Grief is cumulative. It is the normal and natural response to a loss of any kind. We grieve the deaths of those we love—human, animal, plant, earth, and we also grieve the selves we used to be, the jobs we’ve left, the houses we’ve loved. We grieve roads not taken and missed opportunities. We grieve what might have been and what was. For many of us, especially women, grief is anger’s sister, their bond forged generations ago. The story of our grief can trap us, but it can also cleanse and release. The United States is grief-phobic, with few opportunities to learn to work with the energy of grief in a healthy way. The chronic stress that is part of COVID-19 is not only creating new losses and new griefs, but it is opening up older, unresolved griefs—personally, intergenerationally, and collectively.

This class is a safe environment in which to explore the language of grief. It’s generative and process-oriented, with feedback framed as “witnessing” rather than critiquing. Each week will have a “touchstone” prompt that will help you gather material and an “immersion” prompt where you will do a deep dive into the theme of the week. There will also be instructor-provided supplemental texts. The class is not intended as a substitute for therapy, and therapy will not be provided.

4-week ONLINE class.

No synchronous component required.

Tuition: $230

A $55 deposit saves your spot. You can pay it right here:

http://literarykitchen.net/grieving-into-life-writing-raw-in-the-time-of-the-pandemic/