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Stories are the bread of life. In the darkest times and times of upheaval, story nourishes our soul, heals our suffering, elevates our capacity to shape and lead our lives, and lights the inner lights of strength, hope, wisdom, and perspective. The right story offered at the right time can heal a heart, pull a family together, motivate a team, activate a community, and connect a world. This course is for anyone who seeks to share stories that matter—to ourselves and to others. No storytelling/story-crafting experience is necessary. We will learn to cultivate the stories of our lived experience such that they elevate us and others. We will become wiser at listening and gathering stories from the world around us. And we will become more skillful at sharing story—around the board tables and dining tables of our worlds.

Who This Is For
Anyone who seeks to write or find the words to enable wisdom during this time. For writers, poets, songwriters, scribblers, journal keepers, and lovers of language—whether you have never taken any form of writing class before or not. All are welcome.

“Maria asks the most interesting, soul-searching questions—great for improving our writing and for knowing ourselves better. Such a gift!” —Mary Judd, Co-Founder/Program Director, SongwritingWith:Soldiers

Schedule and Time Commitment

Class meet weekly with each live session running for 60 minutes. Every lesson is recorded for viewing at your convenience if you are unable to join live.

Each session will offer pre-work and homework assignments supporting the weekly themes. This work is not mandatory, but suggested. In addition, each week, as part of the live lessons, we will share quotes, phrases, writing prompts, and reading recommendations to deepen our work and inspire us to put pen to paper. We expect that the weekly time commitment, should you choose to do all the pre-work/homework and attend the lesson or listen to the recording, will be two to three hours.

Technology
Wholebeing Institute uses state-of-the-art, user-friendly Zoom technology that allows you to see the faculty via video, watch the slides during the presentation, and participate during live events through your computer or mobile device. Presentation materials and any necessary pre-work or homework will be emailed in advance. Live sessions with Maria are held weekly.
Recordings will be posted following each session for students who are unable to join live or would like to review the material again.
Faculty
 
Maria Sirois, Psy.D.

Dr. Maria Sirois is a master teacher, facilitator and author. She is devoted to the science of well-being and the art of crafting a life and a work that embodies health, passion and success. As a positive psychologist (Psy.D.) and consultant, she focuses on the resilience of the human spirit particularly when under chronic stress, during significant transitions, and/or feeling the shock of wholesale change. Known for her wisdom, authenticity and humor, she brings a wealth of perspective from decades of study in the mind/body medicine and resilience disciplines. Maria is a longstanding faculty member at Wholebeing Institute and offers a number of courses, including the Certificate in Wholebeing Positive Psychology. She is the author of two books: A Short Course in Happiness After Loss (And Other Dark, Difficult Times) and Every Day Counts. Her home is in the Berkshire Mountains where she attempts on a daily basis to love her children well enough so that they too find a way to embrace the world with a grounded optimism and a sense of their own strengths. And on most days, she remembers to feed the cat. www.mariasirois.com

What our students say

“Having Maria as my teacher was a gift and a blessing for which I will forever remain grateful. I am feeling inspired and motivated to keep writing the stories of my heart.”
—Nancy Swartz, age 76

Maria Sirois is a gifted teacher who pushes me to think beyond the surface and to reach further into my narrative in a truthful and compassionate way. By sharing her vulnerability , knowledge, and personal struggles, she normalizes the human condition and creates a learning space that is safe and accepting. Being in a classroom with her allows me to meet myself exactly where I am and gives me the confidence to go deeper into my own narrative and live gracefully from ” the swamps” to “the ponds.” Thank you, Maria!

“Maria is an insightful, talented, and generous teacher. I would recommend her to anyone interested in writing their own story.” 
—Ellen Manning

Highly Satisfying is not quite strong enough to describe how I feel about this course. It was Highly Inspiring and Inspired.

This course enabled me to find the words to express myself and to locate where I am in the things that I am thinking about presently.

Maria Sirois is a master teacher, inspiring motivational speaker, gifted writer, and storyteller who shares tears of hope and resilience with her listeners. She has become an exemplar to me, and I could listen to her tell stories and teach us about storytelling all day long. My stories are richer, deeper, and more honest now because of what she has taught me, and taking this class has been like holding up a mirror to my heart.

Such a great blend of warm instruction and great resources, especially the videos and quotes. The writing prompts were engaging, timely and creative.

“The Storytelling class was wonderful. I appreciated Maria’s lectures, stories, and insight into how to shape narrative to enhance meaning.” —Debra Levin

I am among Maria’s huge fan club and will seek opportunities to continue to learn with her.

Registration Information

Tuition for this course is $149. USD