We were lucky to catch up with Elizabeth Dawn recently and have shared our conversation below.

Elizabeth, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

In May 2023, I embarked upon an artist’s journey from Washington state to Georgia. I planned for Atlanta but circumstances led me to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I accepted an invitation from an artist in Atlanta that I met via Instagram; she offered to house me while we traded in creativity—she would teach me performance and I would help her write and edit her first book. I said yes because my current living situation was changing, I wanted to feel physical distance from my family, and because it is something I’d usually say no to. I also said yes because the house she was living in was large with a patio and a two-car garage available for studio space. I wanted to take a risk on myself as an artist, and my partner at the time was supportive, so I packed my VW Golf with everything I deemed most important, and hit the road. I took two weeks to cross the country, braving solo camping and pausing to visit friends.

When I arrived in Atlanta, the artist sold the house she invited me to live in. We had a little more than a month to move out so I helped her pack and deliver boxes to storage. She assured me wherever she moved to, there would be room for me. However, as June unfolded personal details of this artist’s life, it became clear to me I could not stay with her, and the two-bedroom apartment she rented for her and her son gave me only a couch to surf, with no more access to studio space. I struggled to find a place to live in a city I was unfamiliar with, and while I was making creative connections, my intuition told me not to limit my options to Georgia.

Needing help, I reached out to the closest person I could drive to, a childhood best friend who lived in Pittsburgh. I asked if I could visit for two weeks while I recalibrated and decided where to go next, and she did not hesitate with her yes. On my 42nd birthday, July 9, I re-packed my car and hit the road for Pennsylvania. My partner was distraught that I was not returning to Washington—I wasn’t ready yet, I told her, my artist journey was changing form but it wasn’t over—and our relationship suffered the decision.

I have been living in Pittsburgh with the same childhood best friend for almost two years now as it seems my artist journey was always meant to lead me here. I wrote my second memoir, I Left a Stranger: A Coming Out & Into Estrangement, about the experience.

Elizabeth, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

In December 2020, I awoke to the word Memoirtistry in my mouth–memoir and artistry smashed together–and I was surprised when it generated zero Google results. The trademark process took three years.

Memoirtistry was born from a desire to heal a diagnosis of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or CPTSD, through art as therapeutic practice. It is a personal development method that combines elements of memoir writing, poetry, painting and performance with curative techniques for self-discovery.

As an Author, Poet, and Artist, the practice of Memoirtistry has allowed me to interact with flashbacks and rewrite the stories I tell myself to unlearn patterns and behaviors developed in childhood due to religious/spiritual trauma. Practice has become a way of life. Time travel is a component of my work, with presence being the ultimate goal; when I achieve presence, I am able to heal from the pain of the past and freed from worry over the future. Guided by the internal compass, I discern my work intuitively, using memoir, art, and symbolism as tools. Each creation is birthed from raw emotion, aiming for vulnerability.

I have self-published two memoirs, I Was a Good Wife: A Self Portrait (by Liz Gurley) and I Left a Stranger: A Coming Out & Into Estrangement (by Elizabeth Dawn), and both are available on Amazon. I am currently writing my third memoir, I’m Not Wearing Any Pants: Undressing a Diagnosis (expected 2026), which highlights each of the nine symbols that have appeared in my work to support healing the symptoms of CPTSD. The symbols began appearing to me in January 2016, “before I knew” I was an artist, and they have aided me in facing the trauma I have experienced. The symbols, in order of appearance, are The White Room, The Mirror, The Eye, The Body, The Pussy, The Demon, The Alien, The Ghosts and The Phoenix.

As a Writing Coach, Ghostwriter and Editor, I am regarded for my work in guiding people to uncover the therapeutic potential of their life stories, enabling them to find clarity and empowerment in their journeys. I utilize the methods developed within Memoirtistry to help individuals explore personal narratives, gain insights, and foster emotional well-being through creative storytelling. I work w/teen & adult writers of all levels, teaching Virtual Writing Workshops, Ghostwriting Memoir, and offering various Editorial Services: reviews, proofreading, light or heavy copyediting, and developmental.

In my free time, I enjoy writing art commentaries for The Commentary with Wick Monet in Pittsburgh; I interview artists and frequent local art events to further the creative community. I also host the podcast Memoirtistry, where I share my process, and I am the co-host of COMPLEX with Mental Health & Relationship Coach Quincy Schmidt. In May 2025, I gained my certification for Peer Support work in Pennsylvania, which will allow me to further Memoirtistry’s partnership within the mental health field.

I also perform the National Anthem for boxing matches with Integrity Fighter Management which has aired on Pay-per-view. The management company has developed a new televised series, Integrity Pro Boxing, which will broadcast on SportsNet Pittsburgh beginning in April 2025; my live performance will air on July 19.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I first arrived in Pittsburgh, I was trapped in a mental limbo for some months. It didn’t feel like I’d left Washington for an artist journey, it was beginning to feel like I left because I was running away. Losing my relationship with my partner generated emotional turmoil, and living with my childhood best friend triggered worry and fear that my parents would soon learn where I was. My childhood best friend and I met in the religious cult our parents raised us in, The United Pentecostal Church. While I am estranged from my parents, my best friend is not. Word can spread fast when it’s juicy; church members love reporting on the untoward behaviors of lost children through the gossip of prayer requests, especially if that lost child is a pastor’s daughter like I am.

The truth is I have been running away ever since I left home at 18, almost 26 years ago. I moved to Washington from Alaska, and my parents moved there three years later. I moved back in with them many times as I’ve suffered various life changes and financial setbacks. The COVID-19 pandemic was one of these times and during the five months I lived with them, my body was lit up with childhood trauma. I was filled with rage, scream-crying to release the pain, and suffered suicidal ideation. I left my parent’s home during the sixth month and couch-surfed with friends who were comfortable introducing me into their household during isolation. I found a therapist specializing in cults to support me, and cashed out all the money from my last corporate 401K, a meager $26,000, to find my own place to begin healing. I stretched that money for two years by living very small and incredibly disciplined to the creative flow. I worked only odd jobs I’d never done before–housekeeper, gas station attendant, barista, delivery driver, barback–giving up full-time pay and benefits when I needed money so I could balance my time with more Memoirtistry, not less.

I’ve only been estranged since 2022, but I’ve dreamed of it my entire life, and wondered if I would ever be brave enough to do it–if ever the shame wouldn’t trap me. For some of us, healing the symptoms of CPTSD has required leaving our families behind.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Everything I create aids in healing the trauma I have experienced. The moment I became aware the trauma existed was the moment my body demanded it. The language I learned in therapy about what happened to me was difficult to digest and sometimes I could not process using words, I could only release emotions, which is when I began expressing myself with paint. Each painting has a voice and sometimes it speaks easily, in the midst of creation with poetic verse, while other paintings haven’t uttered even a whisper in years. I’ve learned, when it comes to healing trauma, some history takes longer to work through. I’m not in the habit of rushing the process; it does me no good to self-generate overwhelm and anxiety. I’ve grown in self-confidence and while I joke that I’m a “late bloomer and slow mover”, I believe wholeheartedly I am right on time.

I know I’m not the only one who wants to heal. Everything I do through Memoirtistry is an expression of my own healing and an offering–to work with a guide, through memoir and artistry, and engage a healing practice of creative storytelling.

Whatever ails you, the answers are inside; I can’t give them to you, you already have them. That’s what I will show you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.memoirtistry.com/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@memoirtistry
• Other: I Was a Good Wife: A Self Portrait by Liz Gurley: https://www.amazon.com/I-Was-Good-Wife-Self-Portrait/dp/057880574X/
  I Left a Stranger: A Coming Out & Into Estrangement: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DRZSPFFT
  Memoirtistry Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/7dnsM8Ug4nHTZEHCq8xGjC
  COMPLEX, The Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/complexthepodcast