Writing Through Your Trauma
A 5-Week Program Designed to Help You Thrive Rather than Just Survive the Memoir Writing Process
Enroll in Course
Wednesdays, 1/3/23 - 1/31/23 | 1:00 PM EDT - 3:00 PM EDT
All sessions will take place on Zoom and will be recorded and made available indefinitely
Maybe you’ve just started writing about your awful childhood or that one unspeakable thing that happened, but you’re not sure how to proceed.
Or perhaps you’ve been writing for a while and now feel stuck. But this story matters more than anything and you’re willing to do the work that will turn what happened to you into a meaningful story for your readers.
The key to write about trauma, is to P.A.C.E. yourself.
Practice Self-Care
Activate Your Internal Wisdom
Choose Wisely and Keep It Contained
Explore with Curiosity and Compassion
During Writing Through Your Trauma, you’ll learn the P.A.C.E. technique for writing about trauma, a proven method I've used with writers for the past twelve years to help them write from a place of resilience and empowerment. Along the way, you'll practice the method's key skills in a safe and supportive environment. This work will help you not just survive, but thrive while writing about your most painful events.
Your Instructor
Hi, I'm Lisa Cooper Ellison, an author, speaker, and trauma-informed writing coach, with an Ed.S in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a background in mindfulness.
I've spent the past twenty years helping students and writers transform their life stories into art. I'm also a trauma survivor who writes about tough topics. I've struggled with the same hangups and story problems all writers of tough stories face, including feeling triggered while writing about traumatic moments, getting overwhelmed by my story, wondering if it's worth telling, and dealing with the memory lapses and narrative arc struggles that happen when writing about chaotic, painful moments. It was those humble writer struggles that inspired me to create this course.
I wanted to give writers a systematic way to work on their tough stories that didn't just help them make get words on the page, but empowered them to take charge of their writing process, find meaning in their most difficult moments, and feel good about what they accomplish.
I spent years studying both the craft of writing and the impact trauma has on the nervous system so I could develop, test, and then teach specific strategies that are both trauma -informed and effective. I've spent the past twelve years refining these strategies, so I can now teach them to you.
I know this process works. Students and clients of mine have been published in or have books forthcoming from St. Martin's Press, Hatchett, Prometheus Books, APA, and Nortons; they've also been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, Brevity Literary Magazine, and HuffPost, among others.
But don't take my word for it. Check out what former students have to say:
"Lisa Cooper Ellison‘s classes and webinars are outstandingly informative, packed with useful information and a wealth of resources!"
- Heidi Kharbi, Coach, Guide, Writer, and Speaker
"I was struggling with some of the more traumatic material and found myself procrastinating and avoiding the work. Deep down I knew I needed someone to both hold my hand and hold me accountable (to myself and my big vision). Lisa’s unique mix of whip smart editing and book wisdom; combined with her compassion and devotion to not just her client’s books, but their health and wholeness as humans, is a gift beyond measure,"
-Casey Erin Wood, Memoirist. Patriarchy Smasher. Small Talk Avoider. Believer in Magic.
Get started now!
Each week, we'll meet for a 2-hour session where we'll explore a different facet of the P.A.C.E. program.
- During week one, you'll get an overview of the course, find out why writing about traumatic events is so challenging, and learn how holistic self-care can help you build your resilience.
- During week two, we'll explore five different ways you can activate your internal wisdom and feel empowered about the the writing you do.
- Week three is all about learning the specific writing skills that will help you stay in control of your writing process and navigate the work ahead. This includes learning how to deal with memory gaps, and discovering specific strategies for identifying and then writing about feelings that are difficult to identify, especially during periods of dissociation.
- In week four, we'll deepen that work by exploring how you can not only capture what happened but make meaning from it.
- As we wrap up, we'll spend week five looking at how to prevent self-gaslighting, and balancing aspects of light and dark in a longer project.
Frequently Asked Questions
"TOTAL.GAME.CHANGER! I feel confident after taking this course that I can write the hard stuff while simultaneously taking care of myself. Lisa’s class is organized. She covers a range of different learning styles and is a compassionate person. The value of this class is top-notch!
- Meagan J., writer
As a member of this class, you'll not only receive great instruction, you'll get:
- Expert coaching in a safe and supportive environment
- A comprehensive workbook filled with strategies to help you navigate this course and your writing projects
- Weekly writing exercises aligned with the course content
- Weekly trauma-informed meditations that focus on somatic grounding exercises which you can try
- Weekly inspirational messages you can listen to again and again
- Access to a class Slack where you can communicate with your peers
Best of all, this content is yours for life!
If you're ready to become a resilient writer who knows how to write in a way that honors your story and the needs of your nervous system, understands how to write from a place of empowerment and peace, feels in control of your writing process and your projects, gets excited about finding new ways to turn tough experiences into art, this course is for you.
“Lisa creates safe and generous spaces in which to grow, while also providing the right nudges and guidance to advance. I went from a lonely writer blindly pressing towards a dream to a confident memoirist with a clear vision for the road ahead.”
- Tia Levings, author of A Well-Trained Wife, forthcoming in June of 2024, Content Writer, Podcaster, and Memoirist
- Lynn Shattuck, Writer on Parenting, Grief, and Sibling Loss