Your highly participative and practical workshop I attended recently touched me to the core. Like all the other women who attended I was jumpstarted into memoir writing.

Your very special style gave each of us great confidence and we knew we were in safe hands. Yes, it was highly emotional. We dived into the depths of life’s experiences and then shared them with each other. You empathised with each of us and you gave us the ability to weave our individual history into our stories. I left your workshop and came out into the noises of our busy city feeling inspired and refreshed.

A sincere “Thank You” Heather. The workshop well exceeded my expectations.

Yours sincerely,

Dolores C., Wicklow, Ireland

 "Heather, Bless you! I hope you're still floating on all the love that beamed your way at the SCN conference. You certainly gave us all a lift in the example of who you are and how you live. Thank you...."

Down-to-Earth and funny as hell, Heather Summerhayes Cariou will keep you laughing and crying by turns as she imparts her own personal brand of hard-earned wisdom. A gifted and inspiring teacher and speaker, she knows how to handle the hard stuff, how to create a safe place for those exploring the depths of their own experiences. Unflinching and real, Heather mines the considerable wealth of her own experience to find those little pearls of wisdom that ring in your head long after she’s left the podium. Her theatrical training only adds to her natural gift for story telling, her flair for just the right word or turn of phrase delivered with an ease that makes you feel like your sitting across the kitchen table from your best friend while she spins yet another magical yarn. Even with dessert and coffee waiting, our audience just couldn’t let her go. A not-to-be-missed, must-see, must-hear blockbusting speaker with a heart of pure gold.

Lisa Shirah-Hiers, President, Storycircle Network for Women, Stories from the Heart Conference 2010

Selection of Comments from Participant Evaluations, Story Circle 2010 Conference:

"Thank you so much participating in the SCN conference. You were one of the highlights for me!"

"Entertaining, no-nonsense, tells-it-like-it-is."

"Came away with some really great tools for digging into emotionally difficult writing."

"Heather reached deep parts of my creative mind with the writing prompts, pacing was perfect; combined flexibility with careful planning of material."

"She worked to get us to dig deep, made us push ourselves."

"Knowledgeable and funny, engaging, real."

"Excellent; encouraging and absolutely inspiring!"

"Vibrant, passionate, credible and (most importantly) honest and real. I was totally engaged from the first to the last minute."

"Favorite presenter! (need you ask?!)" 

I must thank you for giving such a rousing presentation.  Attendees of the WRA event have written to tell me how much they enjoyed meeting you and hearing you speak.  You spoke directly to them and they felt your honesty, passion and love for your art.  Simply put, you were a hit!!

Julie Maloney, Women Reading Aloud

I was in one of your powerful memoir writing workshops at the recent Sleeping Giant Writers Festival in Thunder Bay. We are still buzzing about the terrific memoir workshops you gave! You awakened the writer in many people and showed us all the validity of our memories and experiences. You ignited the spark too in more jaded writers (such as myself) who were perhaps feeling that they had exhausted all their material and picked bare all the juiciest memories. So, a very long winded thank you for sharing all your gifts so openly and with such enthusiasm, Heather.

Sue B.

I just completed the evaluations done by the participants of the Thunder Bay Sleeping Giant Writers Festival. 24 people rated your workshop a "10" or better! The following are comments taken from the actual evaluations”

Heather was wonderful – “she gave not only useful, practical tools, but also a gift of herself, her perspective and more importantly the ability to be receptive to ourselves”.

Heather: “wow”

“Exercises were great, wish she  wasx available to teach here all the time.

“She is amazing”

"More presenters like Heather – practical & moving presentation"

"Have 2 workshops for full 1 days – Heather would be perfect."

"Opportunities to write as part of presentation –
that is what made Heather’s presentation

“outstanding”

"Heather was a standout."

Thankyou, Cynthia