Two Ballard based memoir authors, Corbin Lewars and Ingrid Ricks, have teamed up to launch Healing Through Writing Workshops for local teens and adults.
In the wake of a divisive election that has sparked trauma and fear and triggered deeply buried emotions regarding race, sexual orientation, religion, illness, abuse, bullying and more, Ricks and Corbin wanted to launch a series of narrative writing workshops with an emphasis on healing, empowerment and understanding.
The two authors, who have both struggled with breast cancer and various other life-altering challenges, discovered the healing power of narrative writing through their own books and essays and have been using it as a tool to help teens and adults find their voice and power by writing the deeply personal stories they need to tell.
“This election has highlighted the pain and deep divide in this country and has left so many people feeling like they don’t have a voice,” says Ricks, founder of Write it Out Loud, a program that fosters healing and empowerment through personal narrative. “To us, the answer is personal storytelling. By sharing stories about our personal struggles, we not only find our own healing and empowerment, but also help others to know that they aren’t alone. Along the way, we foster awareness and understanding that leads to compassion, compromise and peace.”
“We want to teach people how to paint a picture with words and bring their personal stories to life,” adds Lewars. “But in addition to that, we want to help people to heal from whatever emotional trauma or pain they are carrying inside of them and we know that writing works.”
The Healing Through Narrative Writing courses will kick off in January, will be held in Ballard at the Centerpeace for Healing Arts (1800 Market St NW, Suite 210).
An all-day teen narrative writing workshop will be held on January 16 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and is open to middle school and high school students.
A five-week narrative writing workshop for adults will he held on Thursdays starting Thursday, January 12th. Space is limited to fifteen students in each workshop.
For more information or to register, visit www.writeitoutloud.org, email Corbin Lewars at corbin@corbinlewars.com or Ingrid Ricks at ricks.ingrid@gmail.com
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What a wonderful event. Writing is a very important form of communication in our time, and it’s great to have the right skills for this.
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