Name: The Heart of Your Story: Finding Meaning in Your Memoir
Start: 2026-12-02
End: 2026-12-02

ROHRBACH RAILROAD STREET BEER HALL: Located at 97 Railroad Street, Step into our century-old beer hall and production brewery located in the heart of the city. Our beer hall features locally sourced ingredients from our neighbor, the Rochester public market, and craft brews tapped right from the brewery–it doesn't get any fresher. With our classics always on tap and available for purchase, the beer hall also offers unique one-off brews you can't find anywhere else. Brewery Tours | Available on Saturdays 11am-4pm, every hour on the hour ROHRBACH BUFFALO RD. BREWPUB: The brewpub is located at 3859 Buffalo Rd, where the welcome is a little warmer, the crowd is a little kinder, and the beer is a little better. Cozy up with a pint and a variety of German and American pub fare. With our wide selection of ales & lagers to pair with your meal, everyone can find something to hit the spot. Look out for our monthly Food & Beer pairing dinners brought to you by Executive Chef Steve, featuring seasonal ingredients and perfectly paired brews.

Rohrbach Brewing Company

Roux is a family owned and operated French bistro located in the trendy cultural district of Park Avenue. We serve classic as well as nouveau French cuisine. Cozy unique old world atmosphere is the perfect setting to enjoy fresh house made cuisine. Known for many classic dishes, our Chef Ashley Swan pays great attention to detail using seasonal ingredients and local products. The summer months we provide outdoor seating to enjoy a casual dining experience in a beautiful neighborhood. We are proud to have served the people of Rochester for many years and many more to come. As a mother daughter team we as owners strive to make our little bistro a pleasant and delicious stop for our patrons.

Roux

Run by Friends, For Friends Ziggy’s is a bar in the Rochester Public Market. It’s run by a bunch of familiar faces in the ROC restaurant scene. We love a good bar so we decided to build our own. Come write its story with us.

Ziggy's

Locals Only is open for breakfast and lunch every day from 8 AM to 3 PM, serving food, coffee, and cocktails. We strive to create Delighted guest experiences through food, beverage, Art, entertainment and meaningful human connection. We also function as an events space for private parties and community events!

Locals Only

Simply put, we're a casual neighborhood restaurant serving up elevated and authentic Mexican fare in a family-style setting. In Mexico, meals are a time for sharing good conversation over even better food. We like that philosophy, so we decided to bring it to Rochester and complement it with a mezcal-based cocktail list. Yes, we have other spirits and classic cocktails, but we want to celebrate and share mezcal—Mexico's indigenous spirit made from agave and a cousin of tequila—with Rochester and beyond. Bitter Honey is about hospitality. We love our guests; it’s that simple. We look forward to welcoming and hosting you soon!

Bitter Honey

The Alexander is a family owned and operated restaurant located in downtown Rochester serving New-American cuisine and family classics. Located in a renovated Victorian mansion, the gorgeous interior creates a great atmosphere for special occasions, events, or a nice evening out. Whether it is at the bar, in the private dining room, or amongst friends - The Alexander is a great place for dinner Wednesday through Saturday and brunch on Sundays.

The Alexander

Rochester's original wood-fired pizza! Veneto's is the only Rochester restaurant to make the Top 15 Best Pizza in Western NY (New York Upstate Magazine). Dine in our cozy open kitchen restaurant in the heart of the East End blocks away from the Little Theatre and Alexander St. Veneto Wood Fired Pizza and Pasta proudly service the largest selection of moderately priced Italian wines in Rochester.

Veneto Wood Fired Pizza & Pasta

Pearson’s Cafe is a family-owned cafe right off Park Avenue in Rochester. The lively cafe serves a wide variety of breakfast and lunch options as well as baked goods 7 days a week. The cafe also features fresh cold-pressed juices, smoothies, and a full coffee bar. In addition, Pearson’s sells Swan Family classics from their other restaurants to take home and a curated list of family favorite products.

Pearson's

At Velvet Belly, Chef Jeremy Nucelli prepares dishes inspired by coastal cuisine from around the world. We also serve up whimsical and fun-loving cocktails in a lively bar atmosphere. We’re proud to be part of the thriving food and beverage community within Rochester’s Public Market.

Velvet Belly

Formerly known as the Sager Beer Works Taproom, we are Rochester’s first dual-brewery pub. In our cozy space, you can expect the finest craft beer from Sager Beer Works and Stoneyard Brewing plus the highest-quality local artisan food.

Sager-Stoneyard Pub

Rochester, NY, is the third-largest metropolitan area in New York State, nestled along the southern shore of Lake Ontario. With a proud sports tradition, Rochester is home to iconic teams like the Rochester Red Wings (MiLB), Rochester Americans (AHL), Rochester Knighthawks (NLL), and Flower City Union (NPSL). Our vibrant sports culture thrives across all levels, from youth clubs and high schools to elite collegiate programs, creating a strong, year-round foundation for athletic excellence.

The Rochester NY Sports Commission champions Monroe County through the power of sports tourism. By attracting championships, invitationals, and tournaments across a wide range of disciplines, we help fuel the region’s economy and enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. Each year, Rochester welcomes a growing roster of sporting events, showcasing our top-tier facilities, supportive community, and dedication to teamwork on and off the field.

We invite event organizers, rights holders, and sports professionals to discover why Rochester and Monroe County are ideal destinations for your next competition or tournament. Let’s play in Rochester!

Visit Rochester

(Skip Thanksgiving week; no class on November 25)

Guess what; your memoir isn’t about you. It’s not even about a topic like career, illness, travel, or family. It’s about how your story illustrates meaning that readers can see, feel, and learn from. Without this foundation, writing your memoir(s) can be overwhelming and chaotic.

Intended for beginning and emerging writers, this workshop lays the groundwork for what goes into your creative nonfiction story. Through writing prompts that help you dig beneath the surface of life events, you’ll discover what sits at the heart of your story. These insights will guide you in creating a plot and crafting a structure. Don’t be surprised if, in the process, you discover deeper meanings for your own life.

**Anais Salibian,** has published personal essays and professional articles in a variety of venues. She spent decades teaching creative non-fiction writing at Writers & Books, local school districts and colleges, Oasis Lifelong Learning Center, and at the Monroe County Public Library. At the same time, she maintained a private practice in therapeutic bodywork. Because most of her clients were trauma survivors, she studied the neurobiology of trauma. When she discovered the research on writing to heal, she realized that the elements of writing that helped were the very skills she was teaching in her classes. Her two careers merged when she saw how using the right language the right way restores severed neural connections. She has offered her Writing to Heal classes and workshops both privately and at the above venues, as well as at organizations such as women’s shelters, a rape crisis center, and with the U.S. Pain Foundation. In 2004, she was awarded the Writers & Books Teacher of Adults Award.

**Reserve your place today.**

The Heart of Your Story: Finding Meaning in Your Memoir

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