Barbara L. Morgenstern is a licensed attorney and engaged in the general practice of law with her father. She also served as a federal court law clerk and as a past president of the Greater Cincinnati Women Lawyers Assn. Before law school, Barbara worked as a newspaper reporter at The Cincinnati Post. She also taught media law and newswriting and reporting for a decade at Miami University of Ohio.

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 fun, safe and positive. There are no rules, no right or wrong way to write one’s Ethical Will or Short-Form Memoir. It’s an intensely personal process, concise and readable. Barbara’s skills, honed as a former newspaper and magazine writer, a practicing attorney and Miami University journalism faculty member help her help others write from the heart. She also has experience designing and conducting private and corporate workshops that create unique opportunities for team building while enhancing personal writing skills. All workshops are designed to be relevant and welcoming to all participants, making time and creating space for bringing out the writer in everyone.

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

They are 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 we 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.

Short-Form Memoir

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” and “Memoir as Medicine.”) 

As Nancy describes the process, “It is not therapy, but it is therapeutic.”
Click Here to Read beautiful memoir examples from the workshops.

Below: photos from Costa Rica; The Barn | Woman’s Art Club Cultural Center in Cincinnati, and AI marketing star Helium SEO. In addition to other locations in Cincinnait, Barbara has designed and conducted workshops in San Francisco, Tuscon and Loretto, Ky.