Writing to heal
Maria Galleher is such an amazing teacher that I only subbed for her the last few years I subbed. She always dealt with any problems & the kids would apologize & be really respectful after that.
She teaches Food Justice & Peer Counseling & she does Conflict Resolution at the school.
I had these journals & pens because I was going to do Life Writing workshops with women in this home for women with mental health issues. But since I wasn’t able to do it because of covid, I brought them in to give to her students.
It was a really good presentation that just came together naturally.
I was re-reading a book on how writing ✍️ heals. Most of what was in the book was much too high level for a high school group, but at least it got me thinking about how important writing is to healing.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how we let our emotions run wild & how they can ruin relationships.
The emotions are from unresolved trauma. I talked about how journaling had gotten me through many difficult times in my life. Then Maria asked for examples from them. I was pleased to see that several of them already knew about the healing power of writing.
“If we can write ✍️ about it, we may be able to come to an understanding that allows us to have a better life.”
There are lots of books on this but this author researched authors who say writing healed them. Isabel Allende was one of her examples & she is one of my favorite authors. Her daughter was in a hospital room dying & she started writing to her while in that room. The book is called Paula.
There are many authors who talk about how they healed from their pain by writing.
“When you get your masters, maybe you can explore this subject.”
When I first started teaching, I encountered an excerpt of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” along with an assignment to write an Autobiographical Incident. After that, I gave that assignment to every class I taught. I also showed the movie.
“They also did stories similar to those in House on Mango Street. My students would make a book & illustrate it.”
My students loved reading each other’s booklets. It was really powerful.
With Maria’s help, we had some great discussion. I wanted to share all the slides she made while I was doing the presentation, but I can only get them to come up at the top of the page.
Please feel free to share my ideas & add to them for any group you might want to help write. Journaling can take you anywhere. It’s the best therapy out there In My Humble Opinion.
Sherrie Miranda’s “Crimes & Impunity in New Orleans” follows the dramatic story of naive, sheltered Shelly going to “The Big Easy” to prepare for El Salvador, but has no idea she will encounter sexism and witness racism as well as illegal activities by government agents.
https://www.amzn.com/dp/B08KMHNNDK
Author, Sherrie Miranda’s husband made the trailer for “Crimes & Impunity in New Orleans.” He wrote the music too.
https://youtu.be/7_NL-V9KEi4
Review: Shelly’s journey in “the city that care forgot.”Sherrie Miranda’s new novel “Crimes and Impunity in New Orleans” puts the reader into a whirlwind of political protests, abusive police, sexist attitudes towards women, and “good old boys” racism in 1980’s New Orleans. Miranda’s second novel follows Shelly, the young northerner, as she quickly finds out that she “isn’t in Kansas anymore” while encountering a slew of picturesque, colorful characters. Reading her book makes you wonder if justice and respect for blacks, immigrants, and women can be reality in America.
SherrieMiranda1 