In-Person Workshop

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In-Person Workshop

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About Us
How Life Story Workshop™ began, who we serve, and why we matter to you.

My name is Mark Bottita, and I will be your workshop host and facilitator. I teach communication courses at Purdue University North Central. I also teach as an adjunct faculty member in marketing at the University of Notre Dame. My other teaching positions have included a Visiting Faculty appointment at Indiana University South Bend, and Southwestern Michigan College.

How Life Story Workshop™ began

Life Story Workshop™ is a division of Elder Forest Publishing Group (EFPG), which evolved as a direct result of my teaching experiences in communication. I conceived and developed EFPG as a parent company that would support and oversee separate divisions (or properties) that were in alignment with its mission and goals. Life Story Workshop™ was a logical addition to this mission. I have been offering public workshops and using them in my university and college courses since 2005.

From this, I saw how a special need arose for active military personnel and veterans serving -- or reintegrating here at home -- from the ashes of the Afghanistan / Iraqi wars of the past six years. Not a military man myself, I wondered what my civilian obligations were to these men. Obligations beyond feeling sorry for them, or glad-handing their contribution (pretending I could ever know 'how they feel' or 'what they went through.' I believed I owed more than this.

In response to these thoughts, I have written a book for these individuals entitled, Your Military Life, Your Civilian Life: A Life Story Workshop for the Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, Veteran (forthcoming 2010, Elder Forest Publishing). In it, I have developed the life story/life review paradigm for this very specific group of people and their very unique circumstances: having to understand their lives both as troops and as civilians. In fact, it was George Washington who captured the essence of this challenge when he said,

"When we assumed the soldier,
we did not lay aside the citizen."

- General George Washington,
Commander in Chief of the Continental Army,
American Revolutionary War

Service veterans discuss life story topics with our group

More about the In-Person Workshop

Consider these additional thoughts...

The workshop fee makes possible the substantial material and written feedback necessary for participants' growth and life story development, and offsets some of the refreshment expenses. The fee also adds a level of responsibility and accountability to the workshop that can sometimes be lost in less structured community settings. In other words, this fee is a commitment on the part of the participant toward taking seriously the goals of the workshop. Participants are here not only to interact and have fun, but also to get a good head-start on forming their life story into something meaningful to them. In general, we tend to take more seriously that in which we have invested something of ourselves (time-wise and money-wise). The bottom line is this: It's nearly impossible to offer this level of quality material and feedback without charging a reasonable fee.
In terms of an investment in time and cost, I designed the In-Person Workshop to be a far better value than many typical lifelong learning or community education opportunities. I believe I have far exceeded that expectation, and that you will have a wonderful and productive learning and sharing experience.