The document discusses a memoir writing workshop presented by SHARE in collaboration with MBCN, featuring speakers like Christine Benjamin and Abigail Thomas. It emphasizes the courage required to share personal stories and the benefits of exploring one's life through writing. Additional resources for continued writing support and reading recommendations are also provided.

1. WRITE YOUR OWN
MEMOIR
Part Two: February 24, 2015
Presented by SHARE in collaboration with
MBCN

2. Welcome
• Meet the Speakers
Christine Benjamin, LMSW
Breast Cancer Program Director
SHARE
www.sharecancersupport.org
Katherine O’Brien
Board Member
Metastatic Breast Cancer Network
www.mbcn.org
Abigail Thomas
Writer
www.abigailthomas.net

3. You Did It!
• It is hard it is to make
ourselves vulnerable,
especially when there
is pain and confusion
in our lives, and the
fact of our mortality is
around the corner…
Anne O’Brien, Red Chair Nantucket

4. Bravo…
• Just to be willing to
look at the dark and
the difficult is an act of
great courage…
Anne O’Brien, West Falmouth Harbor

5. Thank You..
It takes guts and
energy. . .
Thank you for doing
this.
Anne O’Brien

6. Some Points to Ponder
• It’s about clarity.
• Clarity usually involves
a good deal more
humility than you
started out with.
• Humility is
accompanied by
generosity…
Anne M. O’Brien

7. • …And clarity is
dependent on
generosity of vision

8. • A shift at the way we
look at ourselves and
our lives is one of the
benefits of writing a
memoir.
• Keep an open mind,
leave room for
surprises.
Anne M. O’Brien, Nobska, Cape Cod

9. Who are we, and why does it matter?
• If you are doing the
exercises you will have
lots of material.
If there is a common
thread, follow it.
If you return again and
again to a specific time
or place set up a tent
there.
Anne M. O’Brien, North Truro

10. If you are still plagued
by the question of who
is going to find it
interesting, please
remember most of us
are curious about other
people’s lives…
Jennifer Waddell

11. • Writing memoir is one way to explore how you
became the person you are…
• It’s the story of how you got here from there….
• It’s a good story!

12. Questions?
Q&A with Abigail
Photo: Jennifer May

13. For Further Reading…
February 2015 issue of Good Housekeeping
The Kiss That Stayed With Me Forever
Decades after a summer fling, a writer
and her old crush reconnect.
By Abigail Thomas
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/family/marriage-sex/abigail-
thomas-love-essay?src=soc_fcbks
Abigail’s new memoir coming out at the end of
March from Scribners.
http://books.simonandschuster.com/What-
Comes-Next-and-How-to-Like-It/Abigail-
Thomas/9781476785059

14. More Reading Suggestions
• The Red Devil : To Hell with
Cancer and Back Paperback –
February 7, 2002
• by Katherine Russell Rich
• Intoxicated by My Illness and
Other Writings on Life and Death
Paperback – June 1, 1993
• by Anatole Broyard (Author),
Alexandra Broyard (Compiler,
Editor), Oliver Sacks (Foreword)
• Autobiography of a Face
Paperback – March 18, 2003
• by Lucy Grealy (Author), Ann
Patchett (Afterword)
Carl Spitzweg, “The Bookworm”

15. Keep on Writing With Others
• We’ve created a closed Facebook Group called Writing With
Others:
•
• Search under “Groups” and join.
• If you need help, email us at
cbenjamin@sharecancersupport.org
• Abigail is our first member!

16. More suggestions….
• Check with your library—many host ongoing writing
programs
• If you want to start your own writers’ group, many libraries
have meeting rooms you can use.
• Check with your treatment center. “Visible Ink” offers
Memorial Sloan Kettering patients the opportunity to
express themselves in writing with the individual support
of an experienced writing mentor.
• Abby leads workshops for Kingston’s Oncology Support
Program of the Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley

17. THANK YOU!
Questions about this webinar? Email:
cbenjamin@sharecancersupport.org