Speaking, Teaching, Consulting
Hope, Empowerment, and Practical Advice
Marsha’s extraordinary story illuminates the power of personal reinvention. Raised to believe she was worthless, she married an abusive man because she saw no way out. Over time she developed the strength and confidence to grab her children, escape from him in a dramatic car chase, and create a secure and happy life for her family.
Through keynotes and workshops, she shares insights gained from her lived experience, along with tools to increase the resilience and self-confidence required to meet adversity with strength.
Author of the award-winning memoir The Wrong Calamity, Marsha is also a sought-after writing consultant and offers webinars, workshops, and individual and small-group coaching for writers.
Overcoming Adversity
Keynotes & Webinars
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Raised to believe she was worthless, Marsha grew up believing she couldn’t handle things. Over time she created readily do-able and even playful little tricks for herself that she later learned were backed by science. In this talk, Marsha shares her unique strategies for building self-confidence with tiny experiments, boosting her resilience through mirror chats, and using a headline approach to check in on herself in a new and fun way.
Going beyond the day-to-day, Marsha provides ongoing ways to navigate life’s challenges and to fortify your ability to cope in hard times.
Who will find this helpful?
People wanting to increase their resiliency and self-confidence
People who are harder on themselves than they deserve
People who often feel unsure of themselves and want to discover and trust their strengths
Formats Available
Keynotes, online or in person
One-hour webinar
Ninety-minute webinar
Testimonials
“These simple little nuggets are like magic. Very easy and very helpful.”
“Everything feels so hard these days. I started doing the tiny experiments and it made a lot of things easier."
“I didn’t know how to help my son. I told him these nuggets, and he says they’re helping!”
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Raised to believe she was a no-account, Marsha grew up having little faith in herself. Afraid to say no, she married a controlling man and, even as he grew more abusive, she believed she was trapped for life in that marriage. What she didn't yet realize was that her low self-esteem was linked to shame—and, most importantly, that it was possible to sever that link.
Marsha ultimately did sever that link and, through newfound resilience and confidence, she escaped that marriage and created a stable, happy life for her family. In this talk, she shares the techniques she used. You’ll discover how to use tools like “Says Who,” “Tiny Experiments,” and “Scoot” and have the opportunity to practice them.
Her talk goes beyond the tools themselves and offers an integrated view of how they work together to identify the source of your shame, strip away its power, silence your “inner critic,” develop your “inner advocate,” and become your strongest self.
Who Will Find This Helpful?
People wanting to be more resilient and confident
People who have little faith in themselves
People who frequently feel ashamed
Formats Available
Keynotes, online or in person
One-hour webinar
Ninety-minute webinar
Testimonials:
“For more than 70 years I’ve believed my mother when she said that everything I did was wrong. I don’t know if I can forgive her, but after your talk I can stop believing her.”
“I can’t thank you enough for pointing out that critic on my shoulder and showing me how to get him to scoot.”
“I didn’t know what to expect and almost didn’t attend, but I’m so glad I did.”
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Single parenting against the backdrop of a neglectful or disruptive ex-partner is one of the hardest challenges people face. In this talk, Marsha describes her own story of raising her children in the fallout of an abusive marriage and shares the lived reality of how she shielded them from parental conflict, counteracted the other parent’s negative influence, and transformed her own pain and worry into a source of resilience and confidence for her children and for herself.
This talk goes beyond the struggle, offering not only solace but also practical strategies and a reminder of the strength that lives in a parent determined to build a better future for their family.
Who Will Find This Helpful?
Single parents and co-parents worried about their ex’s impact on the children
Grandparents and others unsure how to best help the children and the children’s parents
Formats Available
Keynotes, online or in person
One-hour webinar
Ninety-minute webinar
Testimonials
“Marsha’s so wise and so kind. This was the most helpful advice I ever got."
“My ex and I attended this together. We both saw ways we could do better for the kids and had a good conversation for the first time since we separated.”
“I wish I’d known all this a year ago.”
The Writing Life
Webinars & Coaching
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Excerpts from your writing can find new life and new readers when properly reused. We'll examine memoir excerpts repurposed for op-eds, blogs, essays, and flash pieces and vice versa—excerpts from these smaller works that made their way into a memoir. You'll learn readily doable techniques for repurposing your work and do some writing exercises to practice and receive feedback.
We’ll cover the implications of derivative works rights and other contract clauses and how to avoid self-plagiarism or breach of contract when repurposing your writing. We’ll also cover how to cross-market different works in order to expand total readership and revive interest in your older works.
Who will find this helpful?
Writers wanting to try new formats, reinvigorate interest in their earlier pieces, or reach new audiences.
Formats Available
Individual or small-group coaching online
Two-hour webinar (or in-person workshop if practical) for any group size
Two-session webinar (or in-person workshop if practical) for any group size, each session 90 minutes
Testimonials
“I thought I didn’t have the imagination to write fiction, but with the help of a single paragraph from my memoir, I actually wrote a flash fiction piece!”
“Marsha showed me how to turn a little thing I wrote on social media into a fully developed blog post. I amazed myself.”
“Highly recommend. This was so cool!”
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The tension between telling our true stories and protecting people we write about is one of the toughest challenges authors face—yet violating a person’s privacy can cause pain, ridicule, or even more serious consequences to them and those close to them.
We’ll look at key writing techniques for disguising real-life characters, including changing names and eliminating identifying characteristics in more nuanced ways than usually employed. We’ll also discuss how to provide extra protection for children; when to replace “show don’t tell” with “hint don’t tell”; how, when, and when not to use composite characters, and how to maintain readers’ trust when using any of these techniques.
Who will find this helpful:
Memoirists and personal essayists
Novelists with characters based on real people
Formats Available
Individual or small-group coaching online
Two-hour webinar (or in-person workshop if practical) for any group size
Two-session webinar (or in-person workshop if practical) for any group size, each session 90 minutes
Testimonials:
“I thought I’d never be able to publish my book without hurting my sister. I used your techniques and now I have a publisher!”
“This was so helpful! As soon as your webinar ended, I started editing the scenes I was worried about, and your recommendations really worked.”
“Marsha was a kind and sensitive mentor.”
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Our best stories often come from so deep within us, they’re hard to reach. While Marsha was writing The Wrong Calamity, she was also practicing an unusual prompt-writing technique shown by research and even brain scans to quiet and focus the mind and deepen our connection to the creative process. This technique goes by many names, and the one she finds most apt is Mindfulness Writing.
The fruits of this practice contributed to seven scenes in her book, including a prominent one about a hat which came to her almost fully hatched. You’ll learn the methodology of Mindfulness Writing and why it works; have at least three opportunities to practice; and learn how to turn a group practice into an individual practice you can do on your own.
Who will find this helpful:
Journal-writers, memoirists, personal essay writers, and anyone wanting to access memories that are no longer fresh
Formats available
One-hour webinar for an individual or group
Testimonials:
“This workshop was all at once serious and playful. I found myself bypassing the usual voice of the inner critic and going deeper without realizing it. In short, Marsha made my writing process easy, fun, and surprisingly fruitful."
“No improvements needed. The workshop was excellent!”
“This completely ended my 7-month writers’ block!”
“In no time I was deeply focused, energized, and really writing.”
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When The Wrong Calamity came out, Marsha was caught off guard by intrusive questions; readers' assumptions that didn't match her reality; friends' discomfort with learning so much about her; and a painful family schism over what she’d written.
To help fellow writers gracefully navigate these and other challenging reader reactions, she shares the techniques she developed for respectful responses, boundary-setting, and managing the emotional fallout of others’ discomfort. In this safe, supportive space, you will have the opportunity to share experiences if you wish and practice real-life responses.
Who will find this helpful:
Memoirists at every stage of the writing process
Formats available
Individual or small-group coaching online
Two-hour webinar (or in-person workshop if practical) for any group size
Two-session webinar (or in-person workshop if practical) for any group size, each session 90 minutes
Testimonials:
“I was so nervous about what people would say about my memoir, but everything changed with this workshop. My book is coming out in 2 months and I can’t wait to meet my readers!”
“I wish I’d had this workshop before my memoir launched. I‘ve been a nervous wreck for the past 3 months. Now I’m having a ball!”
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What if writer’s block could actually work for you? In this highly interactive webinar, we’ll discuss common causes of blocks, look at ways to short-circuit them, and learn how to transform blocked periods into generative periods.
Using examples from studies on overcoming writer’s block as well as writers’ experiences, we’ll focus on writing techniques, diversion exercises, and ways to reduce the anxiety that comes with being blocked. You’ll leave with a ready-to-use toolkit for turning one of writers’ biggest challenges into an unexpected source of productivity.
Who will find this helpful?
All writers who have experienced writer’s block or fear that they will
Writing coaches and others in a position to help writers overcome writer’s block
Formats Available
60-minute webinar for an individual or any size group
90-minute webinar for an individual or any group size
Testimonials:
Incredibly helpful. The techniques are smart, surprisingly easy, and work.
I was blocked for more than a month and after the webinar I opened my computer and was writing again in less than an hour!
Trusted By
Bookclubs: An invitation from Marsha
Nothing makes me happier than visiting with book clubs that have read The Wrong Calamity. I meet with you in person if practical and on Zoom if not, and it always feels like time spent with new friends. If we’re in person, I’ll sign your books. If we’re online, I’ll mail you signed bookplates. And after our gathering, I’ll gift Kindle copies to a few of your friends and relatives—my way of saying thank you for welcoming me in.
There’s never a speaker fee. Just reach out through the contact form and let’s make it happen!