Writing Workshop for The New Year at Saint Agnes Cemetary--Menands, New York

Have you promised yourself that this is the year you will begin your blog, memoir, novel or family history? But you are nervous about beginning? You are not alone and there is an easy way to get started.

I will be offering an afternoon writing workshop for new writers and new writing projects on:
 Sunday February 15th  1 to 3pm at:  The Living Room Art Gallery located at The Welcome Center in St Agnes Cemetery in Menands, New York.

Yes, an art gallery in a cemetery. Isn't that perfect? And perfectly fitting for Love in the Time of Cancer. It is ideal--celebrating life and creativity in a place of death, memory and mourning. I'm thrilled to teach at The Living Room gallery because it is a beautiful site and could there be a better memento mori--a touchstone--to stimulate us to put pen to paper?

It's a Sunday afternoon--Sunday February 15th--1pm to 3pm. Materials are provided and registration is required.

You can register by calling Kelly Ann Grimaldi, Historian, at 518-463-0134 extension 110.


I promise you that you will write easily and quickly. We'll talk and laugh and you will leave with techniques and strategies to keep writing at home.

I hope you will join us--your story deserves to be told.

Here is a link to the class brochure: http://capitaldistrictcemeteries.org/library/Program_Booklet_Final_2015.pdf

Writing Aids Cancer Recovery

In my cancer and caregiver classes we do a lot of writing. It's not news that writing is a comfort and an anchor but now we have additional evidence that writing about one's cancer experience can effectively reduce pain, fear and trauma.

An article in the journal Health Psychology reports that ASian American woman dealing with breast cancer experienced better recoveries when they were introduced to the practice of "emotional writing."
Qian Lu, director of the Culture and Health Research Center says that the research was focused on specifically writing about the traumatic aspects of the cancer experience.

“Cancer patients, like war veterans in Iraq, can experience post-traumatic stress symptoms. Many times when cancer patients get diagnosed, they face lots of emotional trauma. There’s a sense of loss, depression, anxiety about going into treatment and how they are going to face the future,” said Lu.

While this particular study focused on breast cancer I can easily imagine related benefits for using emotional writing with all cancer patients--and of course with cancer caregivers as well. The hard part, of course, is allowing yourself time--and permission--to write daily but knowing that it is having a health benefit may allow patient and caregiver that permission for toward the healing benfits of writing.

Here is a link to the full article. Take a look and share with others in your CancerLand.

http://psychcentral.com/news/2014/08/04/breast-cancer-survivors-benefit-from-expressive-writing/73195.html

PS. I am always available to lead a class on Writing for Caregivers or Caregiving 101 for your group or organization.