LLWRC 798 - Get Serious: The Spiritual Memoir

Writing memoir allows us to do the work of the spirit--acceptance, forgiveness, creation. Spiritual memoir allows us to discover patterns, discern meaning, arrive at realizations--and to live more fully in the physical world by celebrating our essence. By asking ourselves to get real with our spiritual lives, we have an opportunity to strengthen and become more wholly alive. Conflict seems a given in most interesting writing, and we'll confront our contradictions, consternations, breakdowns, and moments of despair, as well as our moments of illumination and joy. As Anne Lamott notes, 'When a lot of'... meaningless things.. [go] wrong... something big and lovely... [is] trying to get itself born. Drawing on our own experiences as well as the writing of Lamott, N. Scott Momaday, Kathleen Norris, Dennis Covington, and others, we'll talk, write, and share. Open to all levels. Dorothy has an MA with a focus on creative writing. She has published five books of literary nonfiction and received numerous awards, including first place, WILLA Award; and three first places (biography, essay, and nonfiction book) in the annual Utah Original Writing Contest.