A year from now, your memoir could be on the page.

Yes. My One-Year Memoir is a mentoring group designed for ordinary people as well as accomplished writers. You don't need any writing experience to join and succeed at writing your memoir in a year — we go step by step, in a way that works for just about everyone.

Without a doubt, with the time and help provided. With doable monthly assignments and Susy's feedback, you can write a rough draft of your story in a year. Life can be unpredictable — but barring a serious health problem, if you commit to the experience, you'll get your story down on paper a bit at a time, and by the end of the year you'll have a rough draft.

Probably not — and that's normal. All rough drafts need editing and polishing, and sometimes rewriting. But if you don't get your story down on paper, you have nothing to polish or share. This is your chance to actually do it, with an expert mentor guiding you for an entire year.

Susy will greet you, teach on a specific topic to help with your memoir, explain any resources she's providing, share what she's seeing in the monthly assignments (generally — never your work publicly), answer questions, and give the next month's assignment. Being live is best and most energizing, but if you can't make a meeting you can watch the recording.

The easy way — by email. You'll email your assignment each month to Susy, who reviews it and discusses it with you during your monthly one-on-one 30-minute coaching call. Her suggestions are practical, focused, and positive, drawn from her experience writing and teaching more than a dozen memoirs.

There's a dedicated Facebook group just for the coaching group — a place to get to know each other, ask questions, share how it's going, and cheer each other on. Susy posts resources, meeting reminders, answers, and encouragement there. If you don't use Facebook, that's okay; email works well too.

Registration for the 2027 cohort opens August 15, 2026. Early-bird pricing is available through October 15, 2026. General registration begins October 16 and remains open only while places are available.

Both early-bird and general registration begin with a $750 deposit. Early-bird tuition is completed with two payments of $722.50; general tuition is completed with two payments of $822.50.

Susy is a memoir specialist who has had two memoirs hit the New York Times bestseller list — one at #1. She's an author, co-author, and experienced memoir teacher with a background in journalism, literature, education, and nonprofits, and she directs West Coast Christian Writers, a nonprofit she founded. She has written more than a dozen memoirs, her own and with others, in both the Christian and general markets — and it's her favorite genre to write and teach. You and your memoir are in good hands.