Mining Our Mother Loss: A Generative Writing Workshop

Mining Our Mother Loss: A Generative Writing Workshop is for those who’ve lost a mother or maternal figure through death, illness, estrangement, or other circumstances. Whether our mother loss is recent, decades-old, or soon to come, it hurts just the same. It is a grief that unmoors and shatters us, and then reshapes us in innumerable ways.

Join us as we discuss strategies for writing about grief caused by mother loss. The writing prompts shared in this generative workshop will help participants: develop new ways of documenting and honoring grief caused by mother loss; fashion meaning and ritual from our mother loss; and write about our mother loss from a place of emotional honesty and self-compassion. Participants will come away with fresh material to further develop into writing projects.

Writers of all levels and genres are welcome!

The Zoom link will be emailed to all participants two days before the workshop.

Testimonials

“It was wonderful! I was emotionally wrecked afterward but goes to show your prompts were spot on!” - Heather M., participant in The Mother Loss Writing Workshop

“I was in awe about this session—the prompts asked and the space for [sharing].” - Participant, The Mother Loss Writing Workshop

“Thank you for your session on mother grief. It was really transformative for me because, on my own, I don’t allow much time to write. Now I will be more intentional about writing.” - Oli D., participant in The Mother Loss Writing Workshop

“This workshop had the right balance of lecture and writing prompts. I also was impressed with the participants, many of whom are published.” - Participant, The Mother Loss Writing Workshop

“Huge thanks to Jodi Savage who facilitated a powerful online Mother Loss Writing Workshop. Participants from across the globe joined and Jodi gave us excellent writing prompts and guidance on how to approach writing about mothers or mother figures we have lost through death, estrangement, or other circumstances. It was great to be in community, to create new work and to hear inspiring new writing from attendees.” - JP, participant in The Mother Loss Writing Workshop

“I felt really supported.” - Participant, The Mother Loss Writing Workshop

“I had an excellent time with Jodi Savage and the other women in this Mother Loss Writing Workshop! The prompts were helpful and allowed me to focus more on writing about what my mother’s loss truly means. I am truly inspired by the stories of the bold, powerful women who attended the workshop via Zoom!” - Corinne Q., participant in The Mother Loss Writing Workshop

About Your Facilitator

Jodi M. Savage is the author of The Death of a Jaybird: Essays on Mothers and Daughters and the Things They Leave Behind. Her essays have appeared in The Offing, Oprah Daily, The Huffington Post, Catapult, Kweli Journal, and other publications. Jodi is a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee, and her essays have also been nominated for Best of the Net and listed as a notable essay in The Best American Essays 2019. Jodi obtained her MFA in Creative Nonfiction from New York University, where she was a Goldwater Fellow and facilitated poetry workshops for patients at Roosevelt Island’s Coler-Goldwater Hospital.