Elder Writing/TITLE> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/styles/ashlar.css"> <style type="text/css">  </style> </HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF LEFTMARGIN=0 TOPMARGIN=0 MARGINWIDTH=0 MARGINHEIGHT=0>  <TABLE WIDTH=750 BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 align="center"> <TR> <TD valign="top" width="247"> <table width="247" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td><img src="../images/interiorpgs_01.jpg" width="247" height="54" longdesc="../images/interiorpgs_01.jpg"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="middle" align="center" background="/images/interiorpgs_02.jpg" width="247" height="415"><table width="220" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <p><a href="../aboutashlar/index.html" class="nav">About Ashlar</a><br> <br> <a href="../trauma/index.html" class="nav">Trauma</a><br> <br> <a href="../training/index.html" class="nav">Training and Certification</a><br> <br> <a href="../community/index.html" class="nav">Community</a><br> <br><a href="/writingprograms/" class="nav">Writing Programs</a><br> <br> <a href="../workshops/index.html" class="nav">Workshops</a><br> <br> <a href="mailto:info@ashlar.org" class="nav">Contact Us</a><br> <br> <a href="http://www.ashlar.org" class="nav">Home</a><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> </p></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> </table> <table width="247" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td>   <p><em>“…the process is not just about writing, it’s ten times more than that! I can’t say enough.” </em></p> <p align="right"> <em> - Carmen Nantez, RN </em></p>  </td> </tr> </table> </TD> <TD valign="top" bgcolor="#FDFEE8" width="530"> <table width="530" border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="5"> <tr> <td valign="top">  <h1 align="center" style="color: #5E5EAE; font-size: 24px;"><strong>Ashlar’s Elder Writing</strong></h1> <div align="justify"> <blockquote> <p align="center"><span style="font-weight: bold"><em>Ultimately, all that we have is our stories; that may be one of our most important legacies. </em></span></p> </blockquote> </div> <blockquote> <p class="bodytext">How many of us would love to lose ourselves in our grandmother’s and grandfather’s letters, diaries, musings and notes about themselves and their lives? How much could be gained through the sharing of successes, regrets, adventures and challenges -- the loves and losses, favorite moments, and even the very worst times of their lives!</p> <p><span class="bodytext"> With our older writers, we notice spontaneity, playfulness, and yes, sometimes a bawdy humor mixed with a deeply serious approach to writing their lives. The stories are often poignant, containing a bitter-sweet quality as well as very wise commentaries and the humor -- this truly is where <em>Life as Our Treasure</em> really lives. As Ashlar writers give time and words to their personal story, the highlighted moments, the years, the life stages come together in a whole that gives coherence to what had previously and often had been dismissed in the unrelated fragments. As people and events in personal and collective histories are juxtaposed, new meaning emerges.</span></p> <p> </p> <p>"...<span style="font-size: x-small">I was very ill a few years ago and listened to my gathered children (and grandchildren) as they talked about my life (I could hear them from my bedroom) – there were errors, people put in where they didn't belong, others left out, incidents that didn't really happen, or those that did set in the wrong place in the wrong time. So many times things that were important to me were not important to them - or maybe they just didn't know about them. It was then I decided to write my own story. I swear this desire helped my personal healing, and as I thought about it, I wished I had my parent’s stories and grandparent’s stories; in a form I could hold in my hands and read. Our children need to know where they come from; if they aren't interested now they will be eventually, and then…whoops, too late.</span>" - <span style="font-size: 10px">Helen Tyrrell</span></p> <p> </p> <p class="bodytext" style="font-weight: bold"><em>Suggested Reading List</em></p> <p><span class="bodytext"><strong>The Art of Aging</strong>, Sherwin B. Nuland, MD.<br> <strong>The Force of Character,</strong> James Hillman.<br> <strong>The Soul's Code</strong>, James Hillman.<br> <strong>Still Here</strong>, Ram Dass.<br> <strong>The Mature Mind,</strong> Gene D. Cohen, MD, PhD.<br> <strong>The Brain That Changes Itself</strong>, Norman Doidge, MD.<br> <strong>The Mindful Brain</strong>, Daniel Siegel.<br> <strong>Close to the Bone, </strong>Jean Shinoda Bolen.<br> <strong>Crossing to Avalon: A Woman's Midlife Pilgrimage, </strong>Jean Shinoda Bolen<strong>. </strong><br> <strong>In the Ever After: Fairy Tales and the Second Half of Life, </strong>Allan B. Chinen.<br> <strong>Creating a Life: Finding Your Individual Path, James Hollis. <br> The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife,</strong> James Hollis. <br> <strong>Swamplands of the Soul: New Life in Dismal Places</strong>, James Hollis.<br> <strong>Old Age: Journey Into Simplicity, </strong>Helen M. Luke.<br> <strong>Dark Nights of the Soul: A Guide to Finding Your Way Through Life's Ordeals, </strong>Thomas Moore.<br> <strong>Coming To Age: The Croning Years and Late-Life Transformation, </strong>Jane R. Pretat.</span><br> </p> <p class="bodytext" style="font-weight: bold">Useful Links:</p> <p class="bodytext" style="font-weight: bold; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype'; font-size: 14px;"><a href="http://www.persimmontree.org/" style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;">Persimmon Tree</a> - Online literary magazine by women over 60</p> <p class="bodytext" style="font-weight: bold"><span class="bodytext"><a href="http://www.PositScience.com" style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;">www.PositScience.com</a> to review The Brain Fitness Program</span></a> </p> </blockquote> </td> </tr> </table> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <table width="750" align="center"> <tr> <td> <h3><a href="../aboutashlar/index.html" class="nav2">About Ashlar</a> | <a href="../trauma/index.html" class="nav2">Trauma</a> | <a href="../training/index.html" class="nav2">Training</a> | <a href="../community/index.html" class="nav2">Community</a> | <a href="/writingprograms/" class="nav2">Writing Programs</a> | <a href="../workshops/index.html" class="nav2">Workshops</a> | <a href="mailto:info@ashlar.org" class="nav2">Contact Us</a> | <a href="http://www.ashlar.org" class="nav2">Home</a></h3> </td> </tr> </table> <table width="750" align="center"> <tr> <td> <h4> site designed by <a href="mailto:chris@radioprogrammer.com" class="nav3">Chris Wienk</a><br> To purchase image contact artist:<a href="http://www.creativeartstudio.com" class="nav3"> Patricia Waters</a> </h4> </td> </tr> </table> </BODY> </HTML>