author | writer | historian | teaching artist
Storytelling, whether in the form of memoir, journal writing, or historical narrative, is a way to connect to others via our shared history and humanity.
I have been scribbling since I was twelve when my Auntie Val gave me a small five-year diary — turquoise with a lock and tiny gold key. In my twenties, thanks to Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages, my diary-writing turned to journal-writing which eventually led to “real” writing. My very first byline was for a personal essay in a tiny local zine called Mama Says.
It was around this time that I realized I was a storyteller.
At first I was only telling stories of my own life and experiences, but soon I found I loved discovering and sharing stories of other people and places too.
My first book, Lilian Baker Carlisle: Vermont Historian, Burlington Treasure; A Scrapbook Memoir, was published in June 2017. I wrote regular columns and historical features for the Rutland Reader and Rutland Herald for six years. In 2021, I began a new historical column for the Rutland Herald/Times Argus Weekend Magazine called “Remember When.”
I have essays published in The Pitkin Review, Rutland Magazine, Chrysalis: Journal of Transformative Language Arts, and Transformative Language Arts in Action. I am currently revising a memoir about discovering a new spirituality after leaving a fundamentalist religious community, and a hybrid memoir-essay collection which weaves my personal story with a retelling of Biblical and other mythological stories.
I hold an MFA in Creative Nonfiction (Personal Essay/Memoir) and an MA in Transformative Language Arts (Women’s Studies/Spirituality) from Goddard College. I earned a BA in History is from Castleton University.
I help others write their own stories too.
Certified through the Center for Journal Therapy, I have run expressive writing workshops for personal-growth, mindfulness, and creative inspiration for over ten years.
I am now a facilitator for the Vermont Humanities Council, teach online for the TLA Network, and am available for speaking and teaching engagements.
I also draw a lot of mandalas.
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photo credit: Charity Eugair
joanna tebbs young 