Shared Stories

Dear Editor: Our group’s leader, Bonnie Mansell, is a profoundly caring, insightful teacher. Bonnie teaches her students that they each have a trove of personal historical legacies in their life to share that, may be otherwise lost. Our memoir group is a treasure for those who know the true wealth stored in our life stories.

I once read that there are families that we are born into and there are families that are formed in the heart. The latter is what many find in our memoir group. The friendships that we have formed through the sharing of our stories are based on trust and acceptance. There are few places in this fast pace millennium where senior people can come together to be listened to with open mind and hearts. We are able to do this through the writing of our life experiences- that show us how we are all connected by our humanness, regardless of our background, economic status, religious affiliation, or age.

Thanks to Bonnie Mansell, her students have come to realize their stories are like mosaic pieces shedding light on their personal legacies, and we are all the richer for her support and encouragement.

Yolanda Adele

Norwalk

**********

Published: March 12, 2015 - Volume 13 - Issue 48