There’s something transformative about stepping away from your daily life to focus wholly on your memoir. As writers, we dream of producing perfect books that flow effortlessly onto the page, but the reality of memoir writing involves much more grit and perseverance than inspiration alone.
A memoir writing retreat offers the perfect sanctuary to dive deep into your life stories. Away from the constant ping of work emails, family responsibilities, and the mundane tasks that fill our days, you create space for your memories to surface and breathe. This change of scenery
doesn’t just refresh your perspective – it actually rewires your creative thinking.
What makes these retreats particularly valuable is the combination of solitude and community. You have precious hours of uninterrupted writing time, but you’re not alone in your journey. Being surrounded by fellow memoirists creates an atmosphere of mutual understanding and support that’s impossible to replicate elsewhere. There’s comfort in knowing everyone
around you is wrestling with similar challenges: how to structure their narrative, how to write honestly about difficult relationships, how to find their authentic voice.
The one-to-one mentorship element is perhaps the most transformative aspect. Having a dedicated memoir mentor (me!) who can provide personalised guidance means your progress accelerates dramatically. As your mentor, I’ve watched writers make breakthroughs in days that might have taken months in isolation. Those “aha moments” when a writer suddenly sees how to reshape their narrative or finds the courage to delve into difficult material – these are the rewards of focused, guided work.
Remember Jordan Peele’s wisdom about “shoveling sand into a box” before building castles? A retreat gives you both: the permission to shovel sand without judgment and the skilled guidance to start forming those grains into something magnificent.
Your memoir matters. Your voice matters. Sometimes, the best way to honour both is to temporarily step away from your regular life and immerse yourself in a community dedicated to helping your story emerge in all its messy, glorious truth.
This year, 2025, I have a my annual cosy Devon retreat (nearly sold out) and a luxurious one on a Norwegian island (half the spaces are gone). Don’t miss out – say yes to yourself and your story.
