After I had read for a group of senior citizens, I was overwhelmed by their eagerness to share their stories with me and each other. That's how I began working with older people and developed the Turning Memories Into Memoirs writing workshops that led to the book. In the workshops I teach basic writing skills and, just as importantly, create an atmosphere that supports self-exploration and group sharing. There is also a human compulsion to record the past, to preserve what's changing and to celebrate accomplishment. Finally, many of us feel a need to find the meaning in life.
Writing is a vehicle for exploring the what and the why of life and making sense of it.
Lifewriting can be very growthful. Some begin knowing this, others discover it in the process. Lifewriting is for anyone who wants or needs to write. Every generation seems to have a storyteller who sees and remembers, the keeper of the family history. Many lifewriters are seniors.