For those who have been sexually harmed by leaders within their religious or spiritual communities, or shamed just for being who they are, faith is often a loaded word.

"Breaking Free," The Voices and Faces Project's newest immersive, two-day testimonial writing program, was created for persons who have been impacted by religious trauma and purity culture. Our end goal? To support emerging and established writers and activists seeking to give voice to what they have lived through or witnessed in their religious or spiritual communities.

Created through a partnership with Linda Kay Klein, author of Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free, "Breaking Free" is a first-of-its-kind writing program that seeks to help participants examine the deep intersections among religious trauma, sexual trauma, and gender-based trauma — which are often unacknowledged within religious spaces, and ignored in secular spaces.

Is "Breaking Free" the right workshop for you? Those of all religious backgrounds are encouraged to apply; this is a program that recognizes that religious trauma and shame have impacted persons of many faith traditions. Some of our applicants may still align with religion, faith, or spirituality; others may want nothing to do with such traditions. All are welcome here. Persons of all sexual and gender identities, races and ethnicities are also encouraged to apply. This will be a truly inclusive space.

What to expect during "Breaking Free." Participants will read and discuss world-changing testimonial writing from across social justice movements, in multiple genres, while taking part in a series of innovative, real-time writing exercises. During this workshop we will explore poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, memoir, spoken word, playwriting, and speechwriting, and encourage work in all these areas. We will also examine the thru-lines of religious trauma and sexual and gender-based violence, considering ways to write or speak our truths in order to create a more accountable culture.

This is a workshop that is creatively ambitious, and trauma-informed. Participants in all of our Voices and Faces Project programs are welcomed into a safe and creatively compelling community, one in which respectful dialogue is encouraged and powerful writing is nurtured.

Applications are due Thursday, February 22nd. If you have questions, we're here to answer them. Email janet@voiceandfaces.org to find out more about our newest testimonial writing workshop.