About Us

This blog is hosted by Myla Collier, Instructor at /Cuesta Community College in San Luis Obispo on the California Central Coast.  The stories are written by present and former students in a class called Composing Your Life Story, facilitated by Myla and offered through a California State funded Emeritus College.  The class is free and offered in four locations around San Luis Obispo County.  This site serves as support and information for those enrolled in the class and others wishing to write their life stories. Class information – locations, dates and assignments are all listed here.  We invite you to read and send us your comments. If you live in the area, please come and visit a class.                                                                                                                          Composing Your Life Story

 This is a guided biography class, the purpose of which is to help people record and share their life history.

 Structure of the Course

1.  3 hour sessions with 20 minute break.

2.  Each person will bring a two-page life story on a specific time frame to each meeting.  Each person will read aloud his/her two pages. I urge you to write much more than the two pages, but ask only that you be willing to share two pages with the group. 

3.  One of the reasons for having group discussion is that we want to create an atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable and able to share his or her life stories. The idea is that when we hear others’ life stories, we can often see ourselves in the same situations.  So in a sense, each member of the group holds up a mirror in which others can see themselves from a new angle. Each of us has the opportunity to see similarities in experience and to see that, in reality. all people are rather alike.           

Participants in guided autobiography groups usually express amazement at the power of sharing stories in a small group.  An individual reading a personal story stimulates the recall of associated memories for other group members who are listening. Experts now refer to this process as memory priming, the power of cues to remind us of things we once knew, but have filed away and seemingly forgotten.  Listening to the life stories of others refreshes our life experiences.

 This is not a class in the craft of writing.  There will be no criticism only suggestions for clarification.