Love Kevin’s slides! So helpful. He’s one of my favorite TAWS facilitators.

Thank you very very much Kevin Hylton PhD for the two sessions I attended with you. Thank you for creating a secure space with kindness, empathy, compassion and consciouness.

I am already writing a comment for both session I followed one with Kevin Hylton PhD (27/08 at 4pm) and the second with Alison Miller PhD (28/08 at 4pm). Wonderful opportunities to work with a community and exchange about routines, journeys in a very welcoming, kind and inclusive space. Very happy to try those 2 free weeks. I feel less alone. Thank you to both of you !

I stumbled upon TAWS in the midst of the pandemic craving community, connection, accountability, and structure to help me make progress during my PhD process. TAWS provided me with that and more. I recently submitted a first draft of my PhD to my supervisory committee and am working towards a Winter 2027 Defence and Spring 2027 Convocation. Side note: I started my PhD in 2010 when I was pregnant with my second daughter. So it's been a long journey and I couldn't have gotten this far without the structure and support of the TWAS community. Their flexible plans met the needs of all stages of journey in academia and life. Most importantly, Alison, and all the facilitators have a particular focus - how to facilitate completion in a compassionate and supportive way. Thank you TWAS. I'm not PhDone, yet, but closer than I have ever been thanks to TWAS.

This community played a crucial role in helping me complete my dissertation. TAWS provided the structure that is often lacking in grad school. Each week's themes offer a new perspective, allowing you to identify areas for improvement and improve your academic writing. Additionally, you are not alone in this journey; many others face similar challenges. By participating in TAWS, you will join a supportive and compassionate community filled with encouragement and validation. I truly appreciate TAWS and the people involved.

My first experience with the Academic Writers Space (TAWS) was shortly after March 2020 lockdown at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. I had been working on my dissertation for several years, had worked on literature reviews and then discarded two topics, but had not started writing my dissertation. Thanks to the support from the entire TAWS community, I successfully defended my dissertation in April 2023. With Alison, the TAWS facilitators, and my fellow TAWS members, I learned how to work as well as I could with whichever version of myself showed up to the desk. I learned how to solve the writing problems that were unique to each chapter, and I learned how to become more productive. To anyone who is starting a Master’s or Doctorate program, to anyone who must juggle a job, take care of children and/or elderly parents, teach courses, prepare for comps, and conduct research, do yourself a favor and sign up for TAWS. It will make a situation that seems impossible, doable.

Finding TAWS was a saving grace for me. I saw a video of Alison on Instagram via The Dissertation Coach and sent a message to the person on the other side of the TAWS Instagram account. Alison responded somewhat quickly to me, and much to my surprise, she was a real person on the other side of the chat. I messaged on a Thursday night and met with her the following Monday. She gave me the pep talk I was missing from my advisor. She told me that I would finish my dissertation at a time when I genuinely wasn't sure that I would. She welcomed me without pressure to connect with the TAWS community, and I am so glad that I did.

I love TAWS! I couldn't imagine having finished my dissertation without this amazing community. It is way more than just a writing space, it was a life source for me during a challenging time of dissertating, and one that I imagine I will return to even now that the dissertation is done. Thank you!

Over the past two years, The Academic Writing Space has fundamentally changed how I work for the better. What began for me as quiet participation quickly became something much more meaningful. When I first joined, I mostly stayed off camera and simply listened while working alongside others. During an early welcome meeting, I mentioned that I tended to lurk in the background. I was gently encouraged to try coming on camera occasionally, just to see if it changed anything. That small invitation ended up making a significant difference. It opened the door to deeper connection and accountability, and to many late nights writing alongside the TAWS “after dark” crew. Those sessions created a sense of steady companionship during what can otherwise be an isolating process. Sentence by sentence, session by session, the work moved forward. The TAWS community is something truly special. I am grateful for the thoughtful check-ins, the structure, and the global network of writers who understand the care and persistence that dissertation writing requires. I genuinely believe TAWS helped move my timeline toward completion. Even more importantly, I know I am finishing this degree as a healthier, happier human being because of this space.

found TAWS later than I wish I had. I joined while ABD, at a stage when the dissertation felt amorphous and isolating. In less than a year, I now have a defense date. That shift did not come from a sudden burst of motivation. It came from structure and community. What makes TAWS different is not just dedicated writing time. It is the normalization of the doctoral process. Seeing other serious scholars openly struggle—with drafts, deadlines, doubt—changed something fundamental for me. It reframed difficulty from personal failure to part of the work. That alone reduced the friction that had been slowing me down. The structured sessions create rhythm. The themed learning gives language to what often feels unwieldy. But the most powerful element is the shared intellectual honesty: you are not alone in this process. That clarity made consistent progress possible. If you are looking for accountability, yes, you will get it. But more importantly, you will gain a framework for understanding how scholarly work actually gets produced. For me, that made the unimaginable—finishing—real.