I’m a cultural journalist and author of Shame on You: How to Be a Woman in the Age of Mortification, a hybrid memoir that dives deeply into how shame keeps us from achieving our goals and knowing our worth.

I’m also the founder of Becoming Writers, which provides online and in-person courses on craft and publishing to nonfiction writers of all backgrounds and experiences.

Whoever you are and whatever you’ve lived through, you have a story.

I can help you tell it.

“Over the course her memoir, Petro relays her journey from bookish schoolgirl from a low-income household to college student working as a part-time stripper and, later, as a sex worker, to public-school teacher shamed into relinquishing her job after penning a HuffPost article about her past and freelance writer and stay-at-home mother to a special needs child. The prologue to Shame on You, which recounts Petro’s public resignation from the New York Department of Education after the New York Post ran a front-page spread headlined “Bronx Teacher Admits: I’m an Ex-Hooker,” is particularly moving, the injustice as palpable as mud.

Her insights into why the public obsesses over stories of women behaving badly are scintillating. “With all the suppression and self-censure,” she writes, “there is a ravenous public appetite for stories about women who defy the rules. And it is no wonder the audience, and women in particular, feel pulled in by these narratives. All those urges we so deeply resisted. All the times we didn’t. She did.” Her words sing with clarity and purpose. “Bad” women are mocked not because they are laughable, but because they produce envy and fear… READ MORE

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Upcoming Workshops

  • WRITING FOR SHAME RESILIENCE: Turning Shame Into Your Superpower / March 30 – April 3, 2026

    Ready to embody your most authentic self, and embolden others to do the same? Join me for an in-person, transformative writing workshop blending craft, reflection, and experiential learning at the stunning Esalen Institute in Big Sur.

    Learn more

  • BRING YOUR BOOK TO LIFE: A 12 Month Nonfiction Book Incubator, 25 Sessions | Every Other Thursday, 7-9PM EST | January 15 - December 17, 2026

    This is the year you write your book. Join a year-long generative workshop for twelve writers serious about completing their book-length nonfiction manuscripts and/or book proposals in 2026.

    Learn more

  • Nailed It: Conceptualizing your Nonfiction Book / January 17, 2026 @ 2:00 pm – January 24, 2026 @ 5:00 PM

    Clarify your book’s purpose, identify its core message, and develop an outline or structure for your book that aligns with your purpose.

    Learn more

Join us last Wednesday of every month, starting January 28.

Write It Anyway! is a FREE online generative writing workshop for anyone seeking to transmute shame into compassion and clarity and give voice to the stories we’ve been taught to silence. Writers of all levels and experiences welcome. To sign up or for more info, email melissa.petro@gmail.com

We all have things we need to say, regardless or even in spite of how those words may be received.

Since the loss of my elementary school teaching career after writing an article defending sex workers' rights and sharing my own history as a stripper and call girl, I’ve had the privilege of holding other writers’ hands through their own transformative truth-telling processes. Granting ourselves and each other permission to tell our stories, raw and unpolished— without concern for pleasing anyone or anything other than the truth of our experience— is a bold and courageous act.

I am here to tell you: your story matters and you have the right to share it.

“Many of us talk around the supper table, tell stories, jokes, repeat what happened as we went through our day, and never know we are creating fictions, dialogue, suspense, climax. Not being able to write is a learned disability. It is almost always the result of scar tissue, of disbelief in your self- accumulated as a result of unhelpful responses to your writing. Those wounds can be healed, those blocks can be removed.”

- Pat Schneider, Writing by Ourselves and with Others

  • “Melissa Petro is an exceptional writing teacher. She masterfully balances support and challenge, pushing her students to refine their work while offering insightful and encouraging feedback. Her unique blend of honesty, kindness, and fresh perspective makes her an invaluable guide for any aspiring writer.”

    – Jennifer S.  

  • “I'm lucky to have found such a terrific mentor in Melissa. Her honest, critical feedback has expanded my writing skills. She also shares her experience as a lifetime writer, synthesizes how the industry operates, and offers best practices for becoming a published author. I highly recommend any course Melissa offers.”

    – Shabana S. 

  • “I always knew I wanted to be a writer but was too scared to commit to the work- working with Melissa not only held me accountable to finishing my memoir, but made me a better writer. Every time we connected I knew I would be met with honest critique that pushed me past my comfort zone which is exactly what I needed.”

    – Shannon O.

  • "Melissa Petro gave me the expertise and encouragement needed to finally publish my writing. She has helped me to shape ideas, pitches, and drafts into essays for HuffPost, Elle, and Business Insider. Her mentorship has been incredibly valuable to me as a writer and a woman who is turning her most shameful secrets into compelling articles. She's just the best there is."

    – Katie N.

  • "Melissa Petro is an engaged, knowledgeable and enthusiastic teacher. She provided practical guidance, while also giving us thoughtful personal feedback to each student. Highly recommend her class!"

    - Anonymous

  • “Melissa was very knowledgeable, engaging and easy to relate to. She did a great job of answering questions and moving things along but spending the appropriate amount of time on each section. I was very impressed with the structure and pace of the course. I also found the exercises and prompts very helpful. I was genuinely surprised at how professional, informative and truly enjoyable the class was!”

    - Anonymous.

  • Melissa was a God send to me! She guided me through the completion of my memoir that I had been writing for many years. She challenged my thinking, had me doing research to support historical events, taught me to create and manage a frame for each chapter. She is an excellent coach and instructor!

    - Mary M.