Spring Workshops & Events

Join me in North Carolina, New York, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Oregon!

Hello friends,

I hope you’re hearts are holding strong in these harrowing times. My own heart zigs and zags between holding strong and silently shriveling up into a tiny ball of rage, sorrow, and despair. I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions, but at the beginning of the year I decided to do a dead hang (almost) every day for as long as I can bear to do it and it’s helped me in this heart zig-zag situation in ways I didn’t expect.

Have you ever done a dead hang? Holy hell, it’s hard. In case you don’t know, to do a dead hang, you simply grip a bar that’s high enough that you can hang from it while holding the entire weight of your own sweet body in the palms of your hands. Every time I do it I feel like I’m going to die. Every time, about three seconds in, my brain starts silently shrieking: Stop this right now! Let go! You cannot do this! This is insane and impossible! Get me the hell outta here! And every time this other part of my brain calmly replies: It’s okay, Cheryl. Just hang on. I know this is hard, but you can do this. I know it’s uncomfortable, but you can breathe through it. I know you don’t want to, but you must.

It feels like this conversation goes on for an hour and a half, but the whole thing’s over in less than a minute (so far!). It’s kind of saved me, this near daily reminder that we can endure, we can push through, we can keep hanging even when it hurts.

Well, that, and all the other good things that don’t involve me having to dangle my entire ass from a metal bar: art, walking, the sky, snuggling up with my cats and dogs, writing, reading, watching good movies and tv shows with my dear Brian, seeing all the ways the people I know and love in real life and/or follow and love online keep spreading kindness, generosity, courage, and delight.

I hope, in the midst of everything, you’re finding lots of those good things too.

I’m writing to you now because I’m looking ahead to spring and beyond, when I have lots of fun in-the-world things coming up, and I want to tell you about them, in hopes that you’ll join me. Here they are, in list form, because you know I love a list:

1. I’ll be returning to the beautiful Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina to teach a weekend writing workshop March 21-23. The Art of Living Retreat Center is in the spectacular Blue Ridge Mountains and it’s such a special place. This workshop is for anyone who wants to write—whether you’re an experienced writer or entirely new to the idea of putting your stories on the page. I’ll share all the best things I know about writing, the creative process, trusting yourself, and finding the truest, bravest, deepest stories you have to tell and we’ll also do lots of writing together. You can get all the details and register here.

The view from the Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina.

2. Right before I head to North Carolina, I’ll be in Buffalo, New York to give a talk for the Just Buffalo Literary Center’s BABEL Authors Series at Kleinhans Music Hall on March 20th. There’s also a livestream option if you’re not able to attend in person. You can get your tickets here.

3. On April 27th, I’ll be in Denver for the Lotus Network’s “It’s Never Too Late To Be Brave” event, where I’ll be interviewed on stage at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts at 11am. Tickets and more information can be found here.

4. I’ll be returning to the wonderful Kripalu Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts the first weekend in May to teach my weekend writing workshop—and there’s also a livestream option for those of you who can’t make it in person. As I said above, my writing workshops are for writers at all levels, so all are welcome. We always have the most incredible time when we gather and write and Kripalu is a truly fabulous place to do it. You can register and get more details here.

5. I’ll also be doing a couple of talks in my hometown of Portland, Oregon in the coming months. On March 13th, I’ll be at the University of Portland’s Buckley Center Auditorium as their Schoenfeldt Speaker. The event is free and open to the public. More details here. And this summer, I’ll be the closing keynote speaker at the Willamette Writers Conference, which runs from July 31-August 3. You can read more about the conference here.

6. Memorial Day weekend is my favorite weekend of the year because my family and I always spend it in Telluride, Colorado at Mountainfilm. It’s an amazing documentary film festival that inspires me beyond words every May. I’ve recently joined the Board of Directors because my passion for the festival runs so deep. The profoundly moving films featured at Mountainfilm remind all over again how and why story matters so very much. Each year, I co-lead a closing session with the wonderful director, writer, and human, Tom Shadyac. Please come! And if you use the code MFSTRAYED50 you’ll get 50% off the Palmyra pass (full price is $400) until they sell out. (And no, I don’t make any money off that! Just sharing the love.)

7. Looking ahead to fall, I’ll be at the Happinez Festival in the Netherlands and the Come To Your Senses writing retreat in France in September. October 10-12, I’ll be back at the fabulous Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, teaching a weekend writing workshop (that also has a livestream option).

I hope to see you somewhere! It’s so important we look into each other’s eyes and smile, isn’t it? Until then, I’m wishing you well. I’m rooting for you always. And I’m 100% sure that you can keep hanging on.

xCheryl