Write your memoir in 2026

Stop aspiring and start writing…write like you’re clinging to the edge of a cliff, white knuckles, on your last breath, and you’ve got just one last thing to say, like you’re a bird flying over us and you can see everything, and please, for God’s sake, tell us something that will save us from ourselves. Take a deep breath and tell us your deepest, darkest secret, so we can wipe our brow and know that we’re not alone. -Alan Watts

I love this kick-in-the-pants quote by Alan Watts, especially that last line: tell us your deepest, darkest secret so we can wipe our brow and know that we’re not alone. When we share our stories we chip away at our isolation, we connect, we see ourselves with new eyes. 
Students from the Twelve Windows program are finishing up their year-long writing journey this month and I’m reminded of the transformation and bonding that happens with each group as we share the stories of our lives. If you’ve been thinking about writing your life stories but haven’t taken the leap, I encourage you to begin! Consider what would happen if you started? Not finished a whole book, but just began with the structure, care, and support of a group of other writers, embarking on the same journey. Are you excited? Terrified? Doubtful? All great places to begin!
If you’d like to hear what this year’s group of writers created, join us for the Book Celebration on November 15th, 11am PST. I’ve included the zoom link at the bottom of this email. Everyone progressed at their own speed. Some have finished a few stories and one student, after doing the class two years in a row, has a gorgeous book to show us. 
If you’ve ever been curious about memoir writing, I encourage you to take a look at the Twelve Windows journey for 2026. The gentle accountability of committed writing times helps, the prompts inspire and as another writing teacher likes to say, the only thing you have to lose is your isolation. 

Twelve Windows Memoir Writing 
Zoom Link for Book CelebrationTopic: Twelve Windows Book Celebration
Time: Nov 15, 2025 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81036861253