Recover your creative self and transform your identity and story in this 8-week creative writing program for spoonies
Spoons and Pens is coming back in 2026! Stay tuned.
If you're reading this, I'm guessing it's been a long and hard journey. The roller coaster of chronic illness can feel like an endless cycle of disappointment and defeat.
You can feel SO disconnected from yourself, your body, and the world you once knew. Creativity and play might be the last thing on your mind. Trust me, I've been there. But accessing the energy source that is creativity allows us to shift out of survival and into states of peace, joy, flexibility, and connection.
These are the true marks of a regulated nervous system that can start to feel safe with expressing yourself unapologetically and moving towards health and freedom.
Chronic illness is not the end of your story but rather an initiation to higher creativity - a second chance at life to create the things you've always wanted.
You are about to learn how to transform your pain into something new and uniquely yours.
Ready to start this chapter? Let's do it!
Writing isn't just a self-help tool, but a vehicle to transform your health.
We are often conditioned to believe that creativity is impractical or a luxury but the truth is, engaging in the process of creativity AWAKENS our life's purpose and passion, helps us break free from limiting beliefs AND create a new identity and reality.
Spoons and Pens is a heartfelt integration of years of lived experience and study with chronic pain and illness, creative writing, and my training as a therapist. Designed to inspire and expand you, poetry, philosophy, and somatics are weaved throughout, making this program the only one of its kind.
As your leader and guide, I show up knowing this is soul work that will change you because I continually witness it - both in my own life and in others.
I am walking through the fire and re-writing the script WITH you.
You will awaken your inner writer with ease and learn how to stay in the energy of sacred creativity
You will be able to re-story any aspect of your life with narrative strategies
You will be released from the stronghold that illness holds over your identity
You will be able to use your creativity to move through grief and collaborate with the inner child who knows how to unapologetically play, express, and create.
Your deepened connection with yourself and others will make your story truly magnetic
You will learn to write from the perspective of your future and/or higher self
You will be sharing your story with confidence and fire
Are ready to shift your identity from a sick person to a well one for good
Are ready to face your fears of health, recovery, and freedom
Desire to be deeply witnessed by others who understand your struggles and foster your creativity
Want to tap into your innate sense of imagination and play but don't know how
Want to remove years of creative blocks due to perfectionism, people pleasing, and hustle and productivity culture
Ready to use creativity to transform your pain into something new and tangible
Believe in the power of sharing your story but are fearful of being seen or feeling judged
Need a soul-led leader who is also trauma-informed and backed by graduate counselling psychology training
You prefer to fit your healing into a "science fixes all" box and aren't open to the healing power of creativity
You need a space to talk about medical management and symptoms
You aren't willing to expand your identity beyond chronic illness
You aren't open to creating a belief system that gives you creative sovereignty over your life
You are in an acute crisis and aren't quite ready to start a program that goes beyond survival and coping skills
"Spoons and Pens has been an 180-degree turn from when I thought chronic illness had taken writing away from me. With the writing, I've been able to do inner child and grief work, and be more honest with the people in my life. I highly recommend Spoons and Pens; I got a lot of healing and benefit from it!"
-Rebecca
8 live interactive calls via Zoom - Janurary 2025 schedule
A pen pal system for accountability and support
Weekly prompts, meditations, and other writing exercises you can always go back to
All sessions will be recorded and uploaded with lifetime access
Access to private group messaging for inspiration and support
Personalized feedback and coaching from Allison
Access to readings and recordings of Allison's personal writing
AND
Use Spoons and Pens ™ as a creative catalyst to...
Start that blog or podcast
Try out a new creative outlet
Write that book
Present or publish your work OR
Anything else you can dream up!
As Tired but Fiery grows, the work of students will be proudly shared and displayed (with your consent, of course!).
What is transformative writing and how do we step into a flow of writing that changes us on a mind-body-soul level?
How has your identity been shaped by systemic factors such as diagnosis, family systems, ableism etc? Which pieces do we pick up and integrate and which do we leave behind?
How to use techniques derived from narrative therapies to challenge culturally dominant ideas about pain and illness and reimagine ourselves and the future with the multiplicities we contain.
How to surrender sorrow to the page and move through grief as a creative initiation.
How to tap into the parts of your inner child/teen that inspire a felt sense of awe, wonder, and magic.
How to transform your story into a purpose-driven life using thematic analysis and future envisioning.
How to witness and honour turning points, thickened plots, counter stories, and breakthroughs within your story and other group members.
Use your new-found confidence and fire to proclaim the truth and leave your mark while witnessing the beautiful interconnectedness of our stories.
"Writing and me have NEVER gotten along. I've resisted any type of journaling or writing as a means of therapy in my chronic illness journey over the years...until I met Allison! Not only is she a genuine soul that truly cares about each of her members, but she has opened my eyes to an entire world of writing that I never knew existed. Spoons and Pens unlocked a level of creativity I never knew I had and gave me the confidence to express myself unapologetically through the written word."
-Sara
Spoons and Pens™ is an investment into your mind, body, and spirit, and your current and future creative endeavours.
The cost of the program is $1079 Canadian (approximately $774.04 USD)
OR
6-month payment plan of $179.99 ($126.45)
Watch my free workshop and witness the healing power of vulnerability, writing, and storytelling for yourself.
For anyone who has experienced or is experiencing a chronic mental and/or physical health condition. You don't need to have a diagnosis. We actually actively work to shift the power diagnosis can have over us.
This group is for ages 18 and up.
Absolutely! An important philosophy behind Spoons and Pens is that everyone has an innate urge towards creativity. Plus, spoonies are constantly using creativity to adapt and thrive so I know you are creative.
Dr. Gabor Mate, an expert in chronic disease, addictions, and trauma, states that a key to healing chronic symptoms is to stop suppressing the human urge to create and bring new beauty into the world.
We are often told about the importance of creating a separate identity from chronic illness, but how do go about doing this? Spoons and Pens will show you how.
This program is also different because we actively create a bridge to the parts of ourselves that are already well. By doing so, we can engage in deep remembering and imagining of what wellness is and feels like.
This is an 8-week course with 1-hour meetings once a week and a midterm break. The specific dates and times are posted under "What's included?"
Weekly attendance is passionately recommended given that our work relies heavily on intimate group interactions and feedback. However, low spoons days happen! You can always watch the replays to catch up.
There will be weekly exercises to spark your writing between sessions. However, exercises can be easily adapted to your energy levels. The emphasis is not on how much you create, but on creating work that moves your heart and leads to the breakthroughs you desire.
I would love to hear from you! You can send me a DM on Instagram @tiredbutfiery or send me an email at allison@tiredbutfiery.ca
-Gita Vaid, MD
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