Facilitated by attorney and writer Barbara L. Morgenstern
Barbara is a licensed attorney and engaged in the general practice of law with her father. She also served as a federal court law clerk and as a past president of the Greater Cincinnati Women Lawyers Assn. Before law school, Barbara worked as a newspaper reporter at The Cincinnati Post. She also taught media law and newswriting and reporting for a decade at Miami University of Ohio.
Our Ethical Will Writing and Short-Form Memoir workshops are your portal to profound nonfiction writing from the tapestry of your life. In small-group settings participants explore experiences and memories in simple, specially designed writing spaces that are fun, safe and positive.
Ethical Wills
A Legal Will Bequeaths Valuables
An Ethical Will Bequeaths Values
The Biblical story goes that when the Hebrew patriarch Jacob was on his deathbed, he gathered his 12 sons to offer them blessings and moral directives, not property. This oral Jewish tradition evolved into writings embraced by many cultures.
Today Ethical Wills sometimes are called Legacy Letters
They are not legally binding nor religious. However, Ethical Wills can be a valuable tool in the estate-planning process and a meaningful outlet for self expression.
The New York Times described Ethical Wills as “a way to counter the cold legalese of wills and trusts…even sometimes helping soothe ruffled feathers when dispensing family assets.” (NYT-10/31/14)
Examples include:
Wishes for your children to “stick together, listen to your mother, do what you love and help others.”
The importance of kindness and stewardship.
Suggestions regarding mistakes we might have made, for example, about money, work or making family a priority.
Barbara’s skills are honed as a former newspaper and magazine writer; a practicing attorney and as a Miami University journalism faculty member. Her background helps her help others write from the heart.
Sometimes the thought is “thank you, thank you, thank you”—never before expressed!
Other times Barbara helps writers excavate their thoughts as to what builds a meaningful or fulfilling life.
With concrete examples, what would you do differently, earlier, or later than you did and why? What would you tell loved ones to avoid or, perhaps, to risk?
There are no rules, no right or wrong way to write one’s Ethical Will. It is an intensely personal process, concise and readable, and Barbara provides a workbook.
Contact Barbara at b@mymemoirgroup.com to setup a private group or personal consultation.
Workshop tuition includes an Ethical Will Workbook.
Short-Form Memoir
This genre is a safe and enjoyable way of transforming your thoughts and experiences into narrative. Barbara has studied extensively with nationally known memoir writing facilitator and author, Nancy Slonim Aronie of Martha’s Vineyard (“Writing from the Heart” and “Memoir as Medicine.”)
As Nancy describes the process, “It is not therapy, but it is therapeutic.” Click Here to Read beautiful memoir examples from our workshops.
