By Setarreh Massihzadegan
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

“My theory in teaching memoir is you can’t teach memoir,” says Muriel Saver, who leads the Memoir Writing group at Linden Ponds. “It’s inside each person.”

Free-form memories
Saver is a longtime writer who worked at local and business newspapers before spending more than 20 years as the director of communications for the Cambridge, Mass.-based Marketing and Science Institute.

“Writing has always been my pleasure, my release, my friend,” says Saver, who is still working on her memoirs.

From Falmouth, Mass., to Florida, Saver has started a memoir writing group in each of her residences over the last 15 years. Shortly after moving to Linden Ponds two years ago, she started another.

“What is very important to me is that people, particularly here, are willing to sit down and write their hearts out,” she says.

Pen pals
In her writing groups, Saver reinforces that the writers are ultimately writing for themselves. She does nothing to push group members in any direction, but coaxes them by giving homework assignments and in-class writing exercises, which they read aloud.

“Writing is such a freeform thing that . . . they should write whatever moves them at the moment,” she says.

Twice each month the Memoir Writers at Linden Ponds practice putting what moves them in writing. During their meetings September through June, the ten faithful group members have succeeded in building upon their memoirs—and their friendships with one another.

“Everybody is so accepting of everybody that I don’t think anybody finds it intimidating,” says Ruth Ralph, who lives at Linden Ponds and serves as the group’s secretary. “Most of the time it’s just an outpouring of experiences.”

Writing for family
Those who delve into memoir often do so in hopes that their family members will eventually read and appreciate their stories. Such is the case for Ralph.