*Free* Pop-Up Writing Workshop: Self-Love After Diagnosis June 17
You don’t need more self-help; you need a return to your truest self.
Writing can take you there.
Join us for a gentle yet powerful free writing workshop designed specifically for people diagnosed with breast cancer in their 20s, 30s, or 40s—whether you’re now disease-free or living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC).
This 90-minute session invites you to explore radical acceptance, inner wisdom, forgiveness, tenderness, and the fierce act of choosing yourself—especially in the wake of illness and identity shifts.
Because what if your story is the key to healing?
In our workshops, we use poetry, metaphor, and personal storytelling to uncover the truths that live in our bodies, memories, and daily lives. Whether you're a seasoned writer or just curious, you’ll be gently guided through scenes, lists, and letters that help you tell your story in your own words, at your own pace.
You don’t need to write well. You just need to show up honestly for yourself.
This is a space for deep reflection, brave truth-telling, and compassionate community.
In our next free Wildfire Pop-Up Writing Workshop, we’ll gather to explore writing prompts to heal your heart - self-love is available to you and writing will help you get there.
Theme: Cultivating Self-Love After Diagnosis
When: Tuesday, June 17th, at 12:30pm PST / 3:30pm EST
Where/How: Live via Zoom
Cost: FREE
This workshop is for you if:
You’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer in your 20s, 30s, or 40s
You want to write but need a little structure and support
You’re looking for community that understands the emotional terrain of survivorship
What to expect:
Hosted by April Stearns, Editor-in-Chief of Wildfire Journal and founder of the Wildfire Writing Community
90 minutes of guided writing using prompts such as:
Write a letter to the part of you that needs love the most right now.
Even though I’ve been broken, I still find hope in...
Finding a resting place for pain…
Optional sharing
No writing experience needed
What past workshop participants have said:
“I loved attending Wildfire's Pop Up Writing Workshop. I've wanted to journal for some time, but wasn't sure where to start. The prompts and hearing from others helped me in more ways than I realized. I will be back!” — Kristin
“The Wildfire Community workshops have had a therapeutic impact as I cope with living with breast cancer. The community has brought me new friends and made me enjoy writing more.” — Alison
You don’t need more self-help; you need a return to your truest self.
Writing can take you there.
Join us for a gentle yet powerful free writing workshop designed specifically for people diagnosed with breast cancer in their 20s, 30s, or 40s—whether you’re now disease-free or living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC).
This 90-minute session invites you to explore radical acceptance, inner wisdom, forgiveness, tenderness, and the fierce act of choosing yourself—especially in the wake of illness and identity shifts.
Because what if your story is the key to healing?
In our workshops, we use poetry, metaphor, and personal storytelling to uncover the truths that live in our bodies, memories, and daily lives. Whether you're a seasoned writer or just curious, you’ll be gently guided through scenes, lists, and letters that help you tell your story in your own words, at your own pace.
You don’t need to write well. You just need to show up honestly for yourself.
This is a space for deep reflection, brave truth-telling, and compassionate community.
In our next free Wildfire Pop-Up Writing Workshop, we’ll gather to explore writing prompts to heal your heart - self-love is available to you and writing will help you get there.
Theme: Cultivating Self-Love After Diagnosis
When: Tuesday, June 17th, at 12:30pm PST / 3:30pm EST
Where/How: Live via Zoom
Cost: FREE
This workshop is for you if:
You’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer in your 20s, 30s, or 40s
You want to write but need a little structure and support
You’re looking for community that understands the emotional terrain of survivorship
What to expect:
Hosted by April Stearns, Editor-in-Chief of Wildfire Journal and founder of the Wildfire Writing Community
90 minutes of guided writing using prompts such as:
Write a letter to the part of you that needs love the most right now.
Even though I’ve been broken, I still find hope in...
Finding a resting place for pain…
Optional sharing
No writing experience needed
What past workshop participants have said:
“I loved attending Wildfire's Pop Up Writing Workshop. I've wanted to journal for some time, but wasn't sure where to start. The prompts and hearing from others helped me in more ways than I realized. I will be back!” — Kristin
“The Wildfire Community workshops have had a therapeutic impact as I cope with living with breast cancer. The community has brought me new friends and made me enjoy writing more.” — Alison
You don’t need more self-help; you need a return to your truest self.
Writing can take you there.
Join us for a gentle yet powerful free writing workshop designed specifically for people diagnosed with breast cancer in their 20s, 30s, or 40s—whether you’re now disease-free or living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC).
This 90-minute session invites you to explore radical acceptance, inner wisdom, forgiveness, tenderness, and the fierce act of choosing yourself—especially in the wake of illness and identity shifts.
Because what if your story is the key to healing?
In our workshops, we use poetry, metaphor, and personal storytelling to uncover the truths that live in our bodies, memories, and daily lives. Whether you're a seasoned writer or just curious, you’ll be gently guided through scenes, lists, and letters that help you tell your story in your own words, at your own pace.
You don’t need to write well. You just need to show up honestly for yourself.
This is a space for deep reflection, brave truth-telling, and compassionate community.
In our next free Wildfire Pop-Up Writing Workshop, we’ll gather to explore writing prompts to heal your heart - self-love is available to you and writing will help you get there.
Theme: Cultivating Self-Love After Diagnosis
When: Tuesday, June 17th, at 12:30pm PST / 3:30pm EST
Where/How: Live via Zoom
Cost: FREE
This workshop is for you if:
You’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer in your 20s, 30s, or 40s
You want to write but need a little structure and support
You’re looking for community that understands the emotional terrain of survivorship
What to expect:
Hosted by April Stearns, Editor-in-Chief of Wildfire Journal and founder of the Wildfire Writing Community
90 minutes of guided writing using prompts such as:
Write a letter to the part of you that needs love the most right now.
Even though I’ve been broken, I still find hope in...
Finding a resting place for pain…
Optional sharing
No writing experience needed
What past workshop participants have said:
“I loved attending Wildfire's Pop Up Writing Workshop. I've wanted to journal for some time, but wasn't sure where to start. The prompts and hearing from others helped me in more ways than I realized. I will be back!” — Kristin
“The Wildfire Community workshops have had a therapeutic impact as I cope with living with breast cancer. The community has brought me new friends and made me enjoy writing more.” — Alison
No writing experience necessary, this workshop is for all levels of writers and non-writers who want an environment in which to practice and commune with others. We will discuss tricks and tips for accessing and writing personal stories, particularly related to traumatic and difficult life events, such as a predisposition to cancer, as well as practice writing via prompts. Participants will also have the opportunity to share their writing if they so desire. There will be no critics, only listening. No pressure to share.
April Johnson Stearns, Founder, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, WILDFIRE Magazine. April is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Wildfire Magazine & Writing Community. A lifelong writer who landed her first memoir-based magazine cover story at just 16, April worked for her college newspaper (“City on the Hill” at the University of California at Santa Cruz) and then went on to work for her local newspaper (The Sentinel, Santa Cruz, CA) following graduation. Before long, she was lured to other writing jobs “over the hill” from Santa Cruz in Silicon Valley during the tech boom of the early 2000s.
However, in 2012, in the midst of this career, April was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer at age 35. Four years later, while struggling to “go back to normal” and find others in similar circumstances, April launched WILDFIRE Magazine & Writing Community as a way for younger people to tell and read breast cancer stories.
Since 2016, April has guided hundreds of writers through the Wildfire writing workshops and published 50 issues of Wildfire Magazine.
April believes strongly that helping others tell their stories has the dramatic effect of turning a traumatic cancer experience into an empowering one. April lives with her husband and young daughter in Santa Cruz. Although she loves town life, she also likes to get away from all the hustle and bustle whenever she can to hike in the woods, but writing memoir remains April’s purest escape.
Related Wildfire Magazine issues: Subscribers can find 53 previous Wildfire Magazine issues in the digital archives. Others can purchase print and digital issues here.
