This past spring, I had the pleasure of participating in Suzanne’s “Writing as a Righting Journey” workshop. Although I’d just flown back into town after a difficult and exhausting trip, I soon found myself enlivened by the writing suggestions and guided discussions. Throughout the afternoon, Suzanne’s exercises helped me to integrate a number of rich—and, at times, traumatic— experiences. Designed for writers who are parenting children with chronic illness and/or disability, the workshop quietly evolved into an informal community. The flow of the prompts allowed me to discover new ways of describing the uniqueness of both my child’s and my individual situation. I left with a deeper understanding of what other families experience and also how much we all have in common. Looking back at my notes from that afternoon, I’m impressed with the integrative process Suzanne gently introduced us to. It’s a journey that continues. I’m grateful for her insights.
(May 10, 2016)
Christianne Balk, poet, author of The Holding Hours, (University of Washington Press), Desiring Flight (Purdue University Press) and Bindweed (Macmillan). Honors include the Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets, Verna Emery Poetry Prize from Purdue University, and grants from the Ingram Merrill Foundation and the Seattle Arts Council.
Thank you again so much for all your help – your advice and resources were invaluable.
Margaret Isaac, MD
Adult Medicine Clinic and Palliative Care Service, Harborview Medical Center
Course Chair, Introduction to Clinical Medicine I, UW School of Medicine
We first met during a course Suzanne facilitated in the spring 2015 called Writing as a Righting Journey. During the course Suzanne provided great materials and insights for prompts in our writing. It helped me get to some ‘juicy’ stuff during the course, as I have often seen my personal creative expression as a separate entity from my professional and clinical role. Suzanne did a lovely job of weaving in the group’s participation into the morning. I was so appreciative of her suggestions for additional resources.
Isaac A. Bohannon, MD
Assistant Professor and Residency Program Director
University of Washington, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery