Permission: The New Memoirist and the Courage to Create

Permission: The New Memoirist and the Courage to Create is a weekend memoir writing workshop at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, led by award-winning author Elissa Altman. It is for anyone who feels compelled to write their own story and has been told, by others or by an inner voice, that they shouldn't. New writers and those with an established practice are equally welcome.

The workshop asks a plain question: how do we grant ourselves permission to write the stories we carry? Altman teaches how to marry writing to contemplation, so that personal experience becomes narrative art rather than journaling alone.

What to Expect

The work centers on personal storytelling and memoir. Crafting a story, rather than only recording it, is what turns writing into a tool for self-discovery, clarity, resolution and healing. Over the weekend you will:

- Explore how to create engaging personal storytelling and memoir.
- Work with ancient shame narratives and make meaning out of chaos.
- See the truth and healing potential in your own words.

The questions of permission and truth-telling are treated as part of the writing itself. Participants are invited to arrive willing to unravel those questions on the page, and to accept that the impulse to tell one's story deserves to be honored. The aim is to move past the constraints of fear toward a deeper awareness that the stories we carry are ours and make us who we are.

The program runs across three days, with a rhythm that follows the Kripalu day. On opening day, check-in begins at 2:00 pm, followed by a Kripalu Yoga class, dinner, and an evening program session from 7:30 to 9:00. The full day begins with yoga at 6:30 am and a silent breakfast, then a morning session from 9:00 to 11:30, lunch, an afternoon session from 1:30 to 4:00, another yoga class, and dinner. On the closing day, yoga and silent breakfast come first, then a final session from 9:00 to 11:00, and lunch before departure. Times may shift, and the schedule given at check-in has the final word.

About Elissa Altman

Elissa Altman is an award-winning author who teaches writing as a contemplative practice. Her focus in this workshop is on helping writers give themselves permission to tell the stories they most need to tell, and on shaping those stories into art.

The Setting

Kripalu is a yoga and health center in Stockbridge, in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Accommodations are intentionally simple, meant to help you unplug and feel grounded. You can choose a private room if you want solitude, or a shared, community-style room if you want connection. Rooms are ready by 4:00 pm, and a luggage room is available if you arrive earlier. On departure day, check-out is at 10:00 am, and you may remain on campus and take part in workshops until 2:00 pm.

Three meals are served each day, and breakfast is taken in silence.

Before You Go

Please bring a journal and a pen or pencil. No prior writing experience is required, and the workshop is taught in English.

Your stay includes all sessions with Elissa Altman, daily yoga classes, three nutritious meals a day, and access to the Kripalu grounds and facilities. Healing Arts sessions and items from the Kripalu Shop and Cafe are available for separate purchase.