"Memoir Writing Workshop"

Tuesday, November 24th from 4:00 to 6:00 pm

Taught by Judy Nystrom

Bring your pen and paper (or your laptop)!  We are honored to have Judy Nystrom, an author and teacher of Creative Writing and one of the newest members of our client family as a guest presenter.  Judy will teach a “How-To” workshop on Memoir Writing.  You will leave the workshop with a short memoir to share with your family over the Thanksgiving holiday.  If you have family members or Helpers in town for Thanksgiving, they are welcome to attend.  Please call 405-364-2246 or email Shelly Stewart at EstatePlanners@cainandcainlaw.com to register for the workshop.  If you are interested in this type of workshop but are not able to attend this one because of travel or other obligations, please let us know.  This way we can gauge the interest in this workshop.  If enough of you are interested, we might offer multiple workshops so that you can begin a collection of your memoirs.  If we held six of these workshops each year and you left with a memoir, you would be well on your way to creating a lasting legacy for your family.  Think of it as an Estate Planners for Life™ Maintenance Plan for your Legacy!

MEMOIR WRITING WORKSHOP

Unlike autobiography that recounts the chronology of a one’s life, memoir is a retelling of a specific memory.  This memory remains vivid because the experience changed our perspective, thus inspiring wisdom…a wisdom we want to pass down as part of our legacy.  Therefore, the topic of a memoir is not so much about the event itself as it is about courage or gratitude or forgiveness or creativity or humor or patriotism or remorse or ethnic pride or many other universal themes.  Although non-fiction, memoir writing utilizes story-telling techniques which promote a deeper understanding of that experience for the writer and the reader.

 Here are some experiences you might want to consider for your memoir topic:

A Thanksgiving in which you were particularly grateful

Preparing your first family holiday meal

Taking your youngest child to kindergarten

Receiving a letter or phone call that changed your life

Experiencing a historical event ( 9/11, The Oklahoma City Bombing, The Fall of the Berlin Wall)

Receiving or giving a random act of kindness

Realizing a hardship was actually a blessing

Witnessing the grandeur or destruction of nature

Realizing the unexpected rewards of volunteering

Participating in a simple event that brought great joy

Being a member of a group or organization

Learning that experiences endure longer than things

Sending your child to college or to the military

Welcoming a military member home

Mastering a difficult skill

Visiting a foreign country or re-locating to a different city or state

Participating in a practical joke or prank

Making an unlikely friend

So, bring your ideas and your memories to begin the process of writing a memoir!