“This program re-opened my world—not just at writing, but at rebuilding my life.” - Melissa Williams, SCS learner
After a devastating illness left her paralyzed from the waist down, Melissa Williams devoted a decade to near-daily physiotherapy, regaining as much physical independence as possible, all while raising two young sons.
Looking for a way to explore those transformative losses and put words to her experience, Williams sought a high-quality, online writing class, and found the Creative Writing program at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies.
“When I began my writing journey in 2018, I was still grieving so many losses – my able body, my career, my marriage, how I imagined myself as a parent, and parts of my community that fell away. My father, who'd been a rock through this chaotic period, passed away a few years after I became ill. I felt as though I'd lost much of my identity,” she says.
“I wanted to revisit and try to make sense of this devastating life change. There were gaps in my memory from the ICU, when I was unconscious, unable to speak or move, kept alive by 24-hour care and life-support machines.”
Williams started pulling together her medical records and the journals she and her mom had kept, but she wasn’t sure how to make sense of everything she’d been through. Not only did the creative writing program give her the structure and tools to start making meaning out of it all, but it opened the door to a community where she was able to receive support and contribute to the success of her fellow writers.
“As a disabled person, returning to a traditional classroom felt difficult and uncomfortable,” she says.
“The option to engage online while interacting with instructors and classmates created access to a larger world – to knowledge, mentorship, and a writing community. It turned a solitary practice into a supported one. One in which I was supported but also one in which I could offer support to other emerging writers.”
One of the most impactful courses Williams took was the first one she registered for: Creative Non-Fiction: Introduction with instructor Becky Blake. “Becky was a warm, generous instructor who made the space feel both welcoming and educational. She provided us with concrete writing tools, literary techniques, suggested readings and fun exercises to help us dig into our stories,” Williams explains.
“One evening, she brought in a guest speaker, author Ayelet Tsabari, who shared her own writing journey and answered our questions with such generosity. I remember thinking how fortunate I was to share space with two authors I greatly admired.”
Blake and Williams stayed in touch after the course, and when Williams began writing her memoir, Blake encouraged her to apply for an arts grant and to mentor her through her second and third drafts.
“I greatly admire her ability to write and teach with such force, empathy, and support. She played a critical role in helping me believe in my work,” says Williams.
“In that class, I also found myself among other new writers telling hard stories – of illness, abuse, war, displacement, grief. We were all working through something. There was a profound sense of shared vulnerability and a safe space to share our stories.”
When she first delved into writing, Williams was doing it for herself, primarily as a way to process what she’d been through. Publication wasn’t even a dream at that point. However, since then her work has been featured in more than twenty online publications and print anthologies – everything from memoir to genre fiction to poetry. She has read four pieces of poetry at the Emerging Writers Reading Series in Toronto, taught an international workshop during Women’s History Month entitled "Writing in the Liminal Spaces of Illness and Disability" and is currently seeking a publisher for her memoir, Little Flames Under My Skin – Rebuilding a Life One Neuron at a Time.
“That manuscript and this newfound writing life wouldn’t exist without the encouragement, foundation, and contacts I developed at SCS,” she says.
Some of that encouragement came from classmates, with whom Williams has kept in regular contact in the years since completing her classes.
“I met my first real writer friend in Memories into Story: Life Writing, a course taught by David Layton. That friendship led to the formation of a small group of fellow emerging writers,” she shares.
“We connect bi-monthly from four cities across Canada, taking turns leading and offering prompts, reading and sharing drafts, and encouraging each other through submissions and rejections.”
For Williams, one of the most impactful lessons she learned through the program is that writing about personal experiences isn’t just healing – it’s also a craft. “I came in thinking I just needed to ‘tell my story,’ but I left understanding how to shape it into something I hope will reach others. I'm just one perspective, one story, but maybe my experience through trauma and rebuilding a life will resonate with someone else – a parent, a child, a survivor, a caregiver,” she says.
“I also came to understand that my illness didn’t have to be the end of the story – and that my writing doesn’t need to chase a tidy ending. It doesn’t require a miraculous cure or fit into the familiar arc of the “overcoming” narrative. I've grown alongside my storytelling and have learned to live (and even thrive) within the complexity of grief and suffering.”
To anyone who might be considering taking courses in the SCS Creative Writing program, Williams’ advice is simple: just go for it.
“This program is one of the most welcoming, flexible, and high-quality writing programs I’ve found. Whether you’re just starting out or returning to writing after a long time away, there’s a place for everyone here. You don’t have to be a published author to start – you just have to be curious and open,” she assures.
“This program re-opened my world – not just at writing, but at rebuilding my life. It helped me rediscover my voice, and in doing so, helped me rediscover myself.”
