Memories become memoirs in local workshop

DENVER - "Tell me your life story." It's a sentence you'll never hear in the MemoryWriters workshop even though the program is all about writing people's life stories. Instead, workshop founder Melissa Knopper throws out topics like "My Mother's Hands."

"It's sometimes the smallest details that create the richest memories," she said.

Knopper created the MemoryWriters program six months ago. She teaches groups of seniors, usually at community centers, how to begin writing their life stories.

"Seniors don't have an outlet to tell their stories, or maybe people don't always listen. And this is a way they can they can be heard in a group of people who are like-minded," Knopper said.

Alongside Knopper for the workshops is her colleague Susan Bruckner, the organization's co-founder and a mental health counselor who specializes in grief and loss. Bruckner says recalling some memories can be emotionally difficult.

"They've had such rich, rich lives. Most of them have lived over 60 years. And there's a lot going on. Life isn't easy," Bruckner said.

One of the most recent class participants, Janet Thompson, had a difficult time talking about a decades-old friendship that had suffered with the passing of time.

"Her daughter told me yesterday she probably wouldn't remember me if I visited her in a nursing home," Thompson said through tears while talking about her friend Bonnie.

Knopper says any senior or family member wanting to document a senior's life stories can start with simple topics and let that topic lead to something else.

For Morris Price, the topic of "candy" led him to recall his first memory of segregation in his home state of Louisiana.

"That was the first day I found out I was colored," he said. "I wanted to go to Picadilly restaurant and have a hamburger... and my sister said 'We can't go there because we're colored. But I'll fix you some pecan candy when we get home.'"

Knopper and Bruckner say such writing exercises could help some seniors retain their memories.

"Not only are you creating these beautiful things to pass on, but you're keeping the synapses going and reconnecting some things that haven't been connected for quite a while," Bruckner said.
The group workshops ($30 to $50) can last two weeks or five weeks. Knopper also offers one-on-one writing workshops. She'd eventually like to offer the workshops at assisted living facilities.

Once they feel like they've written enough, the seniors can have a book made. Knopper says those book prices start at $20.

Some seniors, though, are content to leave their stories hand-written inside their journals. Either way, Knopper says having such stories to pass on to future generations is invaluable.

"It's peace of mind," she said. "It feels good to know that you've got that story."

To find out more about memory writers, visit www.real-life-tributes.com.