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Author Up: A Two-Day Storytelling, Writing and Ancestral Healing Retreat
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MEET YOUR GUIDE:
About Your Guide:
Tanya Taylor Rubinstein
Founder of Ancestral Narrative
Creator of Writing with the Ancestors
Somatic Writing Practitioner | Storytelling Mentor |
Ancestral Constellations Facilitator
Tanya Taylor Rubenstein has been a writer, story mentor, and solo performance coach for over 30 years. She began her journey as a performer, writing and starring in her first solo show, Honeymoon in India, which launched a career in monologue and storytelling rooted in personal transformation.
Trained as an actor at Carnegie Mellon University, Emerson College, and HB Studios in New York, Tanya studied with celebrated teachers such as William Hickey and Sandy Dennis. While at Emerson, she met her mentor, the late monologist Spalding Gray, who inspired her passion for solo performance. Tanya went on to create and perform three critically acclaimed solo shows, with her debut named one of Santa Fe's "Top 10 Performances" by The Santa Fe Reporter, alongside productions from Santa Fe Stages and the Santa Fe Opera.
Tanya has since devoted her life to mentoring others, particularly actors, musicians, and creatives, in writing and performing their personal narratives. Her students have performed at repertory theaters across the U.S. and at fringe festivals worldwide, including New York, Toronto, Edinburgh, and beyond.
In 2010, she co-created a yearlong memoir program with author Candace Walsh, helping hundreds begin the first draft of their books. Earlier, in 2002, Tanya released The Cancer Monologue Project, an anthology featuring work from students living with cancer. The project garnered national attention, with features in O Magazine, Rosie, NPR, Spirituality & Health, and The Dallas Morning News, establishing her as a leader in personal narrative work.
Tanya also developed The Life Monologue Project, supporting individuals facing trauma and serious illness in writing and performing their stories on stage. She has collaborated with organizations such as Gilda’s Club, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Cabrini-Green, Ambercare Hospice, San Diego Repertory Theatre, and the New Mexico Cancer Center to create safe, transformative spaces for storytelling.
In 2020, while living at the foot of Black Mesa outside Santa Fe, Tanya formally codified somatic writing as a process, a unique methodology integrating writing, embodiment, land-based wisdom, and ancestral healing. She continues to guide writers into deeper layers of truth by helping them access stories held in the body, land, and lineage.
In 2024, Tanya deepened this work by training in Hellinger Family Constellations, adding ancestral constellation work to her storytelling and memoir process. Today, she supports clients at the intersection of writing and deep healing, believing that when we tell our stories while healing at the root level, we unlock profound personal and collective transformation.
Kind Words from Ancestral Healing
Students & Clients
“A sacred form of activism...”
“It is a rare experience for me to find a collaborator such as Tanya to do my deep work. She has an incredible capacity for insight and the ability to hold space for what is, meeting me exactly where I am.
My first constellation session was clear, efficient, and abundant — giving me food for thought that continues to reveal itself. In this crazy world, wondering how one can contribute, working with Tanya in this way feels like its own necessary and important form of activism — for both of us.”
— Sarah Kerstin Gross (Writer, Business Owner)
“This work is helping me heal...”
Working with Tanya Taylor Rubinstein on ancestral constellation was truly transformative. I’ve done ancestral healing for years, mostly focusing on ancient, healed ancestors, but Tanya’s approach focused on the recent ancestors — those still carrying unresolved trauma.
During our blind constellation, the focus turned to my father and paternal grandfather, a man I knew little about. Through the process, I gained deep insight into how my father’s relationship with his own father mirrored the struggles I had with him.
I also developed a new empathy for my grandfather’s wounds — his anger and criticism of his children — and saw how that energy had been passed down.
Most powerfully, I began to recognize gifts from my father I had overlooked before. This work is helping me heal and shift how I move through the world.
If you’re ready to heal generational wounds and rewrite family narratives, I highly recommend Tanya’s work. It’s a powerful way to shift old patterns and gain a deeper understanding of your family’s story.
— Epiphany Jordan (Healer, Writer, Author, Tarot Reader)
“Impeccable space... anchored in the sacred.”
Tanya holds impeccable space that is steeped in the sacred — specifically connected to and deeply held by the wisdom of the land and the helpful ancestors who have come before us.
Working with her gave me insight into a pattern I had been operating from since childhood. Once identified, I could feel my system being unburdened by the weight I had been carrying.
A subtle release has been occurring since our session, and I feel I now have much greater access to my inner wisdom and higher self. I’ve also been able to set important boundaries with people from whom I had previously tolerated unhealthy behavior.
I feel much more inner authority, and life feels a bit easier. I am hopeful for what lies ahead.
— Jenn Tasnine Savage (Spiritual Coach for Women, Writer)
“I felt lighter, freer...”
“Before the session, I felt overwhelmed by emotional and spiritual heaviness, stuck in patterns I couldn’t break. After the Ancestral Constellations session, I felt a powerful shift — lighter, with an emotional release that wasn’t sad but deeply freeing.
The session illuminated my family’s dynamics and the ancestral ties that were holding me back. It was eye-opening and affirming.
I’ve noticed lasting changes in my attitude and how I relate to family. I highly recommend this transformative work to anyone ready to heal and move forward in their lives. Tanya is an amazing facilitator, with incredible insight and depth.”
— Donna Pendergrast (Mystic, Writer)
