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Events
Join Jessica Handler for writing workshops, book signings, and engaging conversations with award-winning authors!
Looking Back, Moving Forward: Writing About Grief, Loss, & Trauma
Writing about grief, loss, or trauma can feel overwhelming. Where do you begin? How much should you reveal? And how do you shape painful experience into something meaningful—for both you and your reader? Robert Frost famously said, “No tears for the writer, no tears for the reader.” But turning raw emotion into compelling narrative requires more than catharsis. It demands reflection, structure, and the willingness to uncover what’s at the heart of the story. In this 90-minute live webinar, we’ll explore how acclaimed memoirists and essayists approach emotionally charged material—and how you can apply their techniques to your own work. We’ll look closely at the roles of conflict, joy, and meaning-making in shaping personal narrative and discuss strategies for writing that is honest without becoming unmoored. You’ll leave with practical tools to deepen your creative nonfiction and move your work forward—with insight, clarity, and connection. We’ll also revisit Frost’s lesser-known companion quote: “No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader.” Can’t make it live? No worries—a replay will be available to all registrants.
In conversation with Peter McDade
Join me in conversation with acclaimed author & rock drummer Peter McDade as we discuss his new novel, KING CAL. In the course of one ordinary day, Atlanta fast food worker Calvin loses his girlfriend, his band, and his best friend. Suddenly, everything he had planned to spend the rest of his life doing seems to have flown away. Told with insight, sensitivity, and deep respect for what it really takes to make a life in music, “King Cal” is a coming-of-age novel about a determined young man who starts with little, aims to earn a little more, and has to decide whether success—or even clinging to his dream—is worth the sacrifice.
