You can't change your life until you understand your story. 

Most of us are living inside a story we didn’t consciously choose.
A story written by: family, culture, trauma, silence, success, or survival.

These stories work for a while — until they don't. 

One day something cracks...
  • a breakup
  • a loss
  • burnout
  • an internal shift
  • a quite voice saying, "The life I am living isn't mine."

This course exists for these moments. 

Your story can be rewritten. 

Over eight weeks, you’ll step into a small, intimate circle and learn to
  • name your wound

  • write your truth

  • face your shadows
  • find the meaning behind your stories
  • build a new narrative
  • and carry that new story back into your real life.

You don’t need to be a writer.
You only need the courage to tell the truth and act on it. 

Two wilderness ceremonies.
Six weeks of guided storywork.
One turning point.

Week 1: Opening ceremony in Northern California
Identify the old story. Name the wound.
Participants will meet in Death Valley for our 1 week opening ceremony. This week will involve a vision fast, deep shadow work, mirrored storytelling.  From this point you will begin to open new threads to those old stories. 

Weeks 2–7: Online guided memoir work
Write the scenes, explore the shadows, find the thread of meaning.
Through online group workshops, and interactive writing practice, you will learn how to rewrite those stories into new ones. 

Week 8: Closing ceremony in the wilds of Canada
Speak the story aloud. Be witnessed. Return with a new chapter.
With our new stories in hand, participants will meet in the wilds of the Canadian Rockies to share their stories, which will be published as part of our yearly zine. 

For people standing at a threshold.

This is for you if:
  • You’re in a transition (divorce, grief, burnout, identity shift)
  • You’ve carried a story in silence for too long
  • You’re ready to look at your past without flinching
  • You want guidance, structure, and real community
  • You feel the wild calling you back to yourself
  • You want a story you can finally stand behind

You’ll return with more than pages.

  • 15-30 pages of raw, honest memoir writing
  • A clear understanding of your life's narrative arc
  • A story that no longer controls you
  • Tools for grounding and emotional regulation
  • A writing practice that last long after the course
  • A renew sense of purpose
  • A way of living that matches your new story
  • Reduced shame
  • Increased confidence in your own voice

Your guides into the wild and the written word

For over a decade, Ned Weidner has helped people find their voice — in classrooms, on rivers, and in the wild. As a writer, Ph.D., creative writing professor, and founder of Walker School of the Wild, he has guided people through both the wilderness and the written word with one simple belief: story changes us. His work has appeared in publications such as Slippery Elm Journal, Brushfire Literature and Arts Journal, Still: The Journal, and Configurations, among others. Over the years, he has guided thousands of students, writers, and men through the process of naming what’s true, giving language to what’s been buried, and turning lived experience into meaning — and in the process, helped dozens of them publish their work in print and digital outlets around the country.  This new eight-week program is the culmination of that work — a chance to step into wild places, claim your voice, and write the story that’s ready to be lived.
Graeme Ford is a seasoned therapist, educator, and guide with decades of experience supporting people in rewriting their life stories and stepping into deeper authenticity. Holding a Bachelor of Child & Youth Care (CYCC), a Bachelor of Education (BEd), a Diploma in Transpersonal Counselling and the formal designation of Registered Therapeutic Counsellor (RTC) in British Columbia and Alberta, he brings a richly layered professional base to his work, and he is currently authoring a bookthat draws on his decades of field-work and classroom experience.Through his practice in Graeme Ford Counselling and as founder of Man Aligned — a men’s work community grounded in the pillars of Depth, Play and Adventure — Graeme has facilitated transformation in a wide variety of settings: classrooms, boardrooms, wilderness immersions, and men’s retreats worldwide. His therapeutic approach is integrative and embodied: he blends somatic practices, breathwork, biodynamic methods and transpersonal psychology to help clients not only heal from trauma, anxiety or addiction, but to reclaim their inherent potential and align with their soul’s calling. Whether working in the wild, in a classroom, or in the quiet of a counselling space, he creates spaces and places that support people in returning to their true path — the calling of the soul.

FAQ

Do I need to have outdoor experience? 
No. 
Do I need to be a writer? 
No. 
Do I need to share my story publicly? 
Only at your pace.
Do I have to travel to both ceremonies? 
Accessible but meaningful.
Will there be 1:1 support?
Yes, via group calls + optional upgrades.

If something inside is pulling at you… listen.

This is deep work.
Primal work.
Honest work.
And it’s not for everyone.
But if you’re ready to stop running from the story that shaped you--
and start writing the one you want to live--
I’d love to walk with you.


Only 8–12 spots. First come, first invited.

© Walker School of the Wild 2025