Memoir writing workshop featured in The Guardian

The Guardian published a story featuring three participants in our memoir writing Creative Aging program at Morningside Retirement and Health Services.

Read the article in the Guardian:  After surviving the Depression, the Blitz and the Nazis, writers reflect on the pandemic

The article is a testimony to the resilience of the participants — average age 87 — and of the writing program itself, which continued meeting virtually when quarantining began in March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  In May 2020, the program, led by teaching artist Susan Willerman, held a virtual celebration attended by friends and family from across the country and globe.  The program continues to meet virtually, and the participants continue to write and inspire each other with their stories.

The article includes the following excerpt from Thankful, a poem by Rebecca Rikleen, age 97:

I still am surprised to wake after the pleasure

of a good night’s sleep,

I can still walk; get to the bathroom on time,

dress myself, in so many layers

enjoy music, a language without words.

I enjoy my grandson’s laughter

I relish your cooking, and that poet I just discovered

Paint still shows red or blue when I dip my brush