We tend to think of dying as something that happens at the end of life. But everyday life is full of endings: seasons shift, relationships change, the unexpected happens, familiar ways of being fall away.

What if we practiced paying attention to the cycles of living and dying that are always taking place around us and within us?

In this four-part series, we’ll write in response to prompts designed to deepen our awareness of these cycles—both in the past and in the present. We’ll explore what is ending, what is emerging, and what is asking for our attention.

This practice can deepen our capacity to meet change and loss with more openness and less resistance—and, in time, the larger losses that are part of being human.

Within a supportive space, we’ll find the inspiration and essential connection of community.

No writing experience is needed or expected. Our purpose is not to produce art but to use writing as a tool for living a more aware and vibrant life.

This circle is for anyone who…

…has experienced or is experiencing loss of any kind (no loss is too small or too big).
…wants to meet life with an open heart.
…is curious about writing as a path of reflection and discovery.

“Whatever fears I might have carried into Nancy’s circle, her warmth and wisdom dissolved them early on. With grace, Nancy leads the way by making the uncomfortable comfortable.”
—Marilyn Weisenberg, Portland, OR

ABOUT NANCY LINNON

Nancy has been teaching writing and facilitating groups for almost thirty years. She has published in several literary journals and magazines and began her career as a journalist for U.S. News & World Report. She holds a master’s from Brown University and an MFA from Antioch University.

She began her studies to be an end-of-life doula—someone who accompanies a person on their journey with death—in Ireland. She is certified by the International Association of End-of-Life Doulas (INELDA).

Many people have remarked that her work as an end-of-life doula is a departure from teaching writing, but she sees an organic throughline.

Death is a part of life waiting to be known—as are the multitude of stories within us.