create a ripple effect
writing to heal workshop this saturday
For the past few months I’ve been coaching a group of mothers and birth workers through the process of writing about their birth experiences.
Last night I was working with one of the mothers who had a traumatic birth experience twelve years ago, and she said this is the first time she’s written her story out this way. She described getting the words on the page as healing and restorative. She said that putting into words what she’d been through, what she’d overcome, was empowering. She talked about how good it feels to use that power to share her story and create a ripple effect that will radiate outward to raise awareness and save lives.
Y’all. I just love my work. Facilitating and witnessing the healing power of storytelling again and again. I got this particular opportunity through a black-owned communications agency that I contract with that is owned by one of my oldest friends. Heather’s team of creatives and consultants of color partners with organizations to tell diverse stories and increase the visibility of important issues. Heather is a visionary, always has been, and I’m incredibly proud of her.
Anyway, this storytelling project is part of the First Steps and Beyond initiative whose mission is to address challenges to positive health outcomes for Black mothers and babies in the Pittsburgh area, where fetal deaths are two times more likely among black women compared to white women. Part of accomplishing their mission is elevating the voices of black mothers and birthing people whose lived experiences contribute to the development of policies that are more favorable to black women and families.
Advocacy is one of the big motivators that lead us to collect our courage and tell our stories.
I’ve worked on many projects like this in recent years, coaching educators, artists, community-based organizations, non-profit teams, and employee resource groups who are writing to create change and reshape narratives. For each group, I teach workshops and coach individuals on writing in a self-healing way, so they can then structure their stories to emotionally connect, inform, advocate, and inspire action.
Want to talk to me about working with your team or organization? You can contact me here.
I’ll be sharing my approach to writing to heal this Saturday from 3-5 pm et on Zoom.
In Writing to Heal: An Expressive Writing Workshop, we will explore self-healing and cathartic storytelling through writing. You will learn my approach to the expressive writing method, a well-researched practice that leads to creative expansion and healing narratives for adversity, trauma, grief, and loss.
Writing to Heal is a workshop for writers who want to:
+ Learn how to explore complicated experiences for storytelling in an emotionally safe way
+ Process hard things while improving mental and physical wellness
+ Write to heal for themselves and to share stories that help others heal
+ Lay the groundwork for an ongoing, restorative writing practice
+ Find a deeper level of self-expression, creative courage and confidence through writing
This workshop is free to my clients, Inner Story members, and paid Substack subscribers and open to all for $40 drop-in fee.
Paid subscribers you can RSVP below.