Grief touches every life, yet it can be difficult to speak about; our daily social interactions may not have a place where talking about what is so present for us feels welcome.
But when we write about our losses in an AWA method workshop, we begin to uncover the strength, wisdom, and tenderness that live within those losses. This workshop is an invitation to turn toward your grief with curiosity and courage, to find words for what matters most, and to discover how your stories can bring comfort and connection. Together, we will create a community where each voice is valued, and where writing becomes a powerful path toward recovery and renewal.
Workshops in the AWA method have been demonstrated to reduce isolation and loneliness through capturing and sharing stories an affinity group of writers who share similar challenges.
We do not yet have any kind of formal grants or funding for these workshops, so we do ask for a modest registration fee. However, we recognize that not everyone who is dealing with grief and loss can afford to pay for workshops. If you cannot afford the registrtation donation, please reach out to Gail Cunningham gail.cunningham.01 (at) gmail.com to request financial aid to attend these workshops.
The Health Challenges of Grieving
Grief is not only an emotional experience—it also affects the body and mind. Research shows that prolonged or intense grieving can increase stress hormones, disrupt sleep, lower immune function, and contribute to conditions such as high blood pressure and heart disease. Mentally, grief is linked to depression, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and social withdrawal. Understanding these impacts helps normalize the challenges of loss and highlights the importance of healthy coping strategies, including creative expression, social support, and self-care.
An AWA Method writing workshop offers all three of those benefits. Studies in expressive writing show that putting feelings into words can lower stress, regulate emotions, strengthen immune response, and improve sleep. Writing helps organize overwhelming thoughts, making them more manageable, and creates a safe outlet for feelings that might otherwise stay bottled up. By shaping our experiences into language, we not only support mental clarity and resilience but also promote overall well-being.
One Art
by Elizabeth Bishop
The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.
I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.
I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.
—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.
You can see the whole list of ALL Amherst Writers workshops here (including Power of Story offerings) at this link:
Event Calendar | Amherst Writers & Artists
or the workshops exclusively for Power of Story are listed in date order below.