About Debora

Throughout my life, I’ve found that writing takes me to the deepest places of healing I know. The challenges I’ve faced personally, and the challenges in the world that break my heart, are the very things I’ve brought to my plays, poetry and prose. As a teacher, I’m passionate about creating a safe space where the most sacred stories of our lives come forth.

I’ve been leading writing workshops sine 1996. After receiving my MFA in playwriting, I trained with Amherst Writers and Artists Institute and was certified to lead writing workshops for underserved populations.

For several years I led writing workshops for women survivors of trauma and abuse, and was deeply inspired by the power of writing to change women’s lives. I also spent many years exploring the connections of body, mind and spirit. I was trained in acupressure and Reiki and studied a wide variety of mind body disciplines, including Feldenkrais, yoga, Continuum, among others.

When my life became deeply affected by Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I turned to writing and began to incorporate what I knew about the body and healing into a writing process called Writing the Body Home. This writing process has been one of the cornerstones for the healing in my own life, and it’s been my privilege to share what I’ve learned with others.

Not all of us have chronic illnesses, and not all of us have survived major trauma, but we all live in a world that needs healing, and we all need to know how to care for our bodies in a world that’s become toxic on many levels.

I’ve won awards for my plays, poetry and prose. My plays have been professionally produced in New York City as well as produced regionally in Western Massachusetts. My poems and prose can be found in a variety of journals, including upstreet, Patchwork, Breath and Shadow, and others. I’ve also written and performed a one woman show. I’ve twice been awarded grants to be a writer in residence at the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, New Mexico.

I live at the Sirius Community, an eco-village in Western Massachusetts (to learn more about Sirius, click here, www.siriuscommunity.org), and spend part of my year in Northern New Mexico. The photo of me on this page was taken in Abiquiu, New Mexico, where I teach a week long workshop of Writing the Prayer of Your Life.