November 10-12, 2004 (Wednesday-Friday)
In many ways, our life stories are our lives. Writing our memoirs is creative, puts our lives in perspective, adds to social history, repays our debts to others, leads to release and peace, and gives us a jumping off place for the rest of our lives. It lets us relive good experiences and come to grips with bad ones, so it’s therapeutic (and a lot cheaper than therapy).
During this workshop we will learn how to focus, develop our writing style, and get information and strategies on resources and ways to publish. Sharing with others the parts of our writing we choose can be inspirational, energizing, and fun. We will write in various genres to get the feel of them, and our autobiographies will be underway when we return home. This could be the most elegant and beautiful gift you give the people you love.
The workshop is for beginning writers as well as more experienced ones. Those who would like to lead memoir-writing workshops are welcome to come to learn this skill from a pro. We begin with dinner at 6:00 on Wednesday and go through lunch on Friday, the same length as our weekend programs, so the cost is the same, though cost reductions are available for those on a fixed income (please ask). Bring your receptivity and imagination, a large notebook, pens and, if you have them, pictures of yourself and loved ones at various stages in your life. Ruth Harriet Jacobs has vast experience leading workshops. Sociologist, gerontologist, poet, playwright, fiction and nonfiction writer, professor, pioneer, and counselor, she is former chairperson of the Sociology Department at Clark University, a researcher at the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, and visiting professor at several colleges. She also wears buttons like “Youth is a gift of nature. Aging is a work of art.” and shares insights like “Rage is in the middle of the word outrageous.” Her mission is to inspire others to explore the many fulfilling endeavors open to older men and women. Courageous, compassionate, wise, witty, and extraordinarily articulate, Dr. Jacobs has made a career articulating the frustrations of senior citizens while giving them the tools to create a satisfying life. Six of her nine books are on mid-life and aging issues, including Older Women Surviving and Thriving and the bestseller Be an Outrageous Older Woman: A RASP—Remarkable Aging Smart Person. Women Who Touched My Life is her memoir, and we welcome this long-standing friend of Rowe back again.
Ruth Harriet Jacobs has vast experience leading workshops. Sociologist, gerontologist, poet, playwright, fiction and nonfiction writer, professor, pioneer, and counselor, she is former chairperson of the Sociology Department at Clark University, a researcher at the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, and visiting professor at several colleges. She also wears buttons like “Youth is a gift of nature. Aging is a work of art.” and shares insights like “Rage is in the middle of the word outrageous.” Her mission is to inspire others to explore the many fulfilling endeavors open to older men and women. Courageous, compassionate, wise, witty, and extraordinarily articulate, Dr. Jacobs has made a career articulating the frustrations of senior citizens while giving them the tools to create a satisfying life. Six of her nine books are on mid-life and aging issues, including Older Women Surviving and Thriving and the bestseller Be an Outrageous Older Woman: A RASP—Remarkable Aging Smart Person. Women Who Touched My Life is her memoir, and we welcome this long-standing friend of Rowe back again.