The Story...
Reading great books and writing in my diary have got me through some of the most testing times in my life, most of all the illness and death of my mum and the highs and lows of becoming a mum myself. That's why, shortly after my baby was born, my present to myself was a creative writing course.
I was surprised and strangely thrilled to discover two other 'motherless mothers' on my course, and it got me thinking about the restorative role which writing can play. Writing not only helped me find my feet as a mother, but in confronting grief as I entered another life stage. After binge reading everything I could on the subject of motherhood, mourning and creativity then the plan for Dear Mum was formed.
About me...
My name is Bianca and I'm the founder of Dear Mum and lead all our classes and workshops. My mum died in 2010 when I was 24 years' old. I thought I was approaching the pinnacle of adulthood at that age, but more than ten years later and with a little boy of my own, I still sometimes feel I'm waiting to 'arrive'! I teach English Literature to university students and in my spare time love reading, writing and making mug cakes.
What happens if I sign up for a Dear Mum course?
First of all, sign up! The next classes run on Mondays at 1pm from 3rd May. If that's not a good time and date for you, pop me an email at dearmumgroup@outlook.com or with the contact form and if there's enough interest, I'll put on another class on an alternative day/in the evening.
I'll send you a discovery form. It's a way to help you focus on what you'd like to get out of Dear Mum and to tell me a bit more about yourself. You'll also have the opportunity to check back in with what you wrote at the end of the course.
The workshops happen online in small groups--we're using Facebook 'rooms' at the moment. We use Padlet as a shared space where you'll find the week's agenda pinned, together with anything else we will be using as a visual prompt for the week. It's a collaborative space which stays open even after the course is over, so you can pin your own comments or writing contributions at any time. Here's an example.
Each week has a theme which relates to a touchstone of memory--you may be asked to bring something along to inspire your writing. We always begin with a bit of free writing and a more general discussion before we start looking at some of the prompts for the week (poems, fiction, photography, even music) and some writing challenges. As trust builds in the group, I hope you'll feel brave enough to share some of your writing with us--it feels really good, I promise! But it's always 100% up to you.