Campus Connection

TEDxUWLaCrosse salon series March 20 focuses on living with, after tragedy

How do we carry difficult experiences like grief, loss, and trauma forward in our lives? What happens when we consciously choose to “live with” those experiences while also “living after” them? The next TEDxUWLaCrosse Salon Series event at UWL will tackle these questions. Author John W. Evans will present and facilitate a group discussion on “Living With, Living After: On Tragedy and the Meaning We Make In Our Lives” from 4-5:30 p.m., Monday, March 20, in the Institute for Campus Excellence,150 Murphy Library, at UWL. The event is free and open to all. At a TEDx salon, attendees watch TED Talks, listen to speakers, and have discussions about the talks they witnessed. Salons re-engage the audience in the presentation model through the critical element of lively discussions, allowing attendees to actively participate in the event and shape the conversation.

About the Salon

How do we carry difficult experiences like grief, loss, and trauma, forward in our lives? What happens when we consciously choose to “live with” those experiences while also “living after” them? When we reject the cliches of closure and silence, how do we think and write about such experiences in meaningful and honest ways? In this TEDxUWLaCrosse Salon, we will talk about the meaning we make in our lives after experiences of profound suffering. We will look at how the worst moments in our lives make us who we are, and also, how writing can give us resources, including courage and strength, to face those moments. We will look at three affirming perspectives on the relationship between loss and meaning, from TED Talks by Nancy Berns, Andrew Solomon, and the presenter. This Salon will include writing activities designed to help you look creatively at the exceptional challenges that life presents.The audience will have the opportunity to share their own perspectives, experiences, memories, and hopes in a discussion format.

About John W. Evans

John W. Evans is the author of three books, a memoir, "Should I Still Wish" (University of Nebraska Press, 2017); a memoir, "Young Widower" (University of Nebraska Press, 2014); and poems "The Consolations" (Trio House Press, 2014). His books have won prizes including the Peace Corps Writers Book Prize, a ForeWord Reviews Book Prize, the River Teeth Book Prize, and the Trio Award. His work appears in The Missouri Review,Poets & Writers, Slate, Boston Review, ZYZZYVA,The Rumpus, and Best American Essays 2011 (Honorable Mention), as well as two chapbooks. Evans is currently the Draper Lecturer of Creative Nonfiction at Stanford University where he was a Wallace Stegner Fellow. He lives in Northern California with his wife and three young sons.