You Are a Story: Memoir & Illinois Novelists
Date: Saturday, November 14, 2026
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Fee: Free!
Age: Ages 18 and older.
Contact: 815-722-9301
Location: Isle a la Cache Museum
Event details
The big questions we all ask at some point in our lives – Who am I? Why am I here? What does it all mean? – are often explored though philosophy, poetry and psychology.
This workshop examines how writing memoirs, telling our own stories and recording our lives can help us search for those same answers. Drawing inspiration from two Illinois novelists, Ray Bradbury and Ernest Hemingway, we’ll see how even fiction can be deeply autobiographical and how their approaches to storytelling can guide us in writing our own.
This Illinois Humanities Road Scholar Program by Aaron J. Lawler is divided into three interactive parts: personal identity, reflections becoming reality and learning as transformation. Isle a la Cache Museum is an accessible facility.
Illinois Humanities is a statewide nonprofit organization that activates the humanities through free public programs, grants and educational opportunities that spark conversation, foster reflection, build community and strengthen civic engagement for everyone in Illinois. Founded in 1974, it is the state partner for the National Endowment for the Humanities and supported by state, federal and private funds.
Event requirements
Registration required by Thursday, Nov. 12: 815-722-9301.
Isle a la Cache Museum is an accessible facility. Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service to participate in this program should mention their request when registering or submit a request online no later than 48 hours before the program.