Writing Salon
Fall Writing Salon
A Taste of Memory: Share Your Food Story!
This FREE Writing Salon is open to all our students in Guided Autobiography Levels 1, 2, and 3, their friends, and family. We will meet on zoom.
You can join us, even if you do not have time to write a narrative of your own. We would love to see you again on zoom.
In the Writing Salon we will hear six of your stories. Due to time constraints, just six students will read their stories to all of us. We will randomly select six stories that are submitted.
This Writing Salon theme is Food Memories.
🌟 Write a Story Using All Your Senses 🌟
We invite you to craft an 800–1,000 word narrative about a food, meal, or dining experience that stirs deep memories for you.
✨ Themes You Can Explore:
A childhood memory of a treasured tradition
A food that transports you back to your roots and origins
A unique blend of cultures in a modern-day celebration
A beloved family recipe passed down through generations
🍲 Ideas to Inspire You:
The favorite dish you learned from your mother or grandmother
A festival meal from Passover, Easter, Christmas, Diwali, Ramadan, or another special occasion that holds cherished memories
A birthday meal where you got to choose your dream dinner
The gathering of fall apples for the iconic apple pie cooling on your window ledge
👩🍳 Share a Recipe!
We ask you to reflect on a particular dish with a recipe that has meaning to you. Bring your story to life with the sensory details of cooking, eating, and sharing food—the sights, smells, tastes, and emotions that make it unforgettable.
📚 Why Join?
Your contribution will be part of a collection of stories and recipes—perfect for giving as a unique gift or cherishing for years to come!
Register below and start writing today!
Submit your stories to The Story Guides by November 5th, 2024.
We will choose six stories for the Writing Salon, and contact those students prior to the workshop.
Looking forward to your registration and your stories.
Leigh & Lily
The Story Guides
The Wisdom Years
The Wisdom Years: Aging with Purpose and Creativity
The years after age 55 are often described as our “wisdom years,” yet many don’t feel sagacious or enlightened. We usually ask ourselves, “What gives my life meaning and purpose?” “How can I reignite passion and align my life with what matters most?” “What do I have left to do?” We'll reflect on this period of our lives by writing and sharing using the Guided Autobiography method, focusing on six wisdom themes. We'll challenge assumptions about aging and create an actionable roadmap for the coming years to develop a renewed sense of purpose and legacy.
Note: There are no pre-requisites – all writing levels are welcome.
Details and Registration Below.
GAB Instructor Training
Online Guided Autobiography (GAB) Instructor Training offers an in-depth 8 week training for those who want to learn the tools for teaching Guided Autobiography and earn extra income or to adapt the GAB method to their professional careers. The online live instructor training is available to individuals from all over the world, and offered at different times throughout the year at different time zones to accommodate as many students as possible. Participants write and share their own two-page life stories on GAB themes throughout the 8-week program while learning how to develop, schedule, publicize and run GAB groups within their own communities.
Throughout the program, you will learn by doing. You will write on the themes for GAB 1, and share your written work each week with your fellow students. You will also receive information and suggestions on how to fill your classes, troubleshoot, and create a viable business model. You’ll receive in-depth training on how to conduct your own Guided Autobiography courses. Each class session is 2 hours in length, plus a one-hour pre-recorded session providing you with a total of 24 hours of advanced instruction and group experience. There is also an opportunity for time with Birren Center Director Cheryl Svensson.
Upon finishing the GAB Instructor Training Program you’ll receive a certificate of completion.
Can you envision teaching Guided Autobiography in your community? Perhaps you want to incorporate the GAB program into your personal practice. The next live online eight-week training session is SEPTEMBER 23rd 2022 and taught by Instructor Trainers’ Leigh and Lily. These classes fill up quickly and space is limited to ensure a personalized experience and a small group setting for maximum learning. Email us to find out when the next session is starting.
Certified Instructor Training Program
You’ll receive in-depth training on how to conduct your own Guided Autobiography courses. Each class session is 2 hours in length, plus a one-hour pre-recorded session providing you with a total of 24 hours of advanced instruction and group experience. You will also have the opportunity to have a one-on-one discussion with Guided Autobiography Birren Center Director, Cheryl Svensson who has taught more than 500 students world wide, how to teach GAB to others.
Sign up for the next session of Instructor Training.
FEE: $600.00 US plus $21 credit card and process fees.
Hosted via Zoom.
Story Builder- Guided Autobiography Level 2
This 6-week workshop is designed for those who have taken Story Builder-Guided Autobiography 1 and want to continue their writing in a supportive community. The Story Builder will focus on writing more in-depth GAB themes and developing your narrative voice. It is ideal for someone who wants to hone their writing, develop their writing voice, and continue exploring the stories that are the fabric of their life. This workshop allows you to submit pages and receive written feedback from Instructors. Prerequisite is Story Catcher-Guided Autobiography Level 1.
TBA 6 consecutive Weeks Fee: $249.USHosted via Zoom.
Story Endings
Story Endings- Guided Autobiography Level 3
Story Endings is the perfect way to finish your memoir. This 6-week workshop is designed for those who have completed GAB 1 and Gab 2 and now wish to find the threads to pull their memoir together. It is also helpful for writers who are looking for an accountability partner in their creative journey. This workshop will help you to design your story arc and find the necessary elements to create a finished product. Students will have the opportunity to work on short-form pieces and personal essays and read them in a supportive environment.
TBA
Fee: $99.USHosted via Zoom.
Micro Memoir Workshop
“Omission is a Form of Creation”
Creating the 100-word story is a great exercise for Guided Autobiography students to learn to tell the story by what's left out. In this workshop, we will learn how brevity creates a different narrative by telling a story with much omitted. This is an excellent exercise to make every word count, without the pressure of making every sentence perfect. The tiny story borders on poetry and teaches writers how to rip the epiphany out of memory.
One thing the micro-memoir is particularly suited for is an exploration of a moment, particularly a moment that seems small or unimportant, but, when viewed from the right perspective, with the right attention, reveals itself to be central to identity. What are the moments that make us who we are?
The Art of Micro Memoir
In this three hour workshop we will explore the different styles of a Micro-Memoir, learn first hand from a renowned author and lecturer on Micro-Memoirs, and then share our own micro-memoirs that can be used to add texture and variety to your Life Story. All are invited to attend.
Offered once a year Hosted via Zoom.
