Dear Body

young adult cancer writing group

Dear Body,

Really any body but mine.  I seek the refuge of a body with many characteristics, some of them I used to call my own.

I seek a body that doesn’t become ill at the slightest ounce of oncoming stress.  One whose sinuses don’t revolt just because I’ve worked a 50 hour week.

I seek a body that doesn’t tire so completely at 9 pm.  One, in fact, that could imagine venturing out past dark for some night time excursion or an evening of dancing.

I seek a body that requires only moderate control over the safety of its surroundings.  By safety, I do not mean dimly lit alleys.  Instead, I mean the notion of needing absolutely control over every boundary of a home.  If the body applying experiences anxiety over shoes left on or lights left off or whether the oven might burn the house down even though it hasn’t been turned on all weekend…please do not inquire further.

I seek a body ready for last minute adventures and sarcastic comments, a body not easily bruised, or weathered, or worn.

Dear Body…like I said, really any body but mine.  Please inquire further if you can sleep less than 7 hours and still leap from bed chipper and awake.  Dear Body, please inquire further if the circles under your eyes have not been painted on by chemo and stress.

…Sure, the body I have now works.  It moves and bends and runs about.  It just has such strict hours of operation and the worst tolerance for emotional discomfort without crying fatigue and melting all over the place.

Dear Body, really any body but mine…

 

How would you respond to the writing prompt, “Dear Body,…” ?

—

This writing comes directly from one of our participants in our Unspoken Ink Creative Writing Group for young adult cancer survivors.  The participants met for 2 hours each week, for 10 weeks during our Spring 2016 session.  This writing has not been edited since its original creation, showing the wonderfully raw and powerful prose coming from the courageous writing group participants each week.

The Spring Session Of The Unspoken Ink Writing Group Is Full!

young adult cancer writing group

Wow!  I am so excited about the fabulous response this new program received!  The spring session of the Unspoken Ink: Young Adult Cancer + Chronic Illness Writing Group is full!  We have a group of 9 survivors in the spring session and I cannot wait to get started!  If you weren’t able to join the writing group this time around, have no fear!  We’ll run another session later this year with a slightly larger group.  In the mean time, check out the other great stuff happening here at Lacuna Loft!

In the next few months, we’ll be bringing more programs, workshops, and groups onto the site.  Want to make sure you’re keeping up to date with all the great happenings over here?  Sign up for our newsletter!

Have an idea for a workshop that you’d like to experience here at Lacuna Loft?  Email us at info@lacunaloft.org!

Interested in helping support the great programming that happens here at Lacuna Loft?  Make your tax-deductible donation today!

A Young Adult Cancer & Chronic Illness Writing Group!

writing group

Lacuna Loft is incredibly excited to introduce you to a new program that is starting here in mid-March called Unspoken Ink! Unspoken Ink is a creative writing group, designed to help address issues that transport us from initial diagnosis into the new normal and survivorship. The group will consist of 8-10 people, and will meet over 10 weeks for 2 hours each week over google hangout video chat.

If you’re interested in joining us, read more below and fill out the form!  Our Spring Session is forming now!

For the Spring Session of Unspoken Ink, we will be forming a group of 8-10 survivors. Caregiver groups will start slightly later in the year. If you are not able to attend the Spring Session for any reason (you’re a caregiver, the group was full already, the time didn’t work for your availability, etc.) please fill out the form anyway and we’ll put you on the list for future writing groups!

—
Welcome to the Unspoken Ink writing group! Jen and Mallory are so excited that you are considering joining us!

This group is designed to take you on a journey through your cancer or chronic illness diagnosis and into your survivorship with a small group of your young adult cancer/illness survivor peers. Each 10-week program consists of a weekly writing session attended via google video hangout. We will get to know one another in an intimate, 8-10 person setting and address issues that transport us from initial diagnosis into the new normal and survivorship.

The Unspoken Ink writing group uses a creative writing method (Amherst Writing and Artists (AWA) Method) wherein the facilitator provides a writing prompt and you can use that prompt in any way you’d like to create a story over a set amount of time. Once we’ve finished our writing (yes, the facilitator writes too!), everyone is given the opportunity to read their writing out loud. Hearing your own story and hearing someone else’s teaches us all so much about our experiences and our stories. Once the piece is read, we reflect on the writing – what did we like, what stood out, what do we remember. Everything is considered fiction so we do not respond to the writer as a support group may, but keep the focus on the writing.

Sometimes the prompts are about cancer/illness, sometimes indirectly related to cancer/illness, and sometimes not about cancer/illness at all. Above all, the writing program emphasizes that we are more than a diagnosis.

Our Spring writing group is forming soon!

Some logistics:
– The writing group meets for 2 hours each week, for a period of 10 weeks. A commitment to attend each week is important to group continuity and in creating a safe space. Please be on time. The group will begin in mid-March with a TBD meeting time.
– Each participant will receive a name@LacunaLoft-writinggroup.org email address to use when attending each writing group session. At this email address, you will receive a weekly invitation to a google video hangout where the writing group session will take place. These email addresses will help preserve individual privacy if desired and will make meeting as a group via video hangout easier.
– Following each weekly session, you may decide to submit your writing to Mallory (mallory@lacunaloft.org) for publication on LacunaLoft.org in their Young Adult Voices program section. This is not mandatory!