The Write to Heal

A Writing Journey for Women Who Dare to Heal
Enroll in the next session for $147

Your Story Matters

YOU matter

Have you experienced trauma?

Chances are you answered yes. There are so many of us who have.
This is a safe place where you will find your voice and discover writing as a pathway of healing.  A place where I will help guide you to take back your power, own your story and experience true transformation.

  • Is there a single soul who understands what you’ve been through?

  • How afraid are you to express how you REALLY feel?

  • How alone, invisible, disempowered do you feel?

  • Does anyone relate to, or even believe, the depth of your pain?

I remember…

I remember the first time I wrote my full name. I was four years old and I was sitting on the floor with my colouring book. It had a blue cover with a yellow border, and there, between the lines of that yellow border, I wrote my name. Michelle La Marque. It’s a clear snapshot in my mind. A good memory, and through the eyes of my adult self, the first time I ever experienced a feeling of empowerment.

The abuse had been going on for about 18 months already, from just before my third birthday, and I had already taught myself to read. Reading was, and remains my favourite escape from reality.

But writing… well, writing became a vehicle that allowed me to create worlds.

Later, I discovered journaling and although, as a child, I never wrote about the abuse – I was far too afraid someone would read it – writing allowed me to express my feelings through halting sentences. I fell in love with words. I collected them, writing them down, just so that I could go back and read them in all their expressive wonder. Iridescent. Schism. Excruciating.

As I got older, writing became my way of making sense of the world. In my early 30’s, when I was heavily pregnant with my third child, and watching cancer hurtling my father toward death, I found an amazing therapist who immediately identified my love of writing as the vehicle toward my healing.

What have I learned?

Over the last 25 years, hearing the stories of the women I’ve met through my work or through counselling groups, I’ve learned that healing is ongoing and that at some point in our lives, we all come face to face with trauma. Every single one of us.

Sometimes what we need most of all is for someone to bear witness to our pain and our lived experience. That is what you will get here.

You will learn:

  • that healing is a choice, not an easy one, but it is YOUR choice.
  • that healing happens in community, when we are able to share our truth and our vulnerability.
  • that acknowledging the truth of your experience, being brutally honest with yourself and coming face to face with your demons is incredibly empowering.
  • that allowing yourself to be vulnerable can be a powerful healing experience.
  • the difference between humility and shame.

That’s why I created this writing workshop.

 

Over the next 21 days I will guide you with writing prompts, designed to encourage you to explore your experience of trauma and of life. You will receive these prompts daily via email, together with an accompanying video for each section.

You can share your writing, if you so wish, in a private Facebook group. A safe and sacred space, where we can speak our pain and learn about ourselves in a language other than the narrow narrative that has framed our identity.

I wanted to create a space where we can re-frame our stories and expand the language we used to build our identity. We are here both to bear witness to one another and to be witnessed.

 

Through this workshop:

You will no longer feel isolated and alone

You will no longer feel disempowered and invisible

You will no longer have to hide

You will no longer feel shame.

I'm Michelle Robertson

I'm Michelle Robertson

I have been building online communities for the last 20 years. I’ve facilitated workshops and mentored women who have gone through trauma for over 20 years.

Having experienced sexual abuse in my childhood as well as a violent rape at the age of 21, I understand how isolating the journey towards healing can be.

I believe that we all experience trauma at some time in our lives, be that sexual violence, abuse, the death of someone we love, miscarriage, crime, divorce or any other experience that fundamentally changes us.

I have run in-person trauma writing workshops over the years and am now focusing on offering these online in order to reach more women in need of the healing power of writing in community.

I have lived in South Africa and the United States and am currently based in Ireland.

The Write to Heal is a  21 day journey of self discovery. Writing your way through trauma allows you begin the process of exploring the voice of your experience.

We become the stories we tell ourselves, but our stories are not cast in stone, they change as our lives and perceptions change.

This workshop is about putting yourself out there, being witnessed, connecting to your pain and having that pain acknowledged without judgement or prescription.

It’s about allowing yourself the time and the freedom to express your deepest, truest feelings in a safe place without fear of reprisal or reproach; just acceptance of where you find yourself now.

Who is this workshop for?

This workshop is specifically for women who are ready to confront their pain and face themselves with honesty and vulnerability.

What can I write about?

  • any difficult experience that has deeply affected you (childhood trauma, death, suicide, addiction, chronic illness, violence)
  • any pain that you are experiencing, especially if you feel that it has been unacknowledged.

Through this workshop you will:

  • feel supported and acknowledged as you explore your pain and your loss
  • realise that you are not alone
  • feel less lonely and isolated
  • come to understand that healing is something we all do, daily
  • become a part of a community of kindred spirits
  • learn about yourself and how your experiences have shaped you
  • learn to lean in to your trauma experience and find a place of acceptance and comfort

Next session begins in January 2024

Enrol Now for $147

Things to note:

  • You will receive a daily writing prompt via email, but they will also be available here inside the course curriculum.
  • I am in the Facebook group with you, reading your posts and connecting with you.
  • Though the support and connection within the group is a big part of this course, you are not required to take part. You can sit on the sidelines and observe, although I hope you will dip your toe in!
  • This workshop is NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR THERAPY. Writing is therapeutic and writing in community is powerful, but please note that we do not provide therapy or advice.
  • You are welcome here, no matter the nature or extent of the trauma you have suffered.
  • This workshop is only open to women at this stage. Not because I am sexist or because I think men’s experiences of trauma are any less damaging that women’s, but because many of the women who share here were deeply traumatised by men and will not feel comfortable sharing in a mixed group.

Frequently Asked Questions

 

How long do I have access to the course?

How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have lifetime access to the Facebook group for as long as you like. You also have access to the writing prompts from this course in your email.

What if I am unhappy with the course?

I would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 5 days and we will give you a full refund. No questions asked.

Is this workshop therapy?

No! While the experience of writing in the group and being witnessed in your pain can be healing and therapeutic, this is NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR THERAPY, not should it be construed as group therapy.

I don’t write well, can I join?

Of course you can. It’s not about crafting a perfect story, or about the quality of your writing, it’s about your self-expression and using words to frame your experience.

Do I have to write/engage every day?

It’s your choice entirely. Healing isn’t prescriptive and neither is this workshop. You will have lifetime access to the prompts. Some days will be more difficult than others, you may need to take a break. That’s okay. I would encourage you to try and show up for the full workshop, but it’s not a prerequisite.

I’m afraid of opening up old wounds. (Ok, this isn’t a question, but it is a concern.)

Your experience was painful, and yes, writing may bring that pain into focus, but the purpose of the workshop is to reframe our experience and help us find a way to co-exist with our pain. Telling your stories and having other’s bear witness to your experience is powerful and it changes the way you experience that pain. It gives you a framework for your experience and allows you to see that it is not all encompassing.

Join like minded women who are supporting
one another on their healing journey!

Class size is limited, so book your spot now.

The 21 day Write to Heal session is available for $147.00

 

Next session begins in January 2024

Enrol Now for $147

what do women say?

I wanted to just say this about the writing workshop that Michelle ran. Trauma for all of us runs deep and it needs to be pealed back, examined and healed. The workshop for me revealed some things that still need to be healed and surprisingly some that I am now able to look at from a distance in the incredible knowledge that I have moved past it. When Michelle runs this workshop again, do it!! And know that by doing it you are stepping into your healing journey with someone who’s been there and holds you every step of the way. And I can’t wait to see what she’s got planned going forward.

Diane Lindeman – The Elevation Coach

I had no idea how powerful writing would turn out to be. It’s completely changed things for me!

Jenna

The writing workshop is amazing. The questions are deep and thought provoking. I really love what you’ve created. 


Lori Latimer ~ Grief with Grace Podcast

Next session begins in January 2024

Enroll NOW for $147