Barbara L. Morgenstern of Cincinnati is a licensed attorney and writer. She practiced law with her father, a Harvard Law School graduate; chaired the Teaching Committee of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Communications Law; was elected as a president of the Greater Cincinnati Women Lawyers Association and was a founding member and secretary of the Ohio Women’s Bar Association; served as a federal court law clerk; worked as a newspaper reporter at The Cincinnati Post; and taught media law and news writing at Miami University of Ohio and Italy. Barbara facilitates workshops for individuals and for groups ranging from digital marketing agency Helium SEO in Cincinnati to various religious entities.
Ethical Will Writing and Short-Form Memoir workshops are your portals to profound nonfiction writing from the tapestry of your life. In small-group settings participants explore experiences and memories in simple, specially designed writing spaces that are safe and positive. There is no right or wrong way to write one’s Ethical Will or Short-Form Memoir. It is an intensely personal process. With careful guidance and directed prompts from Barbara, participants from all walks of life and ages produce wonderful writings. Barbara also facilitates private and corporate writing workshops to foster creativity and team building.
Click here for examples of memoirs from workshops.
Click here for examples of Ethical Will writings.
Ethical Wills
A Legal Will Bequeaths Valuables
An Ethical Will Bequeaths Values
The Biblical story goes that when the Hebrew patriarch Jacob was on his deathbed, he gathered his 12 sons to offer them blessings and moral directives, not property. This oral Jewish tradition evolved into writings embraced by many cultures.
Today Ethical Wills sometimes are called Legacy Letters
An Ethical Will is not legally binding nor religious. However, Ethical Wills can be a valuable tool in the estate-planning process and a meaningful outlet for self expression.
The New York Times described Ethical Wills as “a way to counter the cold legalese of wills and trusts…even sometimes helping soothe ruffled feathers when dispensing family assets.” (NYT-10/31/14)
Examples include:
Wishes for your children to “stick together, listen to your mother, do what you love and help others.”
The importance of kindness and stewardship.
Suggestions regarding mistakes one might have made, for example, about money, work or making family a priority.
Sometimes the thought is “thank you, thank you, thank you”—never before expressed!
Other times Barbara helps writers excavate their thoughts as to what builds a meaningful or fulfilling life.
With concrete examples, what would you do differently, earlier, or later than you did and why? What would you tell loved ones to avoid or, perhaps, to risk?
Workshop tuition includes an Ethical Will Workbook.
Click here for examples of Ethical Will Writings,
also called “Legacy Letters."
Short-Form Memoir Writing
This genre is a safe and enjoyable way of transforming your thoughts and experiences into narrative. Barbara has studied extensively with nationally known memoir writing facilitator and author, Nancy Slonim Aronie of Martha’s Vineyard (Writing from the Heart; Memoir as Medicine; and Seven Secrets to the Perfect Personal Essay.)
As Nancy describes the process, “It is not therapy, but it is therapeutic.” With careful guidance and directed prompts from Barbara, participants from all walks of life and ages write their stories.
Click here for examples.
Below: photos from Costa Rica; The Barn | Woman’s Art Club Cultural Center in Cincinnati, and AI marketing star Helium SEO. In addition to various locations in Cincinnati, Barbara has designed and conducted workshops in San Francisco, Tucson and Loretto, Ky.
