Where We Come From – A Healing Ethnoautobiography Journey Through Story and Ancestry
“We have to co-create a better, fuller story of who we are.”
That is the heart of Where We Come From: Writing Your Ethnoautobiography, a sacred storytelling space co-facilitated by Ella deCastro Baron, G. Ravyn Stanfield, and Anya Pearson. Together, they invite you to embark on a powerful writing journey that’s as much about ancestral healing as it is about reclaiming your voice.
Hosted by Urban Haiku, this immersive program blends creative writing, embodied awareness, and social justice practice to help you unearth the roots of your story — and plant seeds for a more liberated future.
🪶 What Is Ethnoautobiography?
Ethnoautobiography is the practice of writing personal narratives informed by ancestry, cultural heritage, body memory, and lived experience. It is both a creative art and a decolonial act, a way to tell the truths that have long been silenced or distorted by dominant culture.
Through this lens, we don’t just tell our own stories — we listen for the voices of our ancestors of blood, love, and spirit. We write with place. We move through seasons. We acknowledge harm. We make space for healing. We begin again.
🌀 Course Structure: Two Parts, One Sacred Circle
1. Live Zoom Gatherings
We will meet bi-weekly over six Tuesdays:
🕔 5:00–7:00 p.m. PST / 8:00–10:00 p.m. EST
📅 Beginning Fall 2025
Each 2-hour session is live, co-creative, and recorded for those unable to attend in real time.
2. Community Connection on Discord
Between sessions, you'll stay connected in our private Discord space. Use it to share reflections, inspiration, writing, and support — but without the pressure of hierarchical critique. This is community over competition.
Final Celebration
After our six sessions, we’ll gather once more to honor what we’ve written, remembered, and reclaimed.
🌍 Session Themes
Each gathering focuses on a core portal of connection:
Embodied Place – Write with the land and its wisdom
Body – Access the stories your body carries
Seasons – Move with the cycles of nature and life
Story – Explore narrative truth as a healing tool
Ancestry – Call forward your lineage and legacies
Justice & Repair – Name harm, imagine healing
Celebration – Close in joy, reflection, and radical community
💬 Our Commitments to Access, Equity & Inclusion
Where We Come From is a space dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices and deconstructing dominant culture. We prioritize applications from BIPOC, and we center participants whose identities have been historically excluded or harmed by white supremacy, patriarchy, settler colonialism, and capitalism.
All are welcome to apply. But know that this course is intentionally created for those most impacted by systemic oppression, offering a brave space for healing and visibility.
💛 Sliding Scale Tuition & JEDI Pricing Guidelines
We honor financial reality while uplifting economic justice. Please choose a pricing tier that reflects your current resources and capacity:
TierDescription$550–$600You have consistent income, savings, and access to care. Your full payment helps support someone with less financial freedom.$500–$550You manage some debt, but can meet basic needs and participate in leisure spending.Below $500You are under- or unemployed, or your essential expenses make it hard to invest in personal development. (Please reach out to discuss payment plans or solidarity pricing.)
This course is not-for-profit. Every dollar goes toward sustaining inclusive programming, paying facilitators fairly, and making space for those most in need.
📝 Application Process
Because this is a deeply personal and intentional container, we ask all prospective participants to complete a short application. This ensures that everyone entering the space shares the values of reciprocity, respect, and radical presence.
✨ Meet the Facilitators
Ella deCastro Baron
Writer, educator, and healer, Ella centers decolonial narratives and body-led wisdom in her work. Her practice is deeply rooted in her Filipina heritage and motherline.
G. Ravyn Stanfield
A practitioner of acupuncture, author, and storyteller, Ravyn brings trauma-informed embodiment and community activism into sacred narrative spaces.
Anya Pearson
Award-winning playwright, poet, and activist, Anya is a Hodder Fellow and founder of Urban Haiku. She brings fierce love and radical imagination to every circle she leads.
🌱 Conclusion: Rewrite the Story, Reclaim Your Power
Where We Come From: Writing Your Ethnoautobiography is more than a writing course. It’s a portal into healing, re-remembering, and transformation. It's where silence ends and stories rise. It’s where lineage becomes liberation. It’s where the past is honored so the future can be rewritten.
Are you ready to step into your truth?
📝 Apply now and begin your journey
FAQs
1. Do I need to be a professional writer to join?
Not at all. This space is for all levels. If you have a story inside you, you're already qualified.
2. Is the course trauma-informed?
Yes. All facilitators are experienced in holding space for tender truths with care, compassion, and grounded support.
3. Will there be critique?
No traditional critique. We focus on loving witness, supportive reflection, and personal integration. Discord is optional and not used for peer criticism.
4. What happens if I miss a session?
Each Zoom session will be recorded for you to watch on your own time.
5. Can I pay less than $500?
Yes — we are committed to access. Contact us to explore a payment plan, scholarship, or mutual aid exchange.
