For the last six weeks I’ve had the privalege of teaching a writing class to a group of seniors at a Salvation Army complex here in San Diego. We worked on memoirs and it was a delight to hear excerpts from their lives each week.  As they heard other’s stories, they  felt more free to share their own. My job was to guide as to structure,  tips on what to share, how to organize, etc.  I read from other biographies to give them some ideas on how dialogue can be interspersed to move the story.  There were some tears as some not-so-happy memories emerged and while some shared the poignant ones, others were reluctant and felt there were things from childhood they could not share, with others or with their families.  My advice to them was to write it all out, every detail, and then commit it to the fireplace or the trash bin.  There is something about acknowledging painful incidents of our past that brings them out of hiding and sets us free from the power they had over our lives.   We can just give the account as an offering to God and let go.  He knows all about it anyway.  If any of you writers out there are interested, contact your Salvation Army Volunteer Coordinator if you have a SA complex in your area. It is well worth the time. What a blessing!