Three authors will be taking part in a reading and panel discussion this evening at the Alex Robertson Public Library in La Ronge.
The event is called, Writing as Healing Journey, and will lead attendees on a journey of personal healing from trauma.
La Ronge area author, Miriam Körner is the moderator of the event.
“I hope that it will empower people to think about how writing or journaling can help in their personal healing journeys,” says Körner. “ We don’t always want to talk about the trauma we experienced and sometimes it’s helpful to create a space in which we can safely address our hurts.”
Author Kristine Scarrow is the writer-in-residence at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon. She works as part of the healing arts program.
Scarrow is the first person in the province to be a certified instructor of Journey to Self, which is a journaling techniques course.
Author of, Firewater: How Alcohol Is Killing My People (And Yours), Harold Johnson will be a panellist at the event as well.
Johnson is an active community member in La Ronge and spent years as a Crown prosecutor in northern Saskatchewan.
Weyakwin author, Nancy Lefleur is the author of, Finding Lost.
Her book is a story of her lifelong struggle to find her identity and shares her childhood trauma.
The book introduces five women that she could have become if she did not turn her life around.
“I carry a lot of trauma through my life, and basically I’ve responded in ways that were not very healthy,” explains Lefleur.
She adds that she spent hours and hours writing about her life.
In addition to the panel discussion this evening, Scarrow will lead a workshop on Saturday where participants will learn healing through writing.
“Some people go to counselling; they do different things. I write,” explains Lafleur. “Writing for me is a very safe place. There is nobody judging who I am. I don’t have a critic. It’s just between me and the paper.”
Writing as a Healing Journey begins at 7 pm this evening and all are welcome.
(Poster for Writing as a Healing Journey, courtesy of Alex Robertson Public Library.)