Mining Memory Lane: Exploring Your Stories
Presenters & Partners: Writer and Storyteller Rose Arrowsmith & Care Partners of Cook County https://carepartnersofcookcounty.org/

Our lives are made of stories, from childhood games to holiday traditions, to grand adventures. Writer and storyteller Rose Arrowsmith will use prompts, guided visualization, and paired sharing techniques to help you tap into and start crafting your memories. This short workshop is a great way to kickstart recording family history or writing memoir, all while connecting with others through thoughtful conversation.

Notes:
We ask that you pull out a pen and paper to have a place to process along the way
We are taking a moment to share about the place we just visualized. If you want to jot some notes down that is an option.
Holiday Traditions
First Love or First Crush
Injuries
Family Pets
Life, Death, Graduation, Career, Birth
Make a note – top ones (circle or make a note). Could add other things too like smells or tastes or sounds
Write down any ideas that someone else shares that might be something you are inspired by and want to add to your paper.
Look at one that you circled or stared. Let’s look at exploring that more.
Notice the place that your story includes
Imagine the place
If there is something happening is there – who is there, people, places, imaginary, items, sense the before something happens or before the moment / place your or people you’re envisioning
Notice how you feel
How did you feel before or in that moment
Smells
Season or the earth or the skunk or the room etc
What do you hear?
Is it a small thing or a big thing.
Is this something happened in a few moments or a few years
Does it hopscotch around through your life?
What are the details that stand out?
Are there any phrases or words said or thought that are of importance?
Anything that has shifted – grafts an emotional spike or easy arch
Check in – how do you feel?
Is there anything you would want to say to yourself at that moment or to others?
What are 2 things that when sharing your story that strikes the person you’re telling the story to.
The book the Artist Way
Believing Mirrors
When something is mirrored back to us.
Compliments, Questions, Suggestions
Is there someone in your life you want to have a coffee date or a phone call or whatever to share stories with one another
Take a moment to reflect: what you are taking with you and if there is a next step you would want to take about your stories or collecting stories