From Bloomington to Santa Cruz: How Retreats Shape My Writing Life

“Take a deep breath and tell us your deepest, darkest secrets, so we can wipe our brow and know we’re not alone. Write like you have a message from the king.” – Alan Wilson Watts

I’ve just returned from the phenomenal Her Spirit Women’s Writing Retreat hosted by Story Summit at the Chaminade Resort in Santa Cruz, California. My head is buzzing with ideas. Retreats and conferences always do this—offering the chance to dive deep into craft, connect with fellow writers, and escape the noise of everyday life. Story Summit has long been part of my writing journey—through mentor-led groups, private coaching, and developmental editing. I know they’ll play an integral role in my next book project.

It has been my habit to commit to at least two retreats/conferences each year. I find they turbo-charge my goals and intentions. Earlier this summer, I attended the first Understory Conference in Park City, Utah (I wrote about that experience here). Over the years, I’ve sought out retreats in all kinds of places: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (where I signed my first book deal with She Writes Press for Twice a Daughter), and closer to home, at Ragdale in Lake Forest, Illinois, where I revised drafts of my essay collection, Belonging Matters (Muse Literary, 2023), and my most recent memoir Twice the Family (She Writes Press, 2025).

Each experience has shaped me, but none compares to my very first conference—at my alma mater, Indiana University.

My First Conference: Indiana University

Bloomington, just four hours from my Northwest Indiana home, was the obvious choice. It was also where I’d spent four unforgettable years as an undergrad. The conference format was perfect: small morning workshops by genre, afternoon classes in voice, character, poetry, and crime writing, and evening readings by faculty and students.

From June 2–6, I was all in.

My nonfiction workshop met every morning from 9 to 11:30. Nine students, one moderator—the notable memoirist Kiese Laymon—and a mountain of feedback. I received nine critiques on the first 20 pages of my work-in-progress (Twice a Daughter) and offered the same to my peers. I even led a partner discussion on one classmate’s essay. It was rigorous and demanding, but I loved every minute.

Housing was included in the Willkie dorms (where I had lived as a freshman), but I splurged on a room at the Indiana Memorial Union (IMU). Familiar surroundings eased my nerves about launching a second career in midlife, and since afternoon classes were held there, it was the right choice. The IMU had been my college hub—where I worked, studied, and met daily with my twin sister. Staying there was like stepping back into my twenties, something I write about in my new memoir, Twice the Family. 

That nostalgia was both a comfort and a challenge. The familiarity calmed me early in the week, but it also heightened the vulnerability of being workshopped. And while I’d hoped for downtime to wander campus and revisit old haunts, the conference schedule left little room. Between panels, poetry sessions, critiques, workouts, and nightly dinners at Bloomington favorites like The Runcible Spoon and Nick’s, there was barely time to breathe. But honestly? I wouldn’t trade the intensity.

By the final day, I felt both exhausted and renewed. I left with valuable feedback, budding friendships, and a deeper understanding of nonfiction. My classmates’ work opened new windows of thought—political, social, and personal—that continue to shape me. Driving north back home with the country music station humming low, I felt propelled, eager to revise, to experiment with new genres, and—most of all—to keep writing.

Why Retreats Matter

Looking back, that first IU conference lit the fuse. Since then, retreats in Mexico, California, Utah, and the Chicagoland area have deepened my practice and widened my circle of writer-friends. They’ve taught me to read aloud, seek thoughtful readers, rewrite (and rewrite again), and never box myself into just one genre.

But the power of a retreat goes beyond craft. Retreats and conferences give us the rare chance to step outside our daily roles—parent, partner, professional—and return to the page with clarity. They remind us that we’re not alone in the work. Writing can feel solitary, but at a retreat, you sit in a circle of people who understand both the struggle and the joy of shaping words from 26 letters.

And something always shifts. Sometimes it’s in a single line of feedback, sometimes in a late-night conversation, sometimes in the quiet hours at a borrowed desk. You leave carrying not just pages, but a new sense of who you are as a writer.

Ray Bradbury once said, “Write every day.” That week in Bloomington taught me not just why, but how. And every retreat since has renewed that lesson in a different way.

If you’re curious about stepping into this kind of experience yourself, check out the AWP website, or Poets & Writers for a list of retreats/conferences near you. Who knows? It might be the week that changes everything.

Other Big News

My recent memoir, Twice the Family, received notable book awards/designations, receiving  Gold in Nonfiction-Memoir in the  Reader’s Favorite Book Awards (read the 5 star book review, here) and Gold in Parenting & Relationships in the Global Book Awards. I couldn’t be more honored to receive these prestigious accolades.

Follow Me Here

Sept. 8: Julie will speak virtually to Sheri Quinn’s Book Club about her new release, Twice the Family. 

Sept. 10: Julie will present the online webinar, “Memoir Magic: Mining Journals to Craft Compelling Memoir” for the Author Learning Center at 1:30 ET. Go here to register. 

Sept. 16: Julie’s new book, Lulu and Jack Go to The Tree Farm, a children’s book based on Julie’s award-winning essay in The Beacher Weekly Newspaper, “When a Tree Grows,” launches and will be available wherever books are sold. On launch day, September 16, all four of Julie’s titles will be featured on the Nasdaq billboard at Times Square.

Nov. 15: Julie will present a workshop at the Michigan City Library on “How to Write Memoir That Reads Like Fiction” from 1-3 PM. Sign up through the  Library website. 

Follow Julie by visiting her website, subscribe to her bimonthly newsletters, and listen to previous podcast recordings where she discusses topics like adoption, identity, family relationships, sisterhood and belonging.

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