Our Lives hold many tales. Whether they are eagerly unconventional or relatively normal, like hidden gems, these tales provide profound insights into growth and intimacy. Is it a short piece about a walk with a special friend, a secret to reveal, searching for our identity, or making sense of your past, present and future of through an Integral lens?

Memoirs bring out the heartache, love, grief, despair, shame, longing, ambition, and joy that are universal human experiences. They remind us that we are more alike than different, and that our differences add to the beauty and nuance of life.

Join this series of memoir writing workshops every other Wednesday from May 17th to July 26th. The first one will be the basics of writing a memoir with an integral approach to it. The following five will focus on using literary tools in memoir writing, as well as writers’ emotional support and community building.

Led by Shabnam Curtis, author of My Persian Paradox: Memories of an Iranian Girl, we will discuss how to crack open structure, use specific detail, align our minds and hearts, find new angles, give and receive constructive feedback, while we grow deeper by creating our life stories and bearing witness to those of others. See Shabnam’s bio below.

Week One: May 17

• Why is Story So Important?
• Looking at Memoir writing with integral approach
• The Difference Between Memoir and Autobiography
• What Story to Tell? What is Theme?
• How to Begin Writing?
• Small Group Discussion and Sharing (15 minutes)
  • On major milestones and how they impacted your life later
• Literary Tools to use
  • Narrative Arc of the Story
  • Stakes
  • Point of View (POV)
  • Characters
  • Scenes and Dialogs
  • Flashback & Backstory
  • Reflections
  • Voice
  • Conclusion
• Emotional Support
• Practice for Next Week – Major Milestones and their impact on your life & writing the narrative arc of your story

Week Two: May 31

• Sharing Writing and Emotional Experience (20 minutes)
• Character Development (Including archetypes, the human development stages and Enneagram Test)
• Small Group Discussion and Sharing (15 minutes)
  • Your main characters and how to get to know them
• Emotional Support
• Practice for Next Week – Getting to know your characters and their personalities

Week Three: June 14

• Sharing Writing and Emotional Experience (20 minutes)
• Scene writing & Dialogs
• Small Group Discussion and Sharing (15 minutes)
  • What scenes come to your mind? What dialogs? How much detail do you remember?
• Emotional Support

Practice for Next Week – Making a list of scenes and dialogs to the right places of the structure or making a list of them as you remember (if possible)

Week Four: June 28

• Sharing Writing and Emotional Experience (20 minutes)
• Writer’s Voice
• Growth Through Memoir Writing
• Small Group Discussion and Sharing (15 minutes)
  • Finding your voice and deeper growth
• Emotional Support

Practice for Next Week – Expanding your structure and create a draft of the detailed list of events

Week Five: July 12

• Sharing Writing and Emotional Experience (20 minutes)
• Structure of The Story
• Structural Edit
• Small Group Discussion and Sharing (15 minutes)
  • The structure of your story
• Emotional Support and Writing Habits
• Practice for Next Week – If possible, trying one round of structural edit on one chapter

Week Six: July 26

• Sharing Writing and Emotional Experience (20 minutes)
• Story Integration
• Small Group Discussion and Sharing (15 minutes)
• Wrapping Up – Where are we?

Recommended books on writing:

• Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
• The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr

Recommended memoirs:

• Wild by Cheryl Strayed
• I am glad my mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
• Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
• Educated BY Tara Westover
• Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
• Paula by Isabel Allende
• Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp
• Find similar stories to yours and read them

Meet Your Facilitator:

Shabnam Curtis was born and raised in Tehran, experiencing the Iranian Revolution of 1979 firsthand. In 2004 she immigrated to the United States, where she now works as a passionate Integral Coach and a writer. She published her memoir, My Persian Paradox: Memories of an Iranian Girl in March of 2019. Shabnam is a certified Integral Coach with New Ventures West and International Coaching Federation. She offers one-on-one coaching sessions as well as workshops for groups. Since September of 2021, she also has been the life coach in residence for Dimension Science Bridges Non-profit organization. As an author, she teaches memoir writing workshops. She has been performing lectures at colleges and interviews with podcasts about her memoir and the concept of sharing stories and human growth. Her self-growth journey includes volunteer opportunities she has taken, including ESL teaching and leading storytelling workshops, and contributing as a board member at Loudoun Literacy Council non-profit organization. She has performed as a Project Analyst on Performance Measurement for Government contracts, including DOD, TSA, NAVY, FAA, & NASA, for over two decades.

www.shabnamcurtis.net