A trauma informed exploration of The Artist’s Way
In 2025, I hosted a community exploration of The Artist’s Way. This iconic book describes a powerful creative recovery programme, but it’s far from perfect. Many readers - especially those who’ve experienced trauma or been marginalised - can find the book to be unhelpfully rigid, triggering or insensitive to their experiences.
With this in mind, I adapted The Artist’s Way to make it more accessible and inclusive for our community. My approach prioritises:
Self-compassion, encouragement and gentleness
Creating more space for rest, intuition and processing the triggers that might arise.
Thinking of ourselves first as people who need care and support, before thinking of ourselves as creative workers.
Approaching the material critically, with no expectation that you have to complete any activities that might trigger or upset you
Bringing a more modern lens to this classic work.
Flexibility and adaptability, a “done is better than perfect” approach
The Artist’s Way is structured around three main elements:
Morning pages - a daily writing practice to help you find and free your inner voice
Artist’s Dates - a weekly appointment with your inner artist
Weekly tasks - a handful of activities that are designed to explore the week’s theme in more detail
Instead of forcing your creativity or expecting an overnight transformation, we set out to explore creativity as a tool for survival. We showed up with curiosity and (flexible, imperfect) commitment. We showed up for our inner artists, and for each other.
In this version of the programme, we:
Take what’s useful and leave the rest
Build in rest and catch-up weeks
Allow for our fluctuating human capacity
Approach creativity as nourishment, not performance
Do the programme imperfectly rather than not at all
The full community exploration is available for free through my newsletter.
For each of the 12 weeks, you’ll find a reflective essay responding to that week’s chapter and a discussion thread where readers shared their experiences. For many participants, Morning Pages became a steady companion. For others, the weekly check-ins created a sense of community and momentum. There was no single “right” way to take part. You’re welcome to join at any point and move at your own pace.
💬 Reader reflections on The Artist’s Way
⭐ “[This experience of] The Artist’s Way changed my life”— Anonymous
⭐ “Thank you Clare. I’ve come a long way since we started in March… I’ve gone from overthinking and uncertainty to writing for fun almost everyday [in addition to my] Morning Pages. Writing for fun and for me has been making a huge difference in my life. I’m not worried about quality and editing but getting the story out. My writing feels filled with new dimensions and authenticity. I’m grateful.” — Jewel
⭐ “Clare, how much I've enjoyed this experience with you! You have led it with grace, honesty, deep engagement and beautiful facilitation of our community and I am grateful for the deepest experience I've had yet with The Artist Way, despite first encountering it and working through it over 30 years ago for the first time. This is the first time I did it in community and it was so enriching, thanks to how you've inspired and engaged us.” —Amy Brown
⭐ “Thanks again to everyone here. I felt a sense of buoyancy yesterday & today, like the fire at the feet, I really am glad I'm not going it alone.” — Michelle
⭐“My artist self has really blossomed here. Perhaps beneath the surface these weeks of taking in Cameron’s words and being in conversation with all of you has released blocks without really being aware of it.” — Anonymous
⭐ “Inspired by a few of this week's tasks about writing lists, I started sketching out my feelings, worries and dreams. I mapped out my emotions, desires and fears, and while it was difficult to untangle the endless stream of feelings built up inside of me, I'm glad I tried. Like Clare said, it activated and challenged my mind in a different way, and I think I gained a lot of helpful insights from this new type of journal entry.” — Eloise Roise
⭐ “I have listened to the chapters and followed your posts! I’ve noticed lots of moving and shifting happening in my life and am feeling happier and freer than I have in years!” — Ana Bermingham Doran
⭐ “I loved being part of [The Artist’s Way]. It has been so inspiring…I know I will be writing more thanks to this experience.” Liza Debevec
⭐ “I did manage to do my morning pages every day this week, and today marked 50 days straight. I’ve been letting everything out in those pages, whether two or three. Whatever arrives when I set pen to paper receives the space it begs for. I feel heard, even if it’s only being acknowledged by myself. This morning, as I was sitting after meditation, I felt like something suddenly clicked in my mind, my imagination was unleashed, wild and alive with dreamy possibilities.I signed up for a short free writing workshop. Given the duration and price, I didn’t expect a lot, but it was fantastic. I had fun, felt validated and learned a lot about something I’ve struggled with, at least in my own mind. After the event, I felt empowered and confident, and later I tingled, feeling the motivation seep in. Morning pages helped me tease something else out this week as I wrote about my writing block and how I’m feeling about The Artist’s Way. It was like the pages tapped me on the shoulder and softly crooned in my ear, “But darling, didn’t you notice? You are writing again. Silly girl.” It was like a lens zoomed in, and what had been blurred was suddenly crystal clear. In the past seven weeks, I have been writing. I’ve written fifty days of morning pages. I’ve composed and shared my thoughts and ideas each week with strangers, who are also travelling The Artist’s Way, about the journey to unblock my creativity. While none of this is groundbreaking or earth-shaking writing that will change the world, it is changing me. I’m putting words and thoughts together. I’m giving them space to exist. Right now, that writing counts. It’s healing me. ” — Jewel
⭐ “I have enjoyed immensely the gentleness with which Clare has shepherded a group of thoughtful people through this iteration, and people’s willingness to share - even when sometimes, all we had to share was that we didn’t do the exercises, or even the readings, but we were still there.” — Albe Gilmore
⭐ “I really enjoy your approach to [The Artist’s Way], just the right mix of discipline and flexibility. A tricky balance to strike, I’m left inspired.” — Adina Dinu
⭐"Uplifting, inspiring, thought-provoking and expansive. It's an experience that is helping my writing, my overall thinking and has made me feel better about myself. I feel like I've found a bunch of strangers who share a favourite coffee shop, and while we may not be best friends, when we show up at the same time, we form a community."— Anonymous
⭐"[Clare] brought a depth of thoughtfulness, attention and care to this community exploration of The Artist's Way" — Anonymous
⭐ "A refreshing, validating process" — Anonymous
⭐ “Clare, you have presented such a sustainable, helpful and heart-opening way to do The Artist’s Way. I appreciate that.” — Anonymous
