What People Say
about My Classes
In the course of teaching life story writing for
more than a decade, I’ve had the privilege of
meeting many wonderful people. Family historians
make good friends. They have good values. They care
about family and traditions and look for ways to
preserve them for future generations. My students
have become
my friends, and so some of them are overly generous
in their comments about my classes. Without a
doubt, I have learned
more from them than they have from me.
“Why will a former journalist drive weekly 90 miles
to writing classes presented by Dawn Thurston? She
is a magician at drawing out the precious memories
and treasured moments we all have. Writing, not a
chore, becomes a satisfying pleasure.“
—Bill McLain
“It's obvious in her classes Dawn Thurston believes
every life has a story and anyone is capable of
writing his life story in an interesting and
entertaining manner. Overcoming a natural reluctance
of students to commit words to paper, Dawn
encourages each pupil to share, one incident at a
time, their memories of the past. The result is
interesting and profitable to the writer and the
reader. Her new book will undoubtedly have the same
effect on story tellers. Dawn reminds us, as Oliver
Wendell Holmes wrote, ‘Life is a great bundle of
little things.’ The writing of those little things
is a joy in Dawn's classes.”—Pat Milligan
“I have always liked to write but was never good at
it. Thanks to Dawn the stories I now write keep
audiences spellbound to the last word. Simply put,
Dawn facilitates remembering and writing with
practical tools and tips, and provides a safe
environment for the students to read their stories
and get feedback.”
---Jim McNamara
“Dawn
is a superb teacher and role model. Her
presentations are engaging and carefully organized.
When we’re ready to read a piece of our life story
aloud, she nurtures each story, giving positive,
insightful suggestions. She doesn’t play favorites,
no matter our writing skill level. Now in my fourth
year, I’ve repeated Dawn’s class because I grow as a
person and a writer in an atmosphere of respect and
encouragement. If I don’t write my life stories, who
will?”---Linda Missouri
“Dawn has a special talent for showing her students
how to bring forth stories on their families that,
when they started the class, they often didn’t even
know they knew. I have participated in Dawn’s
writing classes for several years and have
consistently learned new ways to make my family
members come alive. A family history can be so much
more than boring names, dates and places. Dawn
shows even neophyte writers how to make that happen.
You’ve researched your family and you want others to
care enough to read about it. With Dawn Thurston as
a mentor even inexperienced writers can make this
happen. “—Dawn Peck
“Dawn Thurston peppers her classes with ideas for
creatively writing a life story. Among other
instruction, she gives wisdom on how to research the
Internet for social history to accompany personal
history, and demonstrates how one can make a memoir
or life story come to life by using personal
experiences.”---Doris Grace
“I remember when we were young and had ‘Show and
Tell’ in school. But, Dawn teaches ‘Show, Do not
Tell.’ You can put on paper the story of your life,
but once you have attended Dawn’s class, people
won’t just read your story, they will travel along
with you.”—Joan Rambo
“I have taken Dawn’s class for three years. What I
like about her style is her emphasis on writing that
captures the reader’s attention. She helps people
make their past come alive while emphasizing dialog
and appealing to the senses. But there is a lot more
to it. One, there is a great rapport between the
class members. It is like a giant support group.
Two, hearing other stories helps you to recall
events in your own life that you may have forgotten.
Three, it gives one a little push to get going to
write your own life story. In the end it helps you
achieve a goal much greater than just giving your
children money or things.”---Dr. Robert Stumpf
"Being a partially
educated Southerner, who considered English only
marginally my mother tongue, I approached writing
like I would a snake lying in a cornfield.
Cautiously! I was sure it was going to be
difficult. However, in Dawn’s classes, I learned how
to construct a story that folks would enjoy
reading. With her gentle prodding, I found a voice.
Suddenly, folks seemed to actually enjoy reading and
hearing my little stories of a boy growing up poor
in the agricultural South of the 1940s. She has a
unique talent to impart an ability and desire to
write in even the most reluctant new writer."
--Willie Wilburn Walker
"Family historians and
genealogists in Orange County should not pass up the
opportunity to work with Dawn Thurston, teacher of
Life Story Writing classes at Santiago Canyon
College in Orange. Dawn is an inspirational
instructor who motivates the class with her creative
teaching methods. I didn’t know how much fun it is
to “breathe life into my ancestors” by writing about
them until I enrolled in her classes. You don’t have
to have a gift for writing to develop priceless
stories to leave to future generations; you just
simply sign up for one of Dawn’s fun classes. It
certainly keeps me coming back for more each
semester!"---Marcia Huntley Maloney
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