Rewrite Your Story, Rewrite Your Life

Center City, MN

*Event Is Full
How often do we hear someone tell their "recovery" story only to notice that most of the story is set in the heart of illness, and recovery doesn't make an appearance till the very end?

It's understandable, in many ways—we often think a "good" story requires lots of crisis and drama, disaster and chaos, conflict and despair; we're also prone to thinking the most interesting things about us and about our lives are the ways in which we've suffered, struggled, or had to fight. But in recovery, that leaves us with the expectation of a fairytale ending, which is really no ending at all: "we found recovery, and lived happily ever" not only sets us up for disappointment, it leaves us without the tools to move our recovery story forward.

Join us this weekend, as we learn the elements of storytelling craft (such as plot, character development, pacing, and theme) as well as the principles of narrative therapy, which helps us identify the stories we tell ourselves and others, address ways in which they limit or harm us, and develop new stories. We’ll then look at ways we can "revise" our existing recovery story, challenge our self-characterization, examine ways in which we're attached to themes and subplots that may not serve us (and may not even be true!), write a rough draft of future recovery, and develop our skills in using narrative practice to change our lives.

After attending this retreat, you will:

Have identified your current (and past) recovery narratives and their core elements
Understand the role that your story and its elements play in your real-life experiences, actions, and expectations
Have a clear sense of how narrative practice can help you make practical changes and "revise" the trajectory of your recovery
Possess the basic skills you need to make recovery-oriented writing a regular part of your life

Friday, June 9 through Sunday, June 11, 2023
7 p.m. Friday - Noon Sunday

*Event Is Full

Hazelden
Dan Anderson Renewal Center
15251 Pleasant Valley Rd.
Center City, MN 55012

To Register, Call 800-262-4882

About the Presenter

Marya Hornbacher

Hornbacher is an award-winning essayist, journalist, novelist, poet, and the internationally best-selling author of five books, including Wasted—a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize—and the New York Times Best-seller Madness. She is the recipient of the Annie Dillard Award for Nonfiction, a Logan Fellowship for Social Justice Journalism, the White Award for Magazine Journalism, the ASCAP Award for Music Journalism, the Fountain House Humanitarian Award, and other distinctions. Her writing has appeared in publications including the New York Times, Boston Globe, Smithsonian Magazine, Crazyhorse, AGNI, Gulf Coast, The Normal School, Fourth Genre, DIAGRAM, Arts & Letters, and many others. Hornbacher is currently at work on her sixth and seventh books: a work of long-form journalism and a collection of essays.

HAZELDEN BETTY FORD FOUNDATION PHOTO POLICY: By attending this public event, I hereby grant the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation the right to use and publish photographs and videos of me, or in which I may be included, for editorial trade, advertising, and any other purpose and in any manner and medium and to alter the same without restriction. I hereby release the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and its legal representatives and assigns for all claims and liability relating to said photographs and videos.