Writing a Healing Memoir/Spiritual Autobiography TeleWorkshop Level 1
Writing a Healing Memoir /Spiritual Autobiography TeleWorkshop — Level One
Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D., President of NAMW
8-Week Workshop
April 6, 13, 27
May 4, 11, 18
June 1, 8 (Exact time to be determined by enrollees)
Fee $295 includes book and CD. Credit cards accepted. | Add to cart
NAMW Members: $275. Please see special membership coupon in the Members Section.
Writing a memoir or autobiography is a powerful process of self-exploration, healing, and integration. In this course (taught by a therapist who uses writing to heal), you will learn how to capture the stories that have made you who you are—the moments of meaning in your life. You may want to write to heal, to explore your inner life, or to leave a legacy.
Here you will be supported to write the stories that you may not have told anyone before. The course is confidential, and everyone agrees to keep each other’s stories private and contained. You will find out how writing helps to heal, and find out how to release your inner voice. We will discuss the various roles in the family that challenge the memoir writer. How the “I” narrator and the “I” character help to integrate the parts of yourself from the past. You will learn about emotional themes, and discuss “what is truth”; You will learn how to write scenes that show more than tell in several turning point stories, and understand how to cope with both inner and outer critics. The class is designed for beginning and intermediate writers.
Class Description
Our lessons and prompts will be based on my book, Becoming Whole: Writing Your Healing Story and writing exercises. You will post your stories in a secure NAMW location to be read and commented upon. I will post the assignments there too. As a backup communication, we can use email. I will comment on each person’s work each week.
Each week at a time we agree upon, there will be the “class” phone call where we “meet” to talk about each other’s work, offer comments, and get acquainted. It’s almost like being in the same room.
I ask that a safe space be created by committing to full confidentiality when reading the work posted in this class. Feedback needs to be supportive, with an eye to the visions and the goals of the writers. Issues of grammar and spelling will be addressed only to point out an error you might not have seen, but the essence of the writing is what we are looking for—your intention to write things you may not have written before.
Class Outline
This will be an 8-week class. You might spend 2-4 hours each week reading and writing. Book chapters will present the text about the subject matter that will help you to think about your writing through the lens of healing. Extra prompts and exercises will be offered for each lesson, as people have different needs in writing a memoir, and it helps to have many to choose from.
1. Week One: Introduction. Writing to Heal; Research; Witnessing; Themes.
2. Week Two: Writing from the Heart. The inner and outer critic; Vignettes.
3. Week Three: Taking care of yourself. Dark and light stories; How healing works in writing.
4. Week Four: Family psychology and roles. Turning points.
5. Week Five: Writing Your Truth. Narration and Character “I” voice. Scenes.
6. Week Six: Creating your timeline. The arc of story, the arc of your life.
7. Week Seven: Editing. Creative revisioning—seeing anew.
8. Week Eight: Your Writing life. Time and inspiration for writing, musing, creating.
Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D., author of Don’t Call Me Mother and Becoming Whole: Writing Your Healing Story—finalist for the 2008 ForeWord Book of the Year Award—has been a therapist in Berkeley for over twenty-nine years. Dr. Myers combines her background in art, clinical work, and writing (she received her MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College) to offer unique memoir workshops and trainings in the Bay Area and nationally. She is president of the National Association of Memoir Writers, and is on the board of Story Circle Network.
Endorsements for this workshop:
I never could have imagined the depth of emotional and spiritual benefits I would receive from Linda Joy’s on-line writing class. I have been amazed at the profound heart opening and newly created space within myself. Linda Joy’s course has enriched my life in unexpected ways and taught me the skills I needed. – Dawn Novotny
Linda Joy Myers has an amazing capacity as a healer, especially in teaching how writing can create change. I have never worked with anyone with greater compassion for women and their stories. Linda Joy touches just the right point with understanding and empathy, and is a skilled and talented writer too. She has the whole package for teaching writing and healing. – Helen Lowery
The National Association of Memoir Writers (NAMW) invites memoir writers from all over the world to connect, learn, and get inspired. The goal of our organization is to help memoir writers feel empowered with purpose and energy to begin and develop their life stories into a publishable memoir. The mission of NAMW is to support you in your quest to write personal stories, leave a legacy, create a spiritual autobiography, and heal through writing. We are here to help connect, inspire, and support memoir writers from all over the world.
H. Raven Rose on Mon, 12th Jan 2009 10:18 pm
This class looks wonderful; I recommend you add the code to your site to make pages highlighting classes, and blog articles, postable to facebook and elsewhere. Best Regards, H