About Marilyn
“A voice for any given story emerges from the subject at the heart of that story. If shame shrouds a story’s subject so, too, its voice may hover beneath shame. A memoirist whose subject has been silenced by shame must write past shame to the voice at the heart of her story.”
~Marilyn Bousquin
Marilyn’s 1:1 memoir coaching, classes, and group mentoring programs at Writing Women’s Lives Memoir Academy have helped many women realize their voice matters and they have a story worth telling. She believes that shared stories change lives, and that reclaiming one’s voice is an act of courage and consciousness.
Marilyn teaches memoir writing as an act of self-discovery that leads to transformation for both the writer and the reader, and she has a knack for drawing out the deeper story that wants to be told. She helps women claim their subjects and value their stories as necessary contributions to the world. Her clients have won writing contests, published in literary magazines, and written books. They have also enjoyed deep personal growth in their writing and in their life.
A certified Author Accelerator Book Coach as well as an Amherst Writers and Artists Workshop Facilitator, Marilyn holds an MFA in creative nonfiction. Her work has appeared in numerous literary magazines such as The Rumpus, River Teeth, Under the Gum Tree, Sweet Lit, Brevity Nonfiction Blog, Superstition Review, and elsewhere. (Read her published writing here.) Her essay “Against Memory” was a finalist for AROHO’s Orlando Prize for Creative Nonfiction. She is currently working on a memoir titled To Have a Voice: A Midlife Reckoning with Female Sexual Shame and Silence.
Marilyn also teaches writing at Randolph College near her home in Lynchburg, Virginia.
You can read some of Marilyn’s published writing– including “The Heart of a Story: Writing Toward Voice,” which chronicles her journey to becoming a writer and a writing mentor–here.
I Am a Certified Author Accelerator Book Coach
As a certified Author Accelerator book coach, I hold myself to the highest standard of book coaching. Author Accelerator is a growing community of book coaches who empower writers through each step of the writing and publishing process. The Author Accelerator self-paced book coaching certification course is in-depth and intense. A combination of video lessons, written lessons, and hands-on practicum work with real-life clients, it took me 15 months to complete. I learned more in this program than in my MA and MFA combined!
You, too, can become a certified Author Accelerator book coach! Author Accelerator has certified over 100 book coaches and is on a mission to raise the bar of book coaching worldwide. Learn more about Author Accelerator book coaching certification course here.
As an Author Accelerator affiliate, I receive a referral fee when you use this link to enroll in the book coaching certification course. Questions about the certification process? I am happy to answer your questions and share my experience. Contact me here!
