forthcoming memoir, Set Adrift: My Family’s Disappearance in the Bermuda Triangle, will be released in June of 2023 by 55 Fathoms Press. Along with reading, writing, meditating, and being sporty outdoors, Sarah’s favorite activity is to guide writers towards making their words matter—both to themselves and to others.

What You’ll Need:

It takes honesty and courage to try and wrestle the truth of experience onto the page. Please bring a writing pad and pen, and, if you have one, a laptop computer is helpful.

Please bring a pot-luck lunch item to share. In your consideration of what to bring, be aware that we may be with some people who are vegetarians and/or are gluten-free.

PS: The discipline of writing requires momentum, and a writing community is the best way to spur each other on. Maybe, just maybe, there’ll be a writing group birthed from our time together.

LIMIT of 15 participants   $100 for the weekend