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Saturday, May 30, 2020 @ 10:00 am EDT - 12:30 pm EDT

1 meeting
Semester:
  • Summer 2020
Time of Day:
Meeting Location:
  • Online
The Muse Writers Center
2200 Colonial Avenue, #3
Norfolk, VA 23517 United States

Military Memories And Memoir – Free Online Writing Workshop !

***This class is currently full. If you would like to be placed on the waitlist, please sign up using the registration link below. The reading and discussion following the class is open to all and will not be limited in size.

Military life holds unique and powerful experiences, ripe for shaping into compelling narratives. In writing their stories, service members, veterans and their loved ones bear witness to moments of honor and heartbreak, loneliness and loss, camaraderie and sacrifice.

Writing memoir involves sharing real-life stories to draw attention to greater truths so the reader understands the situations you faced, the moments you encountered, and the impact certain events had on you. Past cultures used to gather around returning warriors in order to learn from and honor the stories they carried home – let’s continue that tradition.

In this interactive workshop, we’ll put pen to paper, generating new writing with military-related prompts. We will discuss memoir-writing, and focus on challenges you might encounter while writing your personal stories. We’ll work with a few specific parameters that can sharpen and enrich your writing: place, relationship and transformation. Come join us!

Workshop online via zoom Saturday, May 30th 10:00 am – 12:30 pm.

Registration required. https://forms.gle/V6aHsutF2mQeGT4j6

The class is free for all active duty, veterans, family, and caregivers of the U.S. Armed Forces. This workshop and others made possible in part through the National Endowment for the Arts.

When Elizabeth Heaney began counseling combat veterans on military bases, she quickly realized she would need to completely transform the way she worked. Instead of working with clients who showed up for appointments eager to talk, she spent her days in motor pools and dining facilities, in bowling alleys, jump zones and family support meetings, striving to understand the unique pressures, values and costs of military life. Her award-winning book, The Honor Was Mine: A Look Inside the Struggles of Military Veterans describes the encounters that opened up her world; each story points to the honor, courage and unseen wounds that run through the lives of our service members, veterans and their families. 

Elizabeth lives near Asheville NC where she continues to work with combat veterans through her private counseling practice. She leads writing groups for veterans at the local VA Hospital and assists at Wounded Warrior Project combat recovery retreats. 

Please note: This class or event will be held online (using Zoom or a similar live platform). To participate, students or attendees should have a stable internet connection. Class participants: you should have a computer or device with a webcam and microphone; and your Zoom link will be automatically sent to you after you register. Check your spam box if you don't see it.

The MuseTeacher: Elizabeth Heaney