Writing Sorrow and Solace

Writing Sorrow and Solace

In September 2021, just three weeks before I stopped seeing patients in the clinic, I wrote in response to a poem titled “Things That Can Be Lost.” I wasn’t consciously thinking about the imminent loss of relationships with my patients. At first, I wrote about my...
Narrative Threads

Narrative Threads

In September 2021, I met with my memoir group. We had been meeting together for a year to get our first drafts written. The prompt was a familiar William Stafford poem, “The Way It Is.”     My writing that day gave me insight into what my memoir was about....
How to Be an Authentic Clown

How to Be an Authentic Clown

About five years ago, I attended a Professional Training for AWA facilitators. We were an energetic group, and we all had a vital thing in common. We wanted to help people write and heal through their writing.     A friend, Teegan Mannion, gave a...
Staying Safe on the Learning Curve

Staying Safe on the Learning Curve

  The members of the writing group I facilitate have been together for six months. And the safety of the group is up to me. I no longer consider myself a freshman facilitator. I am a sophomore, or as my father called them, wise morons. The word sophomore derives...
Happiness Revisited

Happiness Revisited

In this week, seven years ago, I posted an entry called Happiness: Finding the Way. Yesterday, I wrote in an offering from Write Around the World for Amherst Writers & Artists. There are sessions going on until May 31. I was given a writing prompt that caused me...