GRIEF BECOMES US:
Navigating Loss Through Storytelling
A 6-week writing exploration of loss, honoring, healing, and renewal
with poet Maya Stein and Ellen Abrams*, LMFT
A good friend of mine said, “You are married to sorrow.” And I looked at him and said, “I am not married to sorrow. I just choose not to look away.” There is deep beauty in not averting our gaze.”
– Terry Tempest Williams
Caring for ourselves through our grief can be an intense, intimate, deep experience. Unfortunately, we can feel undue pressure—either from others or ourselves—to metabolize our loss too quickly, to “move on” and return to our roles and responsibilities without properly honoring the pain of what we have experienced. Our society doesn’t give us much room to express the feelings that come with loss. We may believe we have to “stay strong” no matter what; we may also be overwhelmed by the strong emotions that can come upon us at unexpected times after a loss. Grief is not predictable—there are no universal stages of grief—and it’s not linear.
One of the ways that can help us navigate the unpredictable turns of loss is creative expression—using writing or artwork as healing practices that name, honor, and recognize grief while also tethering us to our inner resourcefulness and wisdom in moving through loss. Grief Becomes Us offers a gathering place for those drawn to writing as a practice to move their way into and through their grief. In this 6-week program, we’ll gather once-weekly to deepen our connection to the narratives of loss we carry. Ellen Abrams, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, will open our sessions by providing an emotional framework for our time together and Maya will prompt our writing using poetry thats speak to the grief experience. At each gathering, we’ll share our work and have time to reflect on the experience and anything that’s come up through our writing. We will close with a short meditation and some thoughts to carry through the week.
About the facilitators:
Maya Stein is a poet and writing facilitator based in mid-coast Maine. She has been holding writing workshops and retreats since 2010 and is the author of two poetry collections, two non-fiction books, and several writing prompt collections. Her most recent book, “Grief Becomes You” features her essays as well as the work of more than 60 contributors writing on the subject of loss.
Ellen Abrams is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist specializing in trauma and complicated grief through mindfulness oriented somatic psychotherapy. With more than 25 years of experience in community mental health clinics, non-profits and hospices, Ellen is currently in private practice in Ithaca, New York, and also facilitates mindfulness and meditation workshops. For more information about Ellen and her offerings, visit www.ellen-abrams.com.
*Ellen is continuing to run “Grief Becomes Us” workshops in 2023. Please visit www.ellen-abrams.com to learn more.