The Chicago Public Library (CPL) has asked me to lead a free four-part virtual memoir-writing workshop,.and The first class starts Tuesday, September 14 at 2 pm central time. and then at 2 pm every Tuesday up to and including October 5, 2021. You don’t have to be a Chicago resident to register, anyone anywhere can […]

My friend Bill Green can see a little bit. I can’t see at all. The two of us have known each other for years, and a trip to Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood three weeks ago marked the first time we’ve actually worked together. If you call getting a personal tour of Chicago’s new Pullman National Monument […]

I’m pretty sure ableism wasn’t even a word when I lost my sight in 1986. Don’t get me wrong here: ableism existed 35 years ago, but back then we just called it discrimination. The 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act is coming on July 26, so now seems a good time to acknowledge […]

Happy anniversary! It’s been a year now that we’ve featured essays by writers in my memoir classes on the Safe & Sound blog every week. The writers in all my classes are on Spring Break now, so here I am with a short piece boasting about the strength they’ve exhibited since the shutdown in March […]

With many of the seniors in my Zoom memoir-writing classes away on Spring Break now,so I am pleased to have 14-year-old Anja Herrman as a guest blogger today. I got to know Anja very well when she was nine years old and learning at home during a casting program (casts on both legs from her […]