I’m delighted to introduce Gretchen Hane as our guest blogger today. Born into a Quaker family, Gretchen lived in a small village in Michigan called Newaygo during her formative years. After graduating in 1964 from Earlham College (a Quaker school in Indiana) she moved to Chicago, earned a Master’s Degree in teaching at Northwestern University, […]

Good news! Soon all of the memoir-writing classes I lead will be back in session, which means our “Senior Class” feature will be back in full swing, too. I’m getting the ball rolling by introducing Al Hippensteel as our guest blogger today. After a long career in the printing industry, Al retired, appropriately, here in […]

What a pleasure it is to feature José DiMauro as our guest blogger today. Born in Argentina, José graduated from medical school at Univ De Buenos Aires and left home in 1963 to start his medical career at Chicago’s Mercy Hospital. From there he became a board certified pathologist at University of Illinois in Chicago. […]

The “I have a Dream” prompt I assigned writers in my classes last month inspired them to write about dreams they have for the world, for their country, and for their loved ones. Some even wrote about recurring nightmares! The one that surprised me the most? This flattering essay by today’s guest blogger Lola Hotchkis. […]

Safe & Sound blog readers have been asking me lately if the memoir-writing classes I lead are starting up again now, and, if so, “Will you start publishing essays by your students on your blog again, too? I always like those.” My answers? Yes, and yes! Today is the first of October, I’ll be leading […]