Pat McNees, writer, editor,
personal historian

Washington Biography Group

Next meeting: Semi-annual social at Kristie's: Sunday June 8th. Then no meetings till September.

The WBG meets once a month, usually on a Monday from 7 to 9 pm at the Washington International School, 3100 Macomb St., NW, DC 20008. We now meet in the Terrace Room in the main building. Members often bring a snack or drink to share. We send out e-mail notices of the meeting dates and topics, which are also posted here under “Events” on Pat McNees’s website (at www.patmcnees.com).

Occasionally parking is a slight problem, if the school is also holding an evening event. At a recent meeting someone came in and said the owner of an SUV had left its lights on. Marc responded, "This is not an SUV kind of group" and sure enough, it wasn't one of us.

Pat's next Life Stories and Legacy Writing workshop Wednesday April 16 - May 21

Here's what it's about:

What will be written on your headstone? What will your obituary say? How will you be remembered, and what has your life meant? The goal in this nontraditional workshop of short personal writing is to capture your personal and family legacy for the next generation, the friends and family who will survive you. Knowing that you are writing not for publication but to set the record straight—in your own mind, as much as anything—may liberate you, allowing you to examine with candor your important life choices and experiences, achievements and mistakes, beliefs and convictions.

Through a series of exercises designed to open a rich vein of personal material, you will begin the exploration and storytelling that may help you either develop a personal or family history or write a personal legacy letter to your survivors. No whining, no boasting, no name dropping: Just an honest examination of what went on in your life or your family, with an emphasis on fleshing out the characters and stories to be found there. This course, which grew out of the warm-up exercises for Pat's workshop on ethical wills, will encourage you to reminisce deeply: to mine your life (and family) experiences for personal stories, myths, themes, and values.

Five Wednesday evening sessions
April 16 - May 21 (no class May 7)
7 to 9:30 pm
Instructor Pat McNees
The Writer’s Center
4508 Walsh Street
Bethesda, MD 20815
Phone: 301 654-8664
http://www.writer.org
postmaster@writer.org
$165 for members, $185 for nonmembers

Ask to be put on the Writer's Center's mailing list, to get a printed list of their seasonal workshops.

Writing a Legacy Letter

If you had only one hour to live and the only way to communicate with survivors was to leave them a letter, what would you write -- and to whom would you write it?

Events like Hurricane Katrina and the shocking mass murder at Virginia Tech remind us of the fragility of life. This workshop will help you figure out what personal messages,
stories, or life lessons you want to leave for those who survive you. Often written in the form of a loving letter, the legacy letter (a version of what some call an ethical will) is a way to explore and articulate who you are, what you have learned in life, what
you value, and what you wish for the family members who survive you.

Your last will and testament conveys what you want your loved ones to have -- and is legally binding. The legacy letter is an informal message that conveys what you want your survivors to know--which may include how you want to be remembered, what you cherish and regret, what you forgive and apologize for, what you loved (maybe even chuckled about) about your loved ones, and other important things you would not want left unsaid should you die unexpectedly.

Next date not decided yet
The Writer's Center
4508 Walsh Street
Bethesda, MD 20815
Phone: 301 654-8664, Fax: 301 654-8667
http://www.writer.org
email: postmaster@writer.org
http://www.writer.org/index.asp (online info and registry)
Writing a Legacy Letter
Code for registering: SU07NON51B
Members $50; nonmembers $65