September 3–6, 2010 Friday–Monday 3 nights

Devotion: Crafting Your Journey Inward Through Memoir

Dani will be teaching a 3-day workshop at Kripalu in the Berkshires.  Click here for details.

How do we begin to know our own stories, and tell them in a way that feels universal? How can we structure our inward journeys so that they resonate with others? In this interactive workshop, we will explore multiple aspects of writing a spiritual memoir.

There is a profound difference between “journaling” and writing memoir. In journaling, we are interested in writing only for ourselves. In memoir, we are also conscious of our readers. As we craft a memoir, we want to make art out of our lives, turning confession and even confusion into clear-sighted, purposeful prose.

Dani Shapiro, a gifted and experienced teacher and best-selling novelist and memoirist, will guide the group through exercises designed to open the channels to memory and emotion. In an intimate and supportive environment, she will provide useful, hands-on tools for beginning to shape our spiritual journeys into compelling narratives.