Voices of wisdom

What a cozy place the Sitting Room in Cotati is: bookshelves everywhere, comfy chairs, nooks just right for reading, writing, reflecting. I was there yesterday, one of six women enrolled in “Wisdom has a voice: Daughters remember mothers,” a writing workshop led by Kate Farrell and Lynn Cook Henriksen.

Farrell and Henriksen are both published authors who share an interest in  preserving women’s stories, particularly those about their mothers. Their stated goal for the workshop was to “create a workshop environment that allows for the authentic sharing, reflection and writing of a significant memory of each attendee’s mother that then becomes a keepsake memoir.”

With specific outcomes leading to the goal also clearly stated, they managed to pack a lot into just two hours while maintaining a relaxed, inviting atmosphere. They applied their experience with meditation, the Kolb Learning Cycle (which assists people in reflecting up and drawing meaning from their concrete life experiences), listening and telling, and writing to help participants move from having no idea what to write about to having a draft of an arresting, short memoir.

I wholeheartedly endorse this duo. Each participant’s unique voice came through, and the knowledge that everything shared there would be kept private created a great deal of safety for creativity to emerge.

If Farrell and Henriksen were so inclined, they could branch out to offer workshops on all kinds of relationships: for siblings, spouses, lovers, friends and colleagues, perhaps. But they are doing a bang up job of following their hearts into the mother/daughter lode. And more power to them.

For more information about the presenters, visit http://redwoodwriters.blogspot.com.