Life Writing For Women 50 and over
In drama, the third act features the resolution of the story and its subplots. In this act, the main tensions of the story are brought to their most intense point and the dramatic question answered, leaving the protagonist and other characters with a new sense of who they really are. Our fifth or sixth or seventh decade of life is the Third Act of our lives.
The goal of all life, the end point, death is what lies in front of us. In the third act of life it looms larger than it has before and is much more a part of consciousness. To be fully alive is to know that death lies ahead.
Between here and death, there is a lot of territory. Work to be done to deal with things left undone, to reconcile ourselves to our past, to seriously consider the story we have been living with an eye especially toward any changes we want to make in the remaining years.
A friend of mine, a woman in her mid-70's, told me that she wishes she could read about this life period as she could about midlife. The issues of midlife are not hers. She wrestles with the conflict between the desire to do and the body that no longer wants to. With the bubbling up of creative possibilities that she does not know she can bring to fruition. All of us in the third act are faced with having to prioritize in a new way, to come to terms with the certain knowledge that if there is something we want to do, want to create, we have to get down to work now because time is passing swiftly.
Life review writing is a means of intentionally reflecting on the experiences and events from our past and drawing meaning from those experiences, especially as it affects our present lives and the future. In life writing, we look back at the life we have lived and forward to the life yet to be lived.
Life review is important for many reasons . . . it can help us deal with unfinished business, to plan for retirement, for pursuing goals that we would still like to achieve and for sharing what we have learned from the past with our children, grandchildren and generations yet to come. In life writing you will have an opportunity to reflect on
who you are now • how you got here • where you are going • the story you are living
This group will teleconference and email. We will meet for weekly for 8 weeks. The dates and time will be arranged to meet the needs of the members. In between sessions, members may also share insights or thoughts any time by e-mail in the accompanying private, invitation-only Life Writing Group e-mail group.
Eight sessions - fee is $200 payable monthly or in a single payment via Paypal.
Email me with questions or for further information about this group. You may contact me by using the form at the left. Please put Life Writing in the subject line.