Introducing the Memory Mine

How exploring my relationship with my own memory helped me to start writing again—and lead me to create an e-course to help others do the same.

I always felt my memory wasn’t what it should be. My early memories are minimal—a few staccato moments without context.

Ten years ago, I packed my life into boxes and moved from the eat-you-alive hustle of London to the seaside stillness of the English south coast. I gently cut many of the obligations that were weighing me down, using the move as an excuse. But for a long time after, I felt myself in limbo. 

Half my mind was still in my old London life, the other half was searching for something new but undefined. 

I loved being by the sea. I loved our new home. But I never had the space to unpack my books, my photos and much of what made me me. 

Without easy access to my own personal archive, I lost my already tenuous connection to my own memory. 

I felt adrift. And I stopped writing. 

Three years later, my partner gifted me a wall of bookshelves. I spent days unpacking, sorting and filing my books and my memories—finding snippets of myself in every object, image and note.

I found my creative art school self in old drawings and sketchbooks—my academic post-grad self scribbled in the margins of old ecology text books; my independent young adult working self in old calendars and notebooks—and a mishmash of memories from pre-teen to young adult in a forgotten photo album.

I started to write again—short pieces inspired by old photos and drawings. This new habit of focusing on my own needs made it easier to take notice of what was right in front of me. I started writing small observations about the garden and my daily walks. And I started to take photos again—adding to my memory bank for the future. 

Gradually, I recovered many of the insignificant days and small moments which collectively add up to me.

But more than that, I started to consciously examine my relationship with my memories. I began to question some of what I’d been told was me. And I discovered that the me I’d been trained to be was no longer the me I either wanted or felt myself to be. 

In time, I discovered a new version of me. 

One who, even before the move from city to seaside, before she packed herself into boxes, had been hidden under layers of expectation, guilt and obligation.

The unearthing helped me to rediscover moments of joy from my life—past and present—and realise where a lot of my old, unhelpful stories came from.

The Memory Mine is a gentle journey through that process. 

I’ve refined much of what I learned in my own memory journey and refined it into this course. Over six weeks, I’ll guide you through the unearthing, understanding and rewriting of your memories.

I’ll give you the tools you need to create your own memory practice and gather a bank of stories for your own creative work, or as an archive for your family and the future.

In The Memory Mine, I’ve distilled the most effective of my own memory unearthing tools into a self-guided, 6-week course that uses journalling, prompts, and creative exercises (indoors and outdoors) to get you back in touch with your own story and your own memory. 

In the course you’ll explore—

• Physical, sensual and emotional strategies to prompt your memory and improve your recall of events from decades ago.

• How digging for details can add life and colour to your stories.

• How to consciously edit your memories—to decide which contain the spark of a story you want tell and which you’re ready to let go.

• How to recall the past without judgement.

• How to value and make time for your own story.

• Tools to tune in to your daily life—to be awake to your experience and preserve it for the future.

• Tools to unearth, record and collate your memories and create a bank of stories you can use for years to come.

• Why you don’t have to journal every day to maintain a consistent practice.

The Memory Mine goes on general sale in one week, on Tuesday 30th January. The intake for this first round of the course will be limited so if you want to be sure of your place, get on the early access list for the chance to buy it a day early.

By the end of the course you’ll have a created a memory bank of your own—a rich archive you can draw on for future creative projects. AND the tools to top-up your memory bank with stories from every-day life.

If you’ve ever struggled with your own memory, or if you struggle to come up with content for your writing, this may be what you’re looking for