What I discovered was a personal awakening. It changed me. My hope is that it [WCC workshops] will become a mainstay following an anticipated post COVID-19 new normal, whatever that looks like.

I spent a lot of my teen years, in fact all of them addicted to drugs and struggling with mental health issues and schizophrenia. Expressing myself is my way of coping and getting out of the hole I dug myself. I’m doing more than I expected I would. I’m living the life that I dreamt of when I was in the midst of my addiction.

Two indigenous individuals wrote about being separated at a young age, their writing similar of memory. The writing powerful with visual impact. Six children were removed, as it turns out they were siblings, who were so young, and so broken. After that magical workshop we witnessed firsthand the reuniting of those two children. They became fixtures for some time encouraging other aboriginal writers, to share their stories, and their lives. We learned about sacred land and the reparation of separation.