Workshops

Customized for organizations to train families, friends, volunteers, and students to write their own memoirs or to help others write their memoirs.

2017-present in-person and virtual workshops provided to:

University of California, San Diego, Life Course Scholars Program
Johns Hopkins University Odyssey Program
Oasis Lifelong Learning (San Diego)
National League of American Pen Women (La Jolla)
Alzheimer’s Association (San Diego)
San Diego Community Action Network
Oakmont Senior Living
St. Paul’s Manor
Monarch Cottage
PEO ( Nonprofit women’s organization, North Carolina)

What our 7 Memories partners say …

“I am honestly touched by this intergenerational oral history project wherein Trish taught us how to make a memoir with an older adult, our ‘Extraordinary Person (EP). The reminiscing led to the creation of the memoirs and a deeper understanding of the EPs and a benefit for the EPs themselves. As several students said, their EPs were very enthusiastic and joyful about having a memoir created for them. This intergenerational oral history project was a success at every angle.”

UCSD Intergenerational Student

Trish in your workshop, “How to Write an Awesome Obituary,” you were a great facilitator and mined some great nuggets from our participants, including a judge, an author, and several world-travelers. I enjoyed their stories/”headlines”; all were amazing. But the big takeaway for me is your passion for cultivating the “long ago” into an obituary! I don’t read the obits because from what I remember about them is their dryness; plus, the “survived by” part doesn’t really say much about that person’s life other than the size of their family from the beginning to the end. You gave me so much more to think about and be inspired by–OMG it’s just what I was looking for! You gave me the determination to honor my mom by capturing her memories in a memoir or an obituary.

E. Luistro, San Diego, CA

Members and friends of La Jolla Pen Women marveled at how easy it was to jump in and begin writing their memoir, thanks to the superb suggestions from Trish Benesh. Based on her series of books, 7 Memories, Trish guided us through her power-point presentation outlining to us how to start a memoir, and to continue daily for 28 days, 7 Memories: Write your Memoir in 28 Days. She encouraged us to think about seven memories from our life, and to commit to writing for at least 20 minutes every day. Procrastination is not allowed! By the 5^th day, we are to begin the process of drafting a memory for each of the following days, the 5^th through the 11^th. Our focus centers on the message and our audience.

Friendships also blossomed during our time together. The members and friends of La Jolla Pen Women thanked Trish and insisted that she return to repeat such a superb program. By then, all of us will have finished our 7 memories—our memoir!

Anne Hoiberg, President, La Jolla Pen Women A Branch of the National League of American Pen Women

Trish, thanks so much for coming back to present at Maryland Writers‘ Association conference this year. I looked at the conference evaluations and, like last year, you got rave reviews. You are immensely talented and are so generous to share what you know.

Vickie Meade, Past President of the Maryland Writers’ Association

“I love partnering with my 99-year-old aunt to write her memoir. She lives 3000 miles away, so we have to adapt the partnering method using the phone and with help from her local family members. Her photos are great and we both so enjoy getting to the heart of her story with the memory prompts. I’m excited to finish her memoir so we can all honor and celebrate her life at her 100th birthday party. Not a minute to lose!”

LauriePartnering with her 99 year-old-aunt

“My dad didn’t like to talk much about himself. When I got him focused on photos and memorabilia, it opened a new world of discussion. He realized the many successes he had and we laughed a lot. The Memoir Partnering Method brought us much closer together.”

MarkPartnering with his 91-year-old dad

“My mom and I love doing this. From the beginning, I had a sense of relief knowing where to start. The questions are awesome. The prompts make a world of difference as they bring out information I hadn’t thought about. And I’m learning things about my mom I never knew. This method has been a gift to both of us.” Rosemary with her 86-year-old mom.

RosemaryPartnering with her 86-year-old mom

Capture memories and create a treasured keepsake for future generations

**The 7 Memories Series of books shows the easy way to turn memories into memoirs for yourself or to help another.**

Step-by-step directions for using photos and memorabilia to spark memories
Templates for creating memoir pages
Prompts by category to evoke detailed memories
Flexible method easily tailored to specific cognitive levels and needs

Click to buy at Amazon

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