At a Writers Collective of Canada workshop, there’s no red pen. If you choose to read what you wrote, people listen and tell you what stayed with them. I sit down with CEO Shelley Lepp to talk about how writing helped her through grief, what changes when someone hears your story, and what we might lose when we let AI find the words for us.
We talk about why getting the mess out of our heads and onto a page can help us make sense of grief, heartbreak, joy, trauma, and all the ordinary chaos of being human. And maybe even more importantly, what happens when we share those stories with people who aren't there to fix us, critique us, or offer advice. They're simply there to listen.
We also get into something I'm thinking about a LOT these days: AI and emotional outsourcing. In a world where technology can write the email, finish the sentence, polish the thought, and give us the answer in seconds, what happens if we stop wrestling with our own words?
Because the goal isn't always a perfectly written sentence. Sometimes the point is the wrestling. The creating. The wondering. The feeling. Shelley draws on an idea from the late Richard Wagamese: sharing our stories and listening to one another in community helps us grow bigger inside. That's a paraphrase of his work.
Oof.
We were never meant to do any of this alone.
Writers Collective of Canada needs funding from individuals and companies that want to invest in meaningful human connection. WCC has already trained more than 400 volunteers and needs more to keep up with growing demand.
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Follow Shelley Lepp on LinkedIn:
LinkedIn: Writers Collective of Canada
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