National Press Club

Journalism Institute offers program on memoir writing with authors of 'Fix What You Can' and 'Love You Hard,' Oct. 2

Holly Butcher Grant

September 30, 2020

If you think you have a memoir in you waiting to be written, participate in the National Press Club Journalism Institute professional development program on Oct. 2 to find out how two authors put theirs to paper.

How do you report on your own experiences and fact-check them? What does it take to turn your memories into a memoir? When is the right time to write a memoir about your life? How do you determine what you don’t know and decide what to leave out? And when, and how, do you tell the people closest to you about their role in the narrative?

These issues will be discussed in the 45-minute session with memoirists Mindy Greiling, author of “Fix What You Can: Schizophrenia and a Lawmaker’s Fight for her Son,” and Abby Maslin, author of “Love You Hard: A Memoir of Marriage, Brain Injury, and Reinventing Love”; journalist Angela Greiling Keane, managing editor, states and Canada at POLITICO, whose family played a role in both memoirs; with moderator Aly Colón, Knight Professor of Media Ethics at Washington and Lee University. 

Registration is open for the free event, which will be held virtually from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Oct. 2.

About the panelists

Mindy Greiling is the author of “Fix What You Can: Schizophrenia and a Lawmaker’s Fight for her Son.” She served in the House of Representatives in Minnesota for 20 years, including 14 after her son was diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder in 1999. She initiated the first state bipartisan mental health caucus where legislators worked together to pass legislation, including allocating the most annual funding for mental health in Minnesota history up to that date. She has served on the national and state National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) boards and currently serves on the University of Minnesota Psychiatry Community Advisory Council.

Angela Greiling Keane is managing editor, states and Canada running policy and politics coverage for regional-based teams. She joined POLITICO in 2016 and previously was deputy states editor and deputy technology editor. She is the current president of the nonprofit National Press Club Journalism Institute and was the 2013 National Press Club president.

Abby Maslin is an elementary school teacher with DC Public Schools as well as the author of “Love You Hard,” about her family’s experience with traumatic brain injury in the year following her husband’s brutal attack in Washington, D.C. Abby’s activism in the brain injury world earned her the title of Marie Claire’s Model Citizen for 2013. Abby holds master's degrees from both Drexel University and The American University in the areas of creative arts therapy and education. Her experience in special education has played an integral role in her capacity as a caregiver.

About the moderator

Aly Colón is the Knight Professor of Media Ethics in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications at Washington and Lee University.  Prior to joining Washington and Lee, Colón spent more than 30 years in journalism. He worked for a news service, daily newspapers, public radio, network television and a journalism institute.

About NPCJI’s programs

The National Press Club Journalism Institute has added weekly programming, a daily newsletter, a daily writing group, and other support for journalists since March, and has waived fees for everything due to the COVID-19 pandemic at a savings of more than $52,000 to participants like you. If you value what you’ve been learning from the Institute during this time, please consider a donation of $5, $10, or whatever you can contribute.

Upcoming free programs 

Watch recordings or read recaps of previous Journalism Institute programs here. Recent events include:  

Contact NPCJI Executive Director Julie Moos with questions.