Creative Aging Blog // A Forum to Share Stories

Do you have a story to tell?  Share your personal essay on aging, be it quirky or serious, funny or poignant. Salt Lake City-based writer Debbie Leaman has launched a blog to provide an online space for many voices to be heard.

Debbie Leaman, a writing coach, freelance writer, and developmental editor explains “chances are we share similar feelings, fears, emotions, occasional slips of memory and bouts of joint pain. But, it's our unique experiences, different perspectives and personal reactions which make this aging thing so interesting." Her goal with the Creative Aging Blog is to highlight these voices and experiences to give people a chance to share their stories. 

The impetus behind the blog was to create an online community where people can celebrate, commiserate or just share experiences about this phase in their lives. She notes that “by telling personal stories, we connect with others, recognize our common humanity and realize we're not alone on this journey.”

Debbie Leaman's writing, including personal essays, has appeared in numerous local, national and international magazines and on various websites. She was awarded 2nd Place in the 2017 Utah Society of Professional Journalists contest for humor/lifestyle writing (“Aging Gracefully: Skiing over Fifty”), and was a finalist in both the 2016 Utah Society of Professional Journalists contest and the 2011 Writers@Work Memoir competition.

As a writing coach, Debbie listens deeply, helping others translate their thoughts, experiences, and feelings into words on the page. She teaches various writing classes including Creative Aging: Re-Imagining Your Life and Writing Through Grief. Spring workshops start soon. Creative Aging begins March 8th and Writing Through Grief begins April 8th, both will be held in Salt Lake. For more information and to sign up, click here. 

What's your creative aging story?  Check out the blog to read the stories of contributors, and for essay submission information click here.