I just started rereading The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing by Sharon Lippincott and last night I was struck by the following phrase. "It takes courage to bare your soul for the examination of future generations, and making the effort to share yourself with them is an act of great love."Working through my writing class in recent weeks, I have found that it also takes courage to bare your soul for examination of the current generation. One of my assignments in particular took courage, not only to write, but also to share, and yet I found healing in myself by sharing it. In writing some things down, there is something amazing that happens as the situation loses it's grip on you and to frees you to move ahead.
Since I finished with that particular piece, my mind has been filled with other stories that I do want to share with future generations. It's almost like a dam has broken free.
For me, writing out that particular incident was in some ways an act of love in that it has allowed me to move on and make progress on that memoir I'm planning. I don't know if I'll ever share that story with anyone else, but in some ways it's the most important thing I've written to date.
3 comments:
Linda, thanks for sharing this beautiful story of the healing power of writing those very personal stories, and reminding people that the healing power of writing is not dependent on sharing the story. In fact, the healing may be greater for keeping it secret, because it isn't diluted or counteracted by the turmoil of sharing things that may be hurtful to others or cause backlash.
Awesome! I am really in agreement to getting stories out and sharing cause healing does take place but also help for others. YAY!
I'm becoming envious of the writing class you are taking. It takes a lot of energy and time to write, but can be so intimidating as well as rewarding. It was difficult for me to start the blog I set up a month ago. Already I want to explore different types of writing. It is often so very difficult to get started; I appreciate being able to stop by here as you share your thoughts and experiences.
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