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Illness as Story: Healing through Writing and Community with Suzanne Ohlmann
October 7, 2023 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm CDT
$155Sat, Oct 7, 14, 21, 28 & Nov 4, 11, 10am-12pm CST, Hybrid (online via Zoom and in-person)
Instructor: Suzanne Ohlmann
Nonmember: $155; Member: $135; Student/Vet/Mil $75
*EARN CPE’S
SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE.
Do you carry the story of illness in your body?
No matter the diagnosis or disease, illness leaves a mark on the mind, body, and soul. Even caregivers or clinicians carry the story of how they’ve helped others navigate disease. Sometimes the first step toward health and healing can be sitting with the truth of how illness affects you.
In this six-week course, participants will study the therapeutic storytelling model of the Six-Part Story (6PSM), explore writing about their experiences with disease from different points of view, and practice combining facts and fiction to create a new version of their healing journey.
By creating a safe space for reflection, this workshop hopes to provide a path toward repair, healing, and empowerment. All students will write and polish a final essay for potential publishing. On the last day of class, students will share their stories with each other.
This course is open to writers of all genres and skill level, 18+.
Students will leave this course with:
- A polished essay in both first and third person
- An understanding of how the Six-Part Story Method (6PSM) can be used to write about illness
- Greater confidence in sharing personal stories
Suzanne Ohlmann is a writer, nurse, and musician. Her first book, Shadow Migration: Mapping A Life (University of Nebraska Press), was released in March 2022. She teaches storytelling as a means to navigate illness and the human condition. Her essays have been published by Texas Monthly, Intima: The Journal of Narrative Medicine, and Longreads. She lives in San Antonio with her husband, son, and a chorus of adopted pets.
