Shawna Ayoub
@surviveyourstory.bsky.social
Writer. Queer. Brown. I teach expressive writing for release and recovery. 🌈 🇱🇧
https://surviveyourstory.substack.com/
https://surviveyourstory.substack.com/
Nothing like spending your Saturday morning opting out of every platform's data collection and use for training AI. No, I don't want you to read my emails, links, DMs, watch my videos, or analyze my voice messages.
a picture of a robot with the words " the machines are taking over " on it
ALT: a picture of a robot with the words " the machines are taking over " on it
media.tenor.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Nothing like spending your Saturday morning opting out of every platform's data collection and use for training AI. No, I don't want you to read my emails, links, DMs, watch my videos, or analyze my voice messages.
I'm working with @literaryliberation.bsky.social to circulate $25,000 to community members in need of assistance.
literaryliberation.substack.com/p/nourish-a-...
literaryliberation.substack.com/p/nourish-a-...
November 15, 2025 at 12:08 AM
I'm working with @literaryliberation.bsky.social to circulate $25,000 to community members in need of assistance.
literaryliberation.substack.com/p/nourish-a-...
literaryliberation.substack.com/p/nourish-a-...
My sister had me convinced there were gators in that pool. She talked me around to believing a shark could live there. It all depended, she supposed, on whether the vents were properly closed.
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
Sharks in the Tub, Snakes in the Toilet
Life, season by season.
open.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:49 PM
My sister had me convinced there were gators in that pool. She talked me around to believing a shark could live there. It all depended, she supposed, on whether the vents were properly closed.
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
Writing letters can be a heartfelt way to express our love and celebrate the relationships we’ve shared. Letters can help us preserve important memories and stories, confront unfinished business, and more. Register: rcwms.org/events
Cost: $35
Nov 16, 2025
Sunday, 2-4 PM EST
Via Zoom
Cost: $35
Nov 16, 2025
Sunday, 2-4 PM EST
Via Zoom
November 11, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Writing letters can be a heartfelt way to express our love and celebrate the relationships we’ve shared. Letters can help us preserve important memories and stories, confront unfinished business, and more. Register: rcwms.org/events
Cost: $35
Nov 16, 2025
Sunday, 2-4 PM EST
Via Zoom
Cost: $35
Nov 16, 2025
Sunday, 2-4 PM EST
Via Zoom
Today opens Week 2 of the Ritual Season by @literaryliberation.bsky.social. Please join us for a writing practice that does not ask you to count your words, instead requesting you honor yourself as a writer.
When the Honeymoon Ends: Week 2 of The Ritual Season
open.substack.com/pub/literary...
When the Honeymoon Ends: Week 2 of The Ritual Season
open.substack.com/pub/literary...
When the Honeymoon Ends: Week 2 of The Ritual Season
Writing through resistance
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Today opens Week 2 of the Ritual Season by @literaryliberation.bsky.social. Please join us for a writing practice that does not ask you to count your words, instead requesting you honor yourself as a writer.
When the Honeymoon Ends: Week 2 of The Ritual Season
open.substack.com/pub/literary...
When the Honeymoon Ends: Week 2 of The Ritual Season
open.substack.com/pub/literary...
Come together to examine our grief through the epistolary form. We will write letters to those we have lost as an act of self-care.
Sunday, November 16, 2025
2-4PM EST via Zoom
$35-50 Scholarships available.
Contact info@rcwms.org for more information.
Register: substack.com/@shawnamawna...
Sunday, November 16, 2025
2-4PM EST via Zoom
$35-50 Scholarships available.
Contact info@rcwms.org for more information.
Register: substack.com/@shawnamawna...
November 4, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Come together to examine our grief through the epistolary form. We will write letters to those we have lost as an act of self-care.
Sunday, November 16, 2025
2-4PM EST via Zoom
$35-50 Scholarships available.
Contact info@rcwms.org for more information.
Register: substack.com/@shawnamawna...
Sunday, November 16, 2025
2-4PM EST via Zoom
$35-50 Scholarships available.
Contact info@rcwms.org for more information.
Register: substack.com/@shawnamawna...
Looking for a way to stop climbing the walls of your #writing. The Writer's Recovery Room is your dedicated time to break free! Whether that means checking items off a to-do list, dusting off a just-for-you project, or tackling your inbox, know this time is your time.
October 30, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Looking for a way to stop climbing the walls of your #writing. The Writer's Recovery Room is your dedicated time to break free! Whether that means checking items off a to-do list, dusting off a just-for-you project, or tackling your inbox, know this time is your time.
The Value that Determines My Production
(How things going wrong is really things going right.)
open.substack.com
October 30, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by Shawna Ayoub
ANNOUNCING our WINTER 2026 workshops! Write yourself into the future with us!
If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to join us, this is it.
Registration is open. Keep reading to see what’s on offer, & enjoy 20% off marked workshops if you’re a paid member.
Register literaryliberation.net
If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to join us, this is it.
Registration is open. Keep reading to see what’s on offer, & enjoy 20% off marked workshops if you’re a paid member.
Register literaryliberation.net
October 30, 2025 at 1:44 AM
ANNOUNCING our WINTER 2026 workshops! Write yourself into the future with us!
If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to join us, this is it.
Registration is open. Keep reading to see what’s on offer, & enjoy 20% off marked workshops if you’re a paid member.
Register literaryliberation.net
If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to join us, this is it.
Registration is open. Keep reading to see what’s on offer, & enjoy 20% off marked workshops if you’re a paid member.
Register literaryliberation.net
I'm excited to share my new volunteer position as Director of Programs for Literary Liberation. I look forward to co-creating practices that deeply examine intention & method, origin & accessibility by asking, "How can freedom be more than an idea for those of us on the margin?"
Understanding My Origin and the Necessity of Liberatory Rage
Hello from Lit Lib's new Director of Programs
open.substack.com
September 27, 2025 at 7:13 PM
I'm excited to share my new volunteer position as Director of Programs for Literary Liberation. I look forward to co-creating practices that deeply examine intention & method, origin & accessibility by asking, "How can freedom be more than an idea for those of us on the margin?"
Usually science and female-bodied intuition are considered at odds. Dr. Kahn’s response is something different.
Maybe My Ovary Is My Final Frontier
In which I discover a truth about migraines through intuition
open.substack.com
September 22, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Usually science and female-bodied intuition are considered at odds. Dr. Kahn’s response is something different.
"The sun was shining through the picture windows on us. He told me he wanted better for me. We were smiling. He swept his arm around like a wizard. 'I free you from the patriarchy,' he said, and it meant something to me to hear that."
opensecretsmagazine.com/p/divorce-fi...
opensecretsmagazine.com/p/divorce-fi...
September 10, 2025 at 6:03 PM
"The sun was shining through the picture windows on us. He told me he wanted better for me. We were smiling. He swept his arm around like a wizard. 'I free you from the patriarchy,' he said, and it meant something to me to hear that."
opensecretsmagazine.com/p/divorce-fi...
opensecretsmagazine.com/p/divorce-fi...
The Center for Creative Writing x Survive Your Story cohost two monthly 90-minute silent write-ins on Zoom. Register to drop in (or out!) at any point & write or work in quiet community.
Sat, 9/13, 11A-12:30P EST
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Sat, 9/27, 3P-4:30P EST
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Sat, 9/13, 11A-12:30P EST
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Sat, 9/27, 3P-4:30P EST
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
September 10, 2025 at 5:21 PM
The Center for Creative Writing x Survive Your Story cohost two monthly 90-minute silent write-ins on Zoom. Register to drop in (or out!) at any point & write or work in quiet community.
Sat, 9/13, 11A-12:30P EST
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Sat, 9/27, 3P-4:30P EST
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Sat, 9/13, 11A-12:30P EST
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Sat, 9/27, 3P-4:30P EST
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
The people who turn her away with words like "suck it up," "take a pill," "you're a liar"--these are the humans in the most pain. These are the humans who find themselves the ugliest, loathe themselves the most. These are the humans afraid of humanity...
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
A Practice in Self-Generosity
In which I bring you writing from the archives.
open.substack.com
July 22, 2025 at 6:04 PM
The people who turn her away with words like "suck it up," "take a pill," "you're a liar"--these are the humans in the most pain. These are the humans who find themselves the ugliest, loathe themselves the most. These are the humans afraid of humanity...
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
We have incredible power when it comes to how we use our words. Many of us are familiar with having been silenced. Finding safe ways to be in conversation when we want to or when it’s required means sometimes using our words as a shield.
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
When to Use Writing as a Shield
On setting boundaries through and with the written word.
open.substack.com
July 7, 2025 at 3:52 PM
We have incredible power when it comes to how we use our words. Many of us are familiar with having been silenced. Finding safe ways to be in conversation when we want to or when it’s required means sometimes using our words as a shield.
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
Writing the Body
July 27, 2-4PM EST via Zoom
Learn about how the body stores memory, and why, and take home practices for listening to the stories our bodies want to tell us.
Scholarships available.
rcwms.org/event/writin...
July 27, 2-4PM EST via Zoom
Learn about how the body stores memory, and why, and take home practices for listening to the stories our bodies want to tell us.
Scholarships available.
rcwms.org/event/writin...
Writing the Body with Shawna Ayoub - RCWMS
It’s a well-researched fact that we store our emotional experiences in our physical bodies. On anniversaries of loss, for example, it is common to feel body pain, heaviness, or fatigue. […]
rcwms.org
June 21, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Writing the Body
July 27, 2-4PM EST via Zoom
Learn about how the body stores memory, and why, and take home practices for listening to the stories our bodies want to tell us.
Scholarships available.
rcwms.org/event/writin...
July 27, 2-4PM EST via Zoom
Learn about how the body stores memory, and why, and take home practices for listening to the stories our bodies want to tell us.
Scholarships available.
rcwms.org/event/writin...
Before We Were Married, I Tried to Get My Wife's Attention open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
It's profound to be with a partner who empowers you to show up even when it challenges them.
#pride #lgbtq #memoir #writing
It's profound to be with a partner who empowers you to show up even when it challenges them.
#pride #lgbtq #memoir #writing
Before We Were Married, I Tried to Get My Wife's Attention
She didn't notice me. I found this unacceptable.
open.substack.com
June 16, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Before We Were Married, I Tried to Get My Wife's Attention open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
It's profound to be with a partner who empowers you to show up even when it challenges them.
#pride #lgbtq #memoir #writing
It's profound to be with a partner who empowers you to show up even when it challenges them.
#pride #lgbtq #memoir #writing
My 19yo, 12yo, me, and my 16yo. Queer and dear. Happy Pride! 🌈
June 2, 2025 at 1:43 AM
My 19yo, 12yo, me, and my 16yo. Queer and dear. Happy Pride! 🌈
It's time to sign up for my next workshop, and I have the perfect class for your internal Spring cleaning needs:
Remaking a Memory
Reframing our difficult memories allows us to remake them in a way that serves us.
Register here: rcwms.org/event/remaki...
Remaking a Memory
Reframing our difficult memories allows us to remake them in a way that serves us.
Register here: rcwms.org/event/remaki...
Remaking a Memory with Shawna Ayoub - RCWMS
Traumatic memories are formed differently than normal memories, and can be more intense and longer lasting. In addition, we can inform our own traumatic memories by rehearsing them. This looks […]
rcwms.org
May 8, 2025 at 12:35 AM
It's time to sign up for my next workshop, and I have the perfect class for your internal Spring cleaning needs:
Remaking a Memory
Reframing our difficult memories allows us to remake them in a way that serves us.
Register here: rcwms.org/event/remaki...
Remaking a Memory
Reframing our difficult memories allows us to remake them in a way that serves us.
Register here: rcwms.org/event/remaki...
What happens when the books we read rip away our ability to hide from ourselves?
surviveyourstory.substack.com/p/finding-ou...
#writing #memoir #identity #discovery
surviveyourstory.substack.com/p/finding-ou...
#writing #memoir #identity #discovery
Finding Ourselves In Writing
Or, why reading does actually make us better writers.
surviveyourstory.substack.com
May 5, 2025 at 3:03 PM
What happens when the books we read rip away our ability to hide from ourselves?
surviveyourstory.substack.com/p/finding-ou...
#writing #memoir #identity #discovery
surviveyourstory.substack.com/p/finding-ou...
#writing #memoir #identity #discovery
What is gender anyway? Who gets to decide? I read and reviewed Yours for the Taking by @gabriellekorn.bsky.social
creativewritingcenter.com/blog/beyond-...
creativewritingcenter.com/blog/beyond-...
April 26, 2025 at 4:33 PM
What is gender anyway? Who gets to decide? I read and reviewed Yours for the Taking by @gabriellekorn.bsky.social
creativewritingcenter.com/blog/beyond-...
creativewritingcenter.com/blog/beyond-...
Maybe My Brain Is My Final Frontier
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
Maybe My Brain Is My Final Frontier
A Trek into the Stars of My Mind
open.substack.com
April 21, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Maybe My Brain Is My Final Frontier
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...
open.substack.com/pub/survivey...