The Last Dance for Me

A new edition of my 2001 memoir about the life and death of my first child, and how the experience of his loss profoundly altered the course of my life. Click on the cover image above to buy it in paperback or Kindle.

A group blog kept by the mothers whose stories are featured in Farther Along, the Writing Journey of Thirteen Bereaved Mothers

• On February 22, 7 – 8 pm, I moderated an online discussion and reading with Heidi Gessner, author of the memoir Pockets of Grace. For more information and to register:  RCWMS

• I offer one-on-one intensive workshops with writers on week-long retreats. This service is for writers I’ve been working with for long periods.

• For the second year, I led a week-long writing retreat in May at the Trinity Center on the North Carolina Coast. This was a lovely chance for women with writing projects to work, undisturbed, by day and to gather after dinner to write together and focus on one writer’s work in more detail. It will be offered again in May 2024. To get on the wait list, contact RCWMS

• I hope to again be offering live programs at Well of Mercy.  Make sure you’re on their mailing list. And I hope to go live at RCWMS. Stay tuned for other workshops.

• In November, I led a retreat for the writers in the Farther Along group in the NC mountains. We continue to meet at least twice a year. In 2024 we will go on a retreat in Quebec City.

• On September 30, 2021, 7 pm, I hosted a Zoom discussion with Betsy Emerson, talking with her about her magnificent new book:  Letters from Red Farm: The Untold Story of the friendship between Helen Keller and Journalist Joseph Edward Chamberlin.  Sponsored by the Norwich Bookstore (VT). Stay tuned for more details.

• On August 8, 2020, I introduced Kristen Rademacher (via Zoom) for the launch party of her wrenching and redeeming memoir, From the Lake House, A Mother’s Odyssey of Loss and Love.

• In June 2019, at Flyleaf Books our fabulous local independent store, I introduced one of my students, Peter Stein, before he read (to a packed house) from his just-published memoir, A Boy’s Journey From Nazi-Occupied Prague to Freedom in America.

• Another student, Marianna Crane, gave a reading from her new book Stories From the Tenth Floor Clinic: A Nurse Practitioner Remembers at Flyleaf Books in November 2018. I was happy to introduce her. She’s offering all sorts of interesting presentations based on her book. Follow her blog, Nursing Stories.

• At the end of 2018, I co-led a weekend of writing workshops at Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC.  Reverend Julie Hester, a Farther Along mom, taught with me. I’ve offered writing workshops to congregations all over the country. Be in touch if your congregation is interested.

• In 2019, I offered two sessions of “The Art of the Condolence Note” workshop through UNC Hospitals. The sessions were  for doctors, nurses, social workers and interns. I hope to offer these again after the pandemic.

• I completed a 2-year contract with Heartland Hospice, training support services staff all over the country to integrate restorative writing into the hospice environment. I have written a guidebook to support and expand the reach of the trainings for hospice staff. The guidebook is now available to other hospices. Let me know if you want to discuss setting up trainings at your hospice.

• The creative nonfiction group I lead meets monthly. Several members have finished books and are in the midst of publication now. Others are working on essays and linked essay collections.

• I continue to meet monthly with a group of bereaved mothers here in Chapel Hill (since 2012). We’ve taken three summer weekend retreats and managed to meet for a few pond swims in 2020 and 2021. More in 2022!

• I meet with another group of bereaved moms (from around the state and Virginia) for two retreats a year–and mini gatherings in between (since 2002). This group, the Farther Along Writers, is the basis for my book, Farther Along: The Writing Journey of Thirteen Bereaved Mothers. We decided to take our 20th anniversary to Red Cloud, Nebraska, home of Willa Cather, in  September 2021.  For our 15th anniversary of writing together, we took a retreat at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, in November 2017, where, between writings and readings, we visited the home of Georgia O’Keeffe, hiked exquisite trails, and soaked up the stunning mountainous landscape. Our 2017 spring retreat, in the North Carolina Mountains, included a hike along a new trail at Pilot Mountain State Park. We contributed to the effort to plant abundant milkweed along the path to attract migrating butterflies. Butterflies are one of our totem symbols of renewal and hope. Our 2018 spring retreat was held in Leland, NC. In the fall of 2018, we met in the North Carolina mountains, at Montreat, with a special trip to the Biltmore Estate to see the Chihuly glass sculpture exhibit. In the spring of 2019, we met at a private home in the NC mountains. We went to the beach in the fall of 2019. Next up, the mountains, April 2020.

• I’ve been offering several short retreats and “field trips” for my ongoing groups. These are not open to the general public.

• I’m compiling and editing (at a sloth’s pace) several of my previously published essays and columns and some unpublished writings, perhaps for a new book.

If you’re interested in having me offer a writing workshop or series for your civic, church, or community group, contact me. Themes include: Writing Toward Healing, Living with Loss, Living with Illness, Staff Development through Restorative Writing, The Art of the Condolence Note, and more. Even if you aren’t sure what you want or need, don’t hesitate to contact me. We can brainstorm and tailor a program to your particular needs.  I look forward to hearing from you. See “Contact” to be in touch.