"This helped clear the clutter from my mind, heart, and soul, leaving a safe space for creativity, love, and growth."
~ Christa D.
"Marilou Awiakta, an Indigenous Cherokee author and former translator for the U.S. Air Force, has noted that "all people have poetry in them. Some can't write it, but the poet can listen intently to what people say and send it out into the world. It's a process of translation for the people." I love this quotation because it crystallizes what this has taught and done for me. Myra too is a poet and a translator, giving voice and story to all of us, no matter how little poetry we think we have."
~ Irene L.
“It was real helpful…in changing, even back in my childhood days, some things I had to cope with. I was able to forgive…and… put the past behind and… look toward the future. Everything is out of the way. I just have to go about getting everything in process by doing things.”
~Anonymous community research participant
"This felt really different. I wrote out my stories with a beginning, middle, and end and found that monologuing to myself about my past and about who I was and what I was thinking was harder than I imagined. It felt different than participating in a dialogue with someone. It forced me to really look at myself and connect with what I was putting down on the page in a way I've never felt before with other forms of self expression and communication."
~Emma H.
"…getting it out,…talking to you, but more talking to myself. Saying things I wouldn’t normally say, but because of your questions, it's making me aware of myself..... I wouldn’t even have started.... Things would have been still hanging, you see, in my background. And, like I said, it’s only like until we did the thing on the paper…the mind map…. It gives you the reality. Plus we started out with the past. So there was a lot, a lot that was uncovered. So you have no idea, that maybe didn’t get in the record…but it made me think…there was a lot of stuff that I never said. We never had enough time. There was a lot I had to think through. You started something in that class and I’m not going to stop until it’s done. [I wish] more of the guys had come to the class. It could have touched everybody."
~Anonymous community research participant
"I would recommend this type of work to everyone I know. Myra has an incredible talent for helping others analyze and clarify their life experiences and memories as well as helping others find the meaning of them. She cares deeply about all of the individuals she presents this rewarding experience to and she improved my quality of life.”
~Paola T.
"I found this to be incredibly useful. It differs so much from traditional methods which force you to face an issue abruptly and openly with someone you barely know. This allows you to touch upon issues only as far as you let it go, and there is no pressure to share since change is happening within by simply writing words on a page. I found myself more free, inspired, yet still full of emotion after the first session. My favorite part is that you don't have to leave with any action items other than letting your newly found feelings marinate over the course of the week. I am so excited to learn more about this process which I believe would be an innovative and effective way to reach out to individuals from different backgrounds and bridge the gaps defined by today's society."
~Katherine H.
"I knew this would provoke a consciousness of unresolved issues, but I did not comprehend the degree that this would help me process and purge those issues."
~Willie S.
"When I heard you speak, I knew this is what I need. I’m excited about your workshops. It’s like once you get some of the old garbage out, digging in talking about your past and stuff, it gives you a more solid foundation to go on. The best thing about it for me was when we did the sessions sharing about our visions.... You know,…[that] was a big, big thing for me."
~Anonymous community research participant
"This is very powerful, because when it's just you and the paper, there are no defenses from the truth, as felt by your heart. Myra creates an involved, deeply personal space where people can experience unresolved issues and channel those emotions into building a personal, lasting, and coherent sense of purpose. Given the experiences and insight that we're gaining from this, me and a group of others doing this work would like to expand it to the general youth of the community. We believe that a community outreach program of this nature would help youth (especially those at-risk of making destructive decisions as a function of their experiences) to cope, and construct and apply a meaningful sense of purpose and direction to their lives."
~Joanna S.
"I know you’re probably tired of hearing me say this. Myra was a very very important part of my life, because there was no one to listen to me. I had people around me, my family, but, you know, I guess they say, “Get over it girlfriend. You’ll be alright." I was about to have nervous breakdown. Really, I believe I think I already had one, but didn’t realize it. I was just barely functioning. The workshops make the difference in my life – the communication, the talking. I was able to sit down and express myself. It took a while because I’m not the type of person… use to be the type of person that didn’t open up, but now I do. I don’t know how to express it. I don’t know the words for it. It was DMyra. The way she was always there and always made herself down to earth. She always started out with the way things worked out for herself and the way things happened to her. It was like she wasn’t sitting interviewing, sitting there pure. I don’t know how to put it into words. I walked around for a long time with something on my heart that I wouldn’t tell anybody, and I was able to let other people know about it and that was liberating. [I just needed someone to reach out to me."
~ Anonymous community research participant
"I was able to dig deep within myself and think about the people closes to me."
~ Anonymous student evaluation
""The Life Writing Project has helped me find myself in ways that I would have never thought. Initially going into this project, I didn’t really think I needed it or that it would really have any affect on me. I usually write when I have something bothering me, and I already was confident in who I am and knew what I wanted in life. I was also mentally stable and didn’t have many fears in my life that I was avoiding. Because of all these things, I felt that the Life Writing Project would just be something nice to do, but not particularly beneficial to me. These initial thoughts changed as weeks progressed and meetings became more intense. This project really allowed me to understand myself better, learning why I do some of the things I do and why I have some of the relationships that I have. It helped me to think back on events of my childhood and finally put closure to them. This project was refreshing, self-building, and healthy. And everyone, no matter where they are in life, should experience this."
~ Marian S. (undergraduate student)