Tamara Slayton Our Inspiration		Tamara Slayton
This website is dedicated to Tamara Slayton and all those men, women and youth who were inspired by her.

By the time I met Tamara Slayton, in 1997, she and her associates had created the foundation for the Coming of Age Project. This Project embodied a set of publications, workshops, teaching aids and trainings that supported parents, teachers and youth. The purpose of the Project was to give guidance for the inner development of the adult so that a community of conscious adults could work together to educate and provide life skills for youth during the metamorphosis of puberty and adolescence at the threshold of adulthood.

The fall of 1997 brought me to Sebastopol, to Tamara Slayton and Susan Gravelle, to take the training in the Coming of Age Project so that I could bring this program to my school in Seattle. I was beginning middle school with my class and knew I needed to meet the students during this very significant time in their lives. I brought back the tools I needed to begin workshops, parent evenings and curriculum in my community. For three years I carried the Project in the Seattle school. At this workshop I created the Spectacular Sperm teaching aid to compliment Tamara’s Wondrous Womb. (see Publications and Teaching Aids)

My class and I graduated in June 2000 and I was blessed with a sabbatical year. However, I did go back to the Seattle school, over subsequent years, to teach the Human Fertility curriculum to four of the seventh grades. I developed this curriculum from Tamara’s original I Find My Star Outline I purchased in 1997.

In August of 2001, Anne Marie Fryer and I met with Tamara Slayton at her home in Sebastopol, California. The purpose of this meeting was to explore and determine how, together, we might collaborate to further the work of meeting the needs of today’s youth. Our efforts produced the I Find My Star Curriculum, which we self-published between February 2003 and October 2005. Also, in October of 2001, I created Community Education Toward a Healthy Social Life. It is the vehicle I use to promote the Coming of Age Program as seen on this website.

During the school year of 2001-2002, I produced workshops for the Coming of Age Project. Tamara mentored me and we co-taught in these workshops held in schools and communities across the nation.

Tamara began work on a new website in February 2003. She made the artistic decisions and the basic look was executed by Willie Kazakoff. Before Tamara was able to contribute any text, she withdrew from public life in March 2003 to battle the cancer she had had for some years.

On June 30, 2003 Tamara left her earthly existence. Friends and family came to give their parting words of thanks and blessings. Tamara’s life was passionate and very full. She inspired and guided many.

Shortly after, I was asked by one of Tamara’s life long friends to consider writing for Tamara’s website. With the family’s blessing I took up the task. I strove to encapsulate Tamara’s intentions using her words whenever possible. (For more of Tamara, see the website www.TamaraSlayton.com.)

Tamara’s website names six major areas that Tamara addressed at different times throughout her life:

Truly, Tamara both inspired and connected many people to her and other people’s work. My website, www.lindaknodle.net, describes the various activities that some of us pursue.